Selected Out Of Your Head Records Press Quotes:
"A series of direct-to-digital releases meant to capture jazz 'in the wild,' Out Of Your Head's 'Untamed...' series is one of the best ideas to have emerged from jazz's indie underground in a while."—J.D. Considine, Downbeat Magazine (full review)
“With a heady, ever-expanding roster that includes Nick Dunston, Michaël Attias, Adam Hopkins, Dustin Carlson, and the MacroQuarktet, the Brooklyn-Based, artist-run imprint Out Of Your Head Records is quickly becoming an “it” label.” —Brooklyn Rail (full article)
“A browse through the catalogs of Pyroclastic, Tao Forms, and Out of Your Head — thriving imprints headed respectively by pianist Kris Davis, drummer Whit Dickey, and bassist Adam Hopkins — shows how musicians are banding together to showcase one another’s talents: the singular visions of the aforementioned Eric Revis and Craig Taborn, for example; the drumming gifts and rich compositional style of Tani Tabbal; or the challenging creations of Anna Webber and Nick Dunston. Even in the absence of in-person connection, the web of jazz continues to grow.” —Hank Shteamer, Rolling Stone Magazine (full article)
“The Brooklyn and Richmond-based Out of Your Head Records has quickly become something of a playground for like-minded, polymath experimentalists.” —Lee Rice Epstein, Free Jazz Collective
“Adam Hopkins’ Out Of Your Head Records is a Brooklyn-based record label that gets music out from vital, progressively-minded jazz artists. There might be a number of labels just out of Brooklyn alone that does that but OOYH does something extra that as far as I know no one else does. His Untamed Series not only puts out live performances from some choice artists, but these are unvarnished recordings ‘warts’ and all that are nonetheless well above bootleg quality. The word ‘warts’ is put in quotes because the raw presentations reveal little if any imperfections and that’s what’s special about this series: these guys are so good, they can play highly complex music on a tightrope with no net and make it to the other side every time.” —S. Victor Aaron, Something Else! (full article)
“These albums push the boundaries of music in every direction, whether it’s the label curators themselves, heroes of theirs like Tim Berne and Michael Formanek, or next-generation luminaries like Anna Webber and Richmond’s own Curt Sydnor. As a result, it’s refreshingly hard to predict what the next release will sound like.” —Davy Jones, Style Weekly (full feature)
OOYH Records featured as the Label Spotlight in the April 2021 issue of New York City Jazz Record, written by John Sharpe. (full feature)
Alfredo Colón - Blood Burden (OOYH 029)
“A blistering, creative, focussed album that in any other year would be the top pick.” —George Grella, Red Hook Star Revue Best Jazz Albums of 2024 (full list)
“Colón is a player that leans into a situation – why let even a single measure go by if the spirit isn’t front and center? But he also has a lithe approach that makes his lines curvaceousness. Spent the last few weeks with his Blood Burden, an album that wins you over pretty damn quick [...] I’m jotting down this one for debut of the year." —Jim Macnie, Lament For A Straight Line (full review)
“Colón firmly establishes himself as an up-and-comer himself with his enchanting first date as a leader.” —S. Victor Aaron, Something Else! Reviews (full review)
Kenny Warren - Sweet World (OOYH 028)
“…simultaneously free-flowing and absolutely thrilling.” —Brad Cohan, New York City Jazz Record (full review)
Nick Dunston - COLLA VOCE (OOYH 027)
"One of the most unusual, provocative, and electrifying records of 2024, firmly installing Dunston as a groundbreaking figure of the future." —Peter Margasak, DownBeat Magazine ‘25 For The Future’ (full feature)
“A suite of dazzling extremes and electrifying confrontation that reveals a razor-sharp vision.” —Peter Margasak, Best Contemporary Classical Music on Bandcamp, April 2024 (full review)
“The bassist and bandleader collides technology, improvisation, and players' idiosyncrasies in his adventurous compositions." —Peter Margasak, The Wire
“Nick Dunston‘s COLLA VOCE is “an Afro-Surrealist Anti-Opera,” the first time we’ve seen those words in that combination. The results are suitably dramatic, bursting the boundaries of speakers and stage.” —A Closer Listen (full preview)
“…incredibly passionate, surreal and absolutely impressive work.” —Squidco (full review)
Christopher Hoffman - Vision Is The Identity (OOYH 026)
“Leading with a heavy electronic music foundation, and a rhythmic approach one suspects fueled by a white-hot core of intensity, Hoffman’s trio with keyboardist Frank LoCrasto and drummer Bill Campbell attains an unstoppable locomotion that, nevertheless, is resplendent with an idiosyncratic grace.” —Dave Sumner, Bandcamp Best Jazz Albums of 2024 (full article)
“Strong electronic music influence and a focused, driven, rhythmic attitude.” —Dave Sumner, Best Jazz of Bandcamp - March 2024 (full review)
“With more impact than many albums twice its length, Vision Is The Identity is a vital slice of contemporary New York.” —Fred Grand, Jazz Journal (full review)
“Christopher Hoffman attempts to obliterate misconceptions about the capacity of the violoncello.” —Rob Shepherd, PostGenre (full interview)
**** “Jazztronica-inspired synths loaded with futuristic undertones and sweaty rhythms.” —Filipe Freitas, JazzTrail (full review)
“Christopher Hoffman’s “Farewell Forever” brings two, seemingly divergent worlds together in creating a lively new one.” —S. Victor Aaron, Something Else! Reviews (track premiere)
"It's a curious beast, with mildly sinister synth basslines, electric piano and driving rhythms giving the music the feel of a 1980s thriller soundtrack." —Stewart Smith, The Wire
Michaël Attias - Quartet Music Vol. I: LuMiSong (OOYH 025)
**** “As an out-of-the-box sonic architect, Attias conceives music that expands our horizons and plays with our musical preconceptions. Requiring open-mindedness to be deeply entrenched, this is an utter and complete joy to listen to.” —Filipe Freitas, JazzTrail (full review)
“The swirling motifs stack up with the kind of eloquence that pulls you deeper into the action with each spin.” —Jim Macnie, Lament For A Straight Line (full review)
Hannah Marks - Outsider, Outlier (OOYH 024)
“Challenging and compelling in all the right ways.”—Best of 2023 by Everything Is Noise (full list) // Best Album of 2023 by One Man Underground (listen)
“Outsider, Outlier, Hannah Marks' unapologetic forthcoming debut album, masterfully blends jazz and rock over ten dynamic tracks that thoughtfully explore the human condition.” —Bass Magazine (full preview)
Single of the Week: (I Wanna B Ur) 90s Dreamgirl “Perfect encapsulation of my teenage years as an angsty gen-xer, crushing relentlessly and telling nobody. The sound- Hannah Marks is a jazz musician and she’s basically assembled an amazing jazz band and has told them to play punk rock, giving us the best Sonic Youth song since, well, since Sonic Youth broke up. And that video? <chef’s kiss>" —Spinning Platters (full review)
“Simply jaw-dropping. Outsider, Outlier is a wild ride between jazz and punk rock, and I insist for y’all to check this out. Soooo good.” —Everything Is Noise, Best of October 2023 (full review)
“Some quieter moments recall Tori Amos, with singer Sarah Rossy gliding across octaves, but the songs are never simple. The “90s Dream Girl” video is the place to start, but the rest of the record is just as smart.” —Kurt Gottschalk, The Red Hook Star Revue (full review)
On (I Wanna B Ur) 90s Dreamgirl “It’s an astonishing piece of multi-layered music. It’s a titanic tune with impassioned vocals and mood-swinging brilliance that scrapes the sky when the mountainous chorus erupts.” —Turn Up the Volume (full review)
On Jessie’s Lullaby: “Dreamy and tender.” —Happy Magazine (full preview)
Jessica Pavone - Clamor (OOYH 023)
“An all-consuming, mesmerizing wall of noise.” —#7 Best Experimental Albums of 2023 in Pop Matters (full list) // “Everyone had fun with this one, and it shows.” —The Year’s Best Albums Covers by A Closer Listen (full list) // Top Ten Modern Composition by A Closer Listen (full list)
“The ensemble plays with fierce determination, paying tribute to the trailblazers and freedom seekers that came before them, equally adept at group performance and individual sections […] Clamor is another example of [Pavone’s] deep commitment to whatever form or historical source inspires her.” —Chris Ingalls, PopMatters (full review)
“It is a cohesive, democratic, exciting and sensual body of work.” —Siobhan Kane, The Quietus (full review)
“There’s a terrifying beauty in the racket that they all produce together that I can’t help but be attracted to.” —Paste Magazine
“Pavone continues to discover riches within this harmony-driven sound world, and the extended lineup only brings greater harmonic activity to the fore.” —Peter Margasak, Best Contemporary Classical on Bandcamp, October 2023 (full review)
“At times harrowing, often strikingly beautiful, and consistently engaging.” —Jim Marks, Dusted Magazine (full review)
“Intrepid composer and violist Jessica Pavone continues to forge an intensely personalized path with Clamor, the latest addition to this fascinating creator's discography […] Certainly the raw, visceral bluster generated by Pavone and company feels far removed from the conservatory-trained finesse of a conventional classical ensemble […] It's impossible to know what direction Pavone's music will take, which is, when all's said and done, one of the best things about it. Predictable is definitely not a word one could use to describe the work she's doing.” —Ron Schepper, Textura (full review)
“[Clamor] harnesses each of the players’ intuition, talent, and experience to achieve a cooperative unity, yielding a cohesive, democratic, and ultimately, inspiring work.” —Troy Collins, Point of Departure (full review)
“More akin to chamber music than jazz, yet undeniably avant-garde, Clamor is strikingly beautiful.” —Paul Medrano, BestOfJazz.com (full review)
“…a microtonal world of sound prevails.” —Marc Chénard, My Scena (full review)
Tomas Fujiwara - Pith (OOYH 022)
Best of 2023 by JazzIn (full list)
**** The Guardian: Contemporary Album of the Month "Fujiwara’s compositions move far beyond the jazz realm, nudging into ambient, post-rock and classical territory." —John Lewis, The Guardian (full review)
“The music is often abstract. The implication of structure is fed through focused motion. Sometimes it’s a shared direction, and other times a giant splash in every direction at once. Pith is a recording that leaves you wanting more.” —Dave Sumner, Best Jazz of Bandcamp - September 2023 (full article)
“A fascinating reimagining of the jazz trio format.” —Ron Schepper, Textura (full review)
**** "With a refreshing openness to new sounds and textures, these masters of the atmosphere reveal an exquisite sense of narrative that makes this music distinctive. We’ll keep listening to this while waiting for their next installment." —Filipe Freitas, JazzTrail (full review)
"There's never wasted space nor flailing gestures [...] stocked with lucid melodies and push-pull energy exchanges, but the music never gets cluttered." —Bill Meyer, The Wire
“Fujiwara’s overall schematic may be reductive, but Pith is a really powerful demonstration that less can be more.” —Fred Grand, Jazz Journal (full review)
“Pith begins as it means to go on, with compositions that provoke conversations between the players, the kind of conversations that go on into the night and get you to ignore your responsibilities.” —Gary Chapin, Free Jazz Collective (full review)
“Tomas Fujiwara and his 7 Poets Trio open up a cool new vista of jazz with the spare but daring Pith, built on careful composition but fueled by risk-taking improvisation.” —S. Victor Aaron, Something Else! Review (full review)
“Moving as one is a feat they’ve nailed down tight […] These poets are an exemplar of accord.” —Jim Macnie, Lament For A Straight Line (full preview)
“…jagged yet structured. Fujiwara performs with quiet poise while Reid’s bowing appears to be largely improvised as it pushes boundaries. Brennan is relentlessly busy, making this group sound bigger than a trio.” —Mike Borella, Avant Music News (full review)
“…near clairvoyant, three-way harmonic conversations.” —Troy Collins, Point of Departure (full review)
Scott Clark - Dawn & Dusk (OOYH 021)
Best of 2023 by JazzIn (full list)
“This album radiates presence. When it takes a step, you feel the impact, which makes its lyricism that much more precious. It has a certain gracefulness, where a melody’s trajectory can rise up to be the sole focus. This same effect occurs when the ensemble instigates interludes of near-drone, and harmonic qualities take hold. The album consists of two sets of four tracks, each behaving as something of a suite, establishing a sense of continuity. The same four pieces, one set in-studio, the other set live performance. This is the kind of recording that grabs the ear from the very first note and doesn’t let go.” —Dave Sumner, Best Jazz of Bandcamp - August 2023 (full article)
"Utterly brilliant [...] Clark has created something truly cunning here, a suite that flies against the norms of improvised music scenes that Scott Clark has frequented over the last twenty years." —Doug Nunnally, The Auricular (full review)
“By pushing himself to find comfort in quiet, Clark is shaping the places in which he performs.” —Davy Jones, Style Weekly (full review)
“Scott Clark's Dawn & Dusk is SICK, beautiful dark thrilling mournful […] OOYH gave us my #1 jazz album of '22 (Mali Obomsawin's Sweet Tooth) & this one is now up there for '23. For fans of Matana Roberts & Art Ensemble!” —Sick Sad Motherslug
"A stunningly beautiful suite from Richmond, VA [...] in four sublimely passionate compositions." —Squidco
“One of the most distinctive things I’ve heard this year.” —Nic Jones, Jazz Journal (full review)
Illegal Crowns - Unclosing (OOYH 020)
“Unclosing delivers the most potent musical charge of 2023.” —Dave Sumner, Best Jazz Albums of 2023 on Bandcamp (full list) // Best Jazz of 2023 by Brett Saunders, Denver Post (full list)
“The music is a bundle of energy; volatility is the watchword on Unclosing, yet, intriguingly, there’s a noir quality to the affair that catches the breath and elicits a sense of patience—a calm at the center of chaos. More of this, thank you and please.” —Dave Sumner, Best Jazz of Bandcamp - June 2023 (full article)
“This is squiggly, slippery music that resists capture but is at the same time not consciously trying to throw you off track. It’s visceral abstraction that leaves a mark.”—Phil Freeman, Stereogum’s Ugly Beauty (full review)
“The dynamics of this quartet highlight a rare and profound deep listening, complete trust and supporting one another through every unexpected turn […] Unclosing is one of the great albums of 2023.” —Jan Granlie, Salt Peanuts (full review)
**** “An accomplished blend of accessibility and experimentalism...perhaps better integrated this time out than ever before. Every cut defies expectation with unpredictable twists which keep the listener engaged while at the same time entertained. One can not ask for more than that." --John Sharpe, All About Jazz (full review)
“With Unclosing, Illegal Crowns have delivered another forward-looking album that yields far more than the sum of its parts, where creative individual virtuosity supports collaborative ideals.” —Troy Collins, Point of Departure (full review)
**** “A spectacular avant-jazz outfit. These four passionate improvisers form a rich sonic identity. Don’t let the numerous delicacies fool you into thinking that this is something you’ve heard before.” —Filipe Freitas, JazzTrail (full review)
“When a quartet of four of the finest in the current jazz vanguard convene to make a record, it’s time to sit up and take notice. Illegal Crowns’ new set of recordings Unclosing is the maximal, forward-minded jazz that results when everyone in the band is advanced composers and prodigious improvisers.” —S. Victor Aaron, Something Else! Reviews (full review)
"This entire album is populated by meticulously constructed compositions incorporating ensemble passages, harmonic contrapuntal incursions and frequent delicate melodies […] The whole recording works remarkably well, often instilling both a meditative feel and a mesmeric atmosphere.” —Roger Farbey, Jazz Journal (full review)
"While each musician loves to flex his or her own coloristic tendencies, they can all be counted upon to dim their own wattage in order to clearly demarcate a tune's working parts [...] Sonic novelties may draw you in, but they always play a supporting role." —Bill Meyer, The Wire
“The group shines most brightly on the knotty, faster-paced pieces that showcase their braininess as well as a sophisticated feel.” —Mike Borella, Avant Music News (full review)
“Where cooperative art, aesthetic heterogeneity and procedural solidarity concur, Unclosing emerges in an exemplary manner.” —El Intruso (full review)
“Unclosing instantly became a favorite. The four artists truly found an exquisite balance and managed to capture a kind of music that has been lingering in the air for some time, yet had not been perfectly achieved until now. Wow.” —Best of Jazz - June 2023 (full review)
Matt Mitchell - Oblong Aplomb (OOYH 019)
“The thrill of these encounters comes in hearing the pianist and his respective partners find an exhilarating freedom amid daunting rigor.” —Hank Shteamer, New York Times (full article)
"...a miracle of harmonic déjà vu amidst rhythmic counterpoint beyond description." —Marc Medwin, New York City Jazz Record (full review)
"...a constantly inventive pianist whose playing throws up a stream of fresh ideas that move rapidly and seamlessly from one to the next." —Tony Dudley-Evans, London Jazz News (full review)
“…a pianist who shatters the demarcations between harmony and rhythm with percussion geniuses who also blurs such distinctions.” —S. Victor Aaron, Something Else! Reviews (full review)
**** “This music is dense and demanding but those who make the commitment to really listen to what’s going on will be rewarded. Having said that, it’s also great to close your eyes, let it go, and simply enjoy these amazing sounds.” —Filipe Freitas, JazzTrail (full review)
“Mitchell is more than just a compositional wunderkind, as he exhibits a symbiotic relationship with both Gentile and Smith on this release.” —Mike Borella, Avant Music News (full review)
“A pianist whose stunning technical facility could coexist with an infectious rhythmic sensibility, creating music that is demanding and sometimes even forbidding, but not to the point of inscrutability.” —Troy Collins, Free Jazz Collective (full review)
“24 songs of challenging, kinda weird and twisted jazz. But damn, it's addictive.” —Everything Is Noise
“Mr. Mitchell sounds like he is always pushing himself to use as much of the keyboard as possible, whipping a fury of powerful two-handed waves, at times on the verge of exploding completely free.” —Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery (full review)
“It is certainly intense, but it contains so much excitement for the brain and the ears in its strangely diverse scope that at no point will you feel like you’ve had enough; instead, it leaves you craving even more.” —Best of Jazz - Best of 2023 (full review)
"...information-rich pieces that a listener may never stop to wonder if any of this music is improvised." "...spectacular virtuosity." —Bill Meyer, Downbeat Magazine (full review)
“Not much to say about Matt Mitchell, a true force in creative music. He continues to astound.” —Maurice Hogue, One Man’s Jazz (listen)
“Kate Gentile provides tumultuously surging energy that hugs close to Mitchell's tight fractals while suggesting a barely stifled urge to break free. Ches Smith is equally precise though less impetuous, displaying a more lyrical consideration that leaves air between Mitchell's notes." —Daniel Spicer, The Wire
Marc Ducret - Palm Sweat: Marc Ducret Plays the Music of Tim Berne (Screwgun/OOYH 001)
“Berne has recently attracted some brilliant solo interpreters of his music, like pianists Matt Mitchell and guitarist Gregg Belisle-Chi. Palm Sweat represents something more like a radical reimagining, which speaks to the duration of the relationship he’s forged with Ducret.” —Nate Chinen, WRTI (full review)
“This tribute obviously took some time, as Mr. Ducret has reworked Mr. Berne’s music in a variety of unexpected ways. This is one of the best and most inventive guitar(s) records I’ve heard in recent memory. Guitar freaks and Tim Berne fans please take notice.” —Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery (full review)
“Ducret dives into each piece fearlessly, his guitar plucked and pulled as if it is about to come apart at any second. By the final side, the dust has settled and a blues track comes creeping out of the thicket. It’s a disorienting moment that, like much of the album, still surprises me no matter how many times I’ve spun this record.” —Robert Ham, Paste Magazine (full review)
"Palm Sweat is a carefully constructed and brilliantly mixed album." --Phil Freeman, The Wire
"Ducret, it seems to me, is in a position to understand Berne’s compositions in a way others might not. From Caos Totale (1990) to Snakeoil (yesterday), Ducret has been a powerful omnipresent friend, utterly individualistic in style. Palm Sweat is extraordinary." --Gary Chapin, Free Jazz Collective (full review)
"Berne's music provokes prodigious feats of invention from the guitarist." —John Sharpe, NYC Jazz Record (full review)
“"We often hear about recordings ostensibly made without regard to rules, preconceptions and guidelines in pursuit of a mode of expression that’s pure and original. Marc Ducret’s Palm Sweat actually sounds exactly like it was made that way. That’s the Tim Berne Way." —S. Victor Aaron, Something Else! (full review)
“Essential for creative music aficionados, the new album of guitarist Marc Ducret playing compositions by Tim Berne is just supernaturally outstanding. Absolutely a stunner.” —Steve Smith, Night After Night
**** "...a multiverse of sound." --All About Jazz (full review)
"...an ambitious multifaceted statement."—Bill Meyer, DownBeat (full review)
Best New Jazz of Feb/March 2023 “…ladder-rung melodies being played with resonant precision […] the coming together of musical thinking between composer and performer is very strong indeed.” —Will Layman, PopMatters (full review)
"It is the French master guitarist Marc Ducret who has the most intimate knowledge of Berne’s music [...] masterful and beautiful homage." —Eyal Hareuveni, Salt Peanuts (full review)
“"[Ducret] takes Berne’s pieces to far-away realms – ranging from ferocious (“Curls”) to finespun (“Static”) his arrangements dodge the routine at every turn." --Lament For A Straight Line (full review)
**** “…somewhere between an inscrutable dream and a logical certainty.” —Filipe Freitas, JazzTrail (full review)
“Palm Sweat is a fascinating translation by Ducret of Berne’s works. Recommended.” —Christian Carey, Sequenza 21 (full review)
“Palm Sweat offers an in-depth journey into a perfectly mastered universe.” —Nicolas Dourlhès, Citizen Jazz (full review)
GEORGE - Letters to George (OOYH 018)
Best Canadian Beyond-Jazz Album 2023 in Ottawa Citizen (full list)
9 New Albums You Should Listen To Now —Pitchfork (full article)
“…when the band nails down its unique blend of vintage funk and futuristic electronica on tracks like “Washington Carver” and “Iceman,” GEORGE’s energy is as infectious as a perfect pop tune. “ —Jude Noel, Pitchfork (full review)
"enigmatic, punchy and compact" "Magic happens in the margins and the middle, between analog and digital textures, genre detours and a collective will which is dogmatically subject to change." --Josef Woodard, DownBeat (full review)
“There was nothing else released this year that remotely resembled Letters to George […] The album is an intensely idiosyncratic and engrossing set of mesmerizing grooves, electronic textures and ear-catching melodies.” —Peter Hum, Ottawa Citizen (full review)
“Musical taxonomy has never squared with the art of John Hollenbeck, a drummer, composer and bandleader with an elegant way of scrambling signals.” —Nate Chinen, WRTI (track premiere)
“The pop veneer can be a bit deceiving, because there’s nothing glib or slight about these performances, and the production delivers a delicious tension with the no-holds-barred attack. I can only imagine how George will sound with a bunch of gigs under its belt, but for now the heat this early meeting generated is more than enough.” —Peter Margasak, The Quietus Complete Communion (full review)
“Although sounds collide at all angles, and the keyboards often bob between channels, Letters to George has a flow that never feels overpacked.” —Mike Shanley, JazzTimes (full review)
***** “GEORGE functions as a collaborative effort and a fundamentally Hollenbeckish message that we’re all in this together.” —Lee Rice Epstein, Free Jazz Collective (full review)
“…futurist progressive fusion. Letters to George is a remarkable debut for its captivating, provocative compositions, arrangements, and performances by a veritable supergroup.” —AllMusic (full review)
**** “Letters to George is explorative but never jarring, spreading sonic tinctures that blur the lines of genre. Hollenbeck’s thoughtful ideas definitely set him apart from any other drummer.” —Filipe Freitas, JazzTrail (full review)
“Music like this may well be the future of jazz, though I’m sure musical omnivore Hollenbeck would defiantly reject such a narrow classification.” —Fred Grand, Jazz Journal (full review)
“John Hollenbeck took a somewhat odd assortment of musicians and shaped them into the something truly fresh and compelling. I could be referring to the Claudia Quintet but the same is equally true of his latest endeavor GEORGE.” —S. Victor Aaron, Something Else! Reviews (full review)
"It’s a kind of mutant cyber-funk with jazz and improv elements, centering female voices; it kinda reminds me of Anteloper, but it also kinda reminds me of Chromeo, which rules." —Phil Freeman, Burning Ambulance
“A promising debut album, weird and beautiful that demands more follow-ups.” —Eyal Hareuveni, Salt Peanuts (full review)
**** “Letters to George is a remarkable debut for its captivating, provocative compositions, arrangements, and performances by a veritable supergroup.” —Thom Jurek, AllMusic (full review)
***** “Georgeous.” —Chris Monsen, Klassekampen Musikkmagasinet (full review)
“While bringing together under one roof the avant-garde of the New York scene, the New Orleans jazz revival and the futurism of hyperpop, Letters To George (2023) manages to transcend the different horizons of its members to deliver an eminently singular musical proposal.” —Arnaud Veydarier, Sorties Jazz Nights (full review)
“For all or most of the albums by John Hollenbeck, we should expect the unexpected and that is what makes this one so great, it is in a class of its own.” —Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
"[George] takes the fusion sound to its extreme, avant-garde outer limits...sounds like a futuristic version of Return To Forever." —Wolf Kampman, Jazz Thing (full review)
“….intense, interesting music. Compositions serve to highlight each member’s talents and distinct musical character.” —Sammy Stein, Platinum Mind (full review)
“…stimulating odd meter art jazz space where drummer John Hollenbeck's emphatic sense goes ever further behind the assumed beat.” —Marlbank ‘Track of the Day’ (full review)
Mali Obomsawin - Sweet Tooth (OOYH 017)
The Guardian ‘10 Best Folk Albums of 2022’ #4 (full list) // NPR - Best Roots Music of 2022 (full list) // Folk Alley - Best of 2022 (full list) // Francis Davis Jazz Poll - Best Debut of 2022 (full poll) // The Wire - 2022 Releases of the Year (full list) // New York City Jazz Record - Best Debut of 2022 (full list) // Brooklyn Vegan - Best of 2022 (full list) // NPR - 2022 Staff Picks (full list) // Folk Radio UK - 2022 Folk Albums of the Year (full list) // Warm Visions - Top 50 Albums of 2022 (full list) // Motherslug - Best of 2022 (full list) // Jazzfuel - Best Jazz of 2022 (full list)
**** The Guardian: Folk Album of the Month (November 2022) “Obomsawin reminds listeners constantly that folk music shouldn’t be about pliant, pretty subservience, and that Abenaki culture is loudly, proudly living and expanding.” —Jude Rogers, The Guardian (full review)
“The most auspicious debut album I heard this year […] Obamsawin connects these histories with power and ingenuity.” —Larry Blumenfeld, NPR (full article)
“Obomsawin is an exceptional and eminently tasteful composer, bassist and bandleader. While finding a balance between bassist and bandleader can be tricky, Obomsawin is the central pillar, the heartbeat, a steward of her accompanists — as exemplified on Sweet Tooth.” —Morgan Enos, GRAMMY.com (full article)
““Sweet Tooth may be Obomsawin’s debut, but it never feels tentative: The compositions and performances meet at a similar high watermark. And, thankfully, it not only works as potent commentary on Indigenous heritage, autonomy and experiences, but as gripping, dynamic, and thunderous music in and of itself. All that without an ounce of overshowing.” —Morgan Enos, JazzTimes (full review)
“It’s a knockout, rich in context and substance, with a mission that fuels its most exploratory impulses.” —Peter Margasak, The Quietus Complete Communion (full review)
“This album points the way toward long-hidden horizons. —Ann Powers, NPR (full review)
“…a different kind of folk music.” —NPR, All Things Considered (full story)
“By stitching archival recordings and traditional compositions into new compositions incorporating many instruments and languages, Obomsawin extends the history of their ancestors into a vital and resonant present.” —Emily Pothast, The Wire
***** “Throughout its 37 minutes, Sweet Tooth examines similar questions of the construction of the present through the past and the comprehension of that past through music that sounds both vibrantly relict and thoroughly contemporary. And it does so with a rare beauty and potency. One of the best I have heard all year.” —Nick Ostrum, Free Jazz Collective (full review)
"One of those albums that utterly defy expectation or convention – it occupies its own universe, arriving from leftfield to blow your mind." —Folk Radio UK (full review)
“It’s a new history or, more accurately, a history that’s always been there but has been covered up. Drawing from family songs, archival sources, field recordings, new historical accounts, and years of free jazz and improvisation, this compositional suite is a brilliantly envisioned debut.” —Folk Radio UK (full article)
“A rising jazz star.” —The Gothamist (concert preview)
“Beautiful, edgy, and wrenching in equal measure.” —Aquarium Drunkard (full review)
**** “…delightfully evocative of Ornette Coleman's visionary ensembles from the 1960s.” —Jeff Kaliss, Songlines (full review)
“A musical masterpiece that marries Native tradition, field recordings, and free jazz with stories and ideas that have been passed down for centuries. It is full of joy and rage, and everything in-between.” —Kim Ruehl, Folk Alley - Best of 2022 (full list)
"On its own, Sweet Tooth is a dazzling exercise in creative energy, musicianship, and the power of music to bridge cultural divides. But understanding Obomsawin’s context mirrors the deep historical research and work Obomsawin has put into understanding themself. Sweet Tooth is truly a work of art in that it enables us to communicate with each other beyond words and provides endless joy in discovering and understanding another." —No Depression (full review)
“The musicians tore down the music and put it back together again. It felt like reverence and resilience. It also felt like revolution.” —Brian Slattery, New Haven Independent (full review)
“Their consistently adventurous music, while sometimes redolent of artists ranging from Miles Davis to Albert Ayler to Oregon, is in a class of its own. An auspicious debut indeed.” —Jeff Burger, The Aquarian (full review)
“…a striking history lesson and a sample of modern-day musical practices, all in one remarkable package” —Josh Weiner, Atwood Magazine (full review)
“Holy shit! This is a crazy record, some of the best new jazz music I have heard in a minute.” —Andrew Broder, Brooklyn Vegan (full review)
“History is alive on Sweet Tooth.” —Ludovic Hunter-Tilney, Financial Times (full review)
“The new single from Mali Obomsawin is one of the most unique and powerful pieces of music we've heard in a while.” “I can't think of anyone making music these days quite like Mali Obomsawin.” —If It’s Too Loud (Odana review) (Wawasint8da review)
“It doesn’t seem enough to say that Sweet Tooth is one of the most emotionally powerful albums I’ve heard this year.” —A Green Man Review Gary Whitehouse (full review)
“Sweet Tooth stands as an impressively original declaration from a young artist who is clearly here to stay.” —Immune To Boredom (full review)
“The spectacular and enriching music on this album is not limited to a First Nations community, but is a 'guide' that gives us important hints to reflect on the persistence of the heritage of blood that flows through all human beings.” —Takeshi Goda, Jazz Tokyo (full review)
Nick Dunston - Spider Season (OOYH 016)
Up-and-Comer Musician of 2023 - New York City Jazz Record (full list)
“Offering a holistic overview of Dunston’s range, Atlantic Extraction might make for a more accessible entry point into his work, but Spider Season’s narrow focus reveals more about his tastes as a composer and improviser. By placing equal value on the musical and decidedly non-musical qualities of each instrument, the record maps out the shifting web of relationships between performers. Each scrape, thump, or screech has a tangible effect on the room’s energy. Even in a trio setting, Dunston’s curiosity creates a plethora of possibilities. No two songs of his ever sound alike." —Jude Noel, Pitchfork (full review)
“Dunston is a sonic revolutionary in many ways, not the least of which is the instrumentation of his bands.” —Martin Johnson, JazzTimes (full review)
"A highly cooperative mélange of melodic punches and dissonant explorations, journeying roads not often traveled." —Steven Loewy, New York City Jazz Record (full review)
“A spider-like project that consecrates one of the most interesting trios of the moment.” —Franpi Barriaux, Citizen Jazz (full review)
“The trio summon a surprisingly wide range of sounds, generating propulsion without a beat, producing lush harmony that conveys a richer sound than might be expected.” —Peter Margasak, The Wire
"The rules-breaking is what makes this such an attractively marked departure from what’s normal these days, even within progressive jazz circles." "...brace yourself for the complete set of songs that follows. The more you open your mind, the more you will love it." —S. Victor Aaron, Something Else! Reviews (full review)
"The tangled web of the sounds they spew is a sign of redefining the relationship between human beings and music in the hustle and bustle." —Takeshi Goda, Jazz Tokyo (full review)
Bandcamp Weekly Featured Playlist
Travis Laplante - Wild Tapestry (OOYH 015)
Downbeat Magazine - Best of 2022
**** "Laplante, for whom music-making is an intimate, shared process, has once more found a way to share his reflections on the mystery of communication." --Bill Meyer, Downbeat Magazine (full review)
"...some of his most ambitious, clear-eyed writing." "He's carved out generous space in which his most lyrical improvised solos and most abstract extended technique co-exist beautifully. Unpitched breaths and circular breathing passages are embedded in lush arrangements that give such abstractions a beguiling context." --Peter Margasak, The Wire (full review)
9/10 “It’s never dull and never pretentious. How Laplante pulled it off will be difficult to ascertain, but we can still try.” —John Garratt, PopMatters (full review)
“…a short masterpiece. This music stays with you.” —Nick Ostrum, Free Jazz Collective (full review)
“A sound that is mysterious but encapsulates simple, beautiful yet haunting melodies. You can listen to the Laplante’s singular and often experimental saxophone language throughout this composition, incorporating multiphonics, eccentric articulations, and extended breathing techniques.” —Eyal Hareuveni, Salt Peanuts (full review)
Secret People - Secret People (OOYH 014)
Best of 2022 in Avant Music News (full list)
“Most of the album exhibits intricate and carefully-composed lines that will tie your brain in knots. These labyrinthine arrangements are both fast and dense with a penchant for extended melodies that vary thematically rather than strictly repeating. Nonetheless, the group maintains a raw, organic feel with Carlson’s distorted guitar coloring outside the lines.” —Avant Music News (full review)
“Secret People has come up with music that’s truly alien; we call it ‘jazz’ because of the improvisation aspects of it, but otherwise it’s simply impossible to peg. That’s undoubtedly what they were aiming for. Secret People is the collective output from three highly individualistic artists that manages to be more idiosyncratic than sum of its parts. In a very good way, too.” —S. Victor Aaron, Something Else! Reviews (full review)
“…nonstop series of addictive tunes and jaw-droppingly impressive solos. Highly recommended for summer days and summer nights, rooftop barbeques and beach bonfires, and all points in between.” —Lee Rice Epstein, Free Jazz Collective (full review)
“The musicianship is capricious, earnest, and precocious, but it’s never obnoxious. You can feel the individualism of each band member rise to the surface in pursuit of the same collective consciousness.” —Scream Blast Repeat (full review)
“…twisted melody, tricky rhythms, and lots of forward momentum played with equal parts freedom and precision.” —John Garratt, PopMatters (full review)
“…a powerful and unpredictable character. With their thought-over amalgam of jazz, rock, improv, noise and more, they produce excellent and convincing music. Very worthwhile!”—Dolf Mulder, Vital Weekly (full review)
“The trio's nifty trick--on the more spacious tracks heard on Secret People—is to blow through hard, dense and complex compositions and then settle into quieter, almost subterranean zones, where they simply hang out and improvise for healthy stretches." —Richard Gehr, Relix
“A very peculiar effort, you’ll experience intense moments alongside near silence, as the very capable hands here manipulate space and tension like a refined art form on this fascinating body of work.” —Tom Haugen, Take Effect (full review)
“In a kaleidoscopic amalgam of abstraction and drive, the group's chemistry, like their chops, is undeniable.” —John Sharpe, All About Jazz (full review)
“A determined set of electric jazz from the Brooklyn, NYC trio of Nathaniel Morgan (Buckminster) on alto saxophone, Dustin Carlson on guitar & bass and Kate Gentile on drums & vibraphone, bringing driving rock and experimental music approaches to their improvisations, a uniquely voice and tenacious trio of unorthodox improvisers.” —Squidco
“Morgan’s production work not only gives it an uncommon crispness, isolating each element for maximum clarity, he also layers in subtle reverb and gently disorienting spatial effects, making it an ideal headphone record. “peephole” starts off scorching, with Carlson’s guitar snapping at the air as Gentile plays what sounds like a loose, exploratory drum solo but, knowing her, could be entirely scored.” —Phil Freeman, Stereogum Ugly Beauty
Eric Wubbels / Charmaine Lee / Weston Olencki - Field of Action / contraposition (OOYH 013)
“These works reflect some of that growth Wubbels was after, and make for his most arresting album as a composer-performer yet.” —Seth Colter Walls, NY Times (full article)
“Field of Action doesn’t just reward multiple listens, it demands them.” Kurt Gottschalk, NYC Jazz Record (full issue)
“Both acts reside in the gray area where improvisation meets new music composition, and each comes with its own set of built-in intensities and sonic allure.” “Like many releases on the independent Out of Your Head label, it might leave the listener wondering what just happened—and going back for a deeper look.” —Mike Shanley, JazzTimes (full review)
“Field of Action / contraposition doesn't just reward multiple listens, it demands them." --Kurt Gottschalk, New York City Jazz Record (full review)
Kuhl/Ballou/Dierker/Stewart - KRAFT (OOYH U007)
“Ballou and Stewart are better-known in broader jazz circles but Kuhl and Dierker are big deals in the Baltimore/DC area, a vibrant jazz hub that’s produced the like of Gary Bartz, Ellery Eskelin and Michael Formanek. Indeed, you will listen to KRAFT and come away wondering why Kuhl and Dierker are not better known; these are the kind of musicians who could make it anywhere but simply chose to stay in Baltimore. Kuhl in particular is the hero of this disc, as he appears to be setting into motion the direction and feel of every song, using a wide variety of approaches and devices, never content to sit back and simply ‘go with the flow.’” —Victor Aaron, Something Else! Reviews (full review)
“Sharp, impressive freewheeling quartet.” —Tom Hull (blurb)
“KRAFT is heavy on chemistry and light on filler, and on their debut they deliver animated and commiserate formations of sound that span a wide range of dynamics and intensities." —Free Jazz Collective (full review)
“A joyful racket often breaks out in these proceedings, but it may not last: better to keep the textures, rhythms and the density changing, to hear what’s around the next bend.” —Kevin Whitehead, Point of Departure (full review)
“KRAFT is a great discovery.” —Franpi Barriaux, Citizen Jazz (full review)
"The music has a loose quality to it, like all the players are in the same room but not necessarily thinking the same way about where a given piece is headed." —Phil Freeman, The Wire
Wendy Eisenberg - Bloodletting (OOYH 012)
Avant Music News - Best of 2021 Honorable Mention (full list)
"Eisenberg pares down to a solo context, splitting time between guitar and banjo to record a set of four compositions twice, once on each instrument. It’s vernacular music of the most hushed variety, with empty spaces that give Eisenberg room to plot their next move." --Dave Cantor, Chicago Reader (full review)
“Eisenberg may be the most interesting American guitarist to emerge in the chain of Mary Halvorson, Brandon Seabrook and Ava Mendoza while their tenor banjo playing is without immediate parallel.” —NYC Jazz Record (full review)
“Only by being so open-minded and outside the box leads to truly original art, and Eisenberg has just made more of that kind of art again with the latest release, Bloodletting.” —Victor Aaron, Something Else! Review (full review)
“Speaking of major statements and such, Bloodletting is essential for admirers of the explosively creative Wendy Eisenberg : a rich, ambitious suite of solo pieces played once on guitar and again on banjo.” —Steve Smith, Night After Night
****1/4 “Bloodletting is beautiful and dark, surreal and inviting, unexpected and delightful, and above all, it’s a Wendy Eisenberg album through and through.” —Lee Rice Epstein, Free Jazz Collective (full review)
"Their clean guitar technique enables them to render knotted figures with clarity, and to draw out the varied tonal qualities of hollow wood and amplified wires." “The way they favour the low pitches brings to mind the banjo's tonal common ground with the oud, suggesting that they are thinking about the instruments relation to other instruments more than the way certain improvisers have approached it." —Bill Meyer, The Wire
“…the instrumental beauty of Bloodletting, a record that pairs improvisational pieces on both guitar and banjo.” —Post Trash
“This release is highly recommended for people interested in a versatile and virtuosic approach to using guitar and banjo in a practical outcome of a mnemonist experiment. In other words: outstanding!” —Vital Weekly (full review)
David Leon - Aire De Agua (OOYH 011)
All About Jazz - Best of 2021 (full list) // Avant Music News - Best of 2021 Honorable Mention (full list)
“Cuban-American alto saxophonist David Leon not only arrives fully-formed on his first record, but his extroversion feels like a natural part of his musical personality, spiking his agile post-bop with nifty conceptual brio that never gets in the way of his desire to communicate.” —Peter Margasak, The Quietus Complete Communion (full review)
“Aire de Agua is a splendid debut from a young saxophone player who, starting with the right foot, promises to make a name for himself in the creative jazz scene.” —Filipe Freitas, JazzTrail (full review)
“Leon draws inspiration from varied sources, including visual art and contemporary dance, and indeed the band at times suggests the sonic equivalent of four dancers moving in separate but related orbits: oblique ensembles maybe, but with an undeniable and affecting human dimension. Is there a stronger contender for debut of the year?” —NYC Jazz Record (full review)
“…a very remarkable and promising first statement by David Leon and his impressive quartet.” —Vital Weekly (full review)
“Leon’s alto saxophone prowess is quite exciting here, and with the help of the esteemed players on hand, his unique energy and atypical jazz formula is off to a great start.” —Tom Haugen, Take Effect (full review)
“…intricate compositions that elucidate each player's voice and great skill.” —Squidco (full review)
Mario Pavone - Blue Vertical (OOYH 010)
All About Jazz - Best of 2021 (full list) // New York City Jazz Record - Best of 2021 (full list) // Avant Music News - Best of 2021 Honorable Mention (full list)
“I’m just happy to get these two releases done,” Pavone said. “It took every bit of energy, and the music is what got me through. I’ve had a great life and I’m so appreciative of all the players who jumped in and generously contributed, from the heart. I’m grateful, happy, satisfied with my life, ready to move to this next cycle.” —Mario Pavone, Downbeat Magazine (full story)
***** “The beauty of this record is the ensemble playing, which is creative music making of careful listening, empathy, and deft reflexivity. Listening to this record is like eavesdropping on a casual conversation between old friends where there is much more than just the words heard–there is a deep history and understanding there too. […] This is the kind of album that will seduce those unfamiliar with creative music to fall in love with it.” —Ron Coulter, Free Jazz Collective (full review)
“Joined by pianist Matt Mitchell and drummer Tyshawn Sorey with special guest trumpeter Dave Ballou, he carried on with his work, using his full-bodied tone and unerring time to anchor muscular yet agile grooves and sturdy melodic schemes, nothing more, nothing less, as he lived his work for decades. His direct themes take hold and allow for copious exploration without ever relinquishing a buzzing energy and pulsing clarity. There’s something profound that his final statement was a simple affirmation of his life’s work.” —Peter Margasak, The Quietus Complete Communion (full review)
“That Mario Pavone's compositions galvanize and focus two rather different ensembles might encourage other curious musicians to give his pieces a try, keeping his music in circulation. This great bass player and big-hearted mensch made a number of memorable records. With his final statements, "Blue Vertical" and "Isabella," he left us with two more.” —Kevin Whitehead, NPR Fresh Air (full story)
“Pavone’s big personality on his chosen instrument shines through like a guy with at least two decades left in him, not two months. Mitchell and Ballou join up to present Pavone’s intricately-composed theme and then for a while you hear the deep congruence of the Dialect Trio, freedom-bound but also clearly following a shared mindset. When Ballou returns, it’s clear he’s on the same wavelength, too.” —S. Victor Aaron (full premiere)
“Both albums have the feel of a man who was at peace with both his present and his future.” —Dave Sumner, Best Jazz on Bandcamp: June 2021 (full article)
“Pavone writes with a unique voice, similar in some ways to Paul Motian’s: Melodies are direct and inviting, with subtle rhythmic shifts that don’t exert themselves too aggressively.” —Mike Shanley, JazzTimes (full review)
“Pavone and company spin out spontaneous and telepathic improvisations throughout Blue Vertical. The music feels like it is constantly building on top of loosely developed structures; dialogues, always present, float in and out of focus.” —Karl Ackerman, All About Jazz (full review)
“The nine-song program sounds full of life, jammed with melodies, rhythmic twists-and-turns, powerful solos, and Mr. Pavone's trademark propulsive. forward motion. He never looked back, making the music for the time and the future.” —Richard Kamins, Step Tempest (full review)
“The music of Pavone - complex, lyrical and lively- will be sorely missed. Blue Vertical is here to attenuate that pain and be discovered.” Filipe Freitas, JazzTrail (full review)
"This music is among the finest of Pavone's lengthy career." --Robert Iannapollo, NYC Jazz Record (full review)
Christopher Hoffman - Asp Nimbus (OOYH 009)
Included as Best Jazz on Bandcamp in 2021: “…arguably the most fascinating session of 2021.” —Dave Sumner, Bandcamp (full review)
Avant Music News - Best of 2021 Honorable Mention (full list)
“This isn’t some pantomime of unconventional creativity—the music flows with relative ease. The melodies resonate like mad, but they emerge patiently, almost seductively. Vibraphonist Bryan Carrott, bassist Rashaan Carter, drummer Craig Weinrib, and guest pianist David Virelles join Christopher Hoffman on one of the strongest releases of 2021 thus far.” —Dave Sumner, Best Jazz on Bandcamp: March 2021 (full article)
“The cellist Christopher Hoffman’s unruly, unorthodox quartet — featuring the vibraphonist Bryan Carrott, the bassist Rashaan Carter and the drummer Craig Weinrib — moves around with its limbs loose, but its body held together.” —Giovanni Russonello, New York TImes
"Hoffman's reference points include Bobby Hutcherson's Oblique as well as Threadgill's Everybody's Mouth's a Book (which featured Carrott). This is a strong statement in that tradition, and a long stride forward in Hoffman's solo career." —Nate Chinen, WBGO Take Five (full article)
****1/2 "One thing that’s helped Hoffman stand out is his open embrace of musical forms, deconstructing genre contexts to push his groups to some fresh and excitingly challenging places." "For those readers who are fans of vinyl and album art, TJ Huff created a masterful woodcut, “The Death of Cleopatra,” for the cover art. It’s one you’ll definitely want on your shelves." —Lee Rice Epstein, Free Jazz Collective (full review)
"Tuneful, Purposeful, Unorthodox Jukebox Jazz From Cellist Christopher Hoffman [...] This texturally enticing and often unselfconsciously beautiful album is one of the best of 2021 so far." —New York Music Daily/Lucid Culture (full review)
"Asp Nimbus demonstrates that Hoffman has become a force to be reckoned with." --One Man's Jazz
“Like all Threadgill protégés, Hoffman draws from him some sophisticated harmonic and song structure lessons but applies them in his own way. “Dylan George” has modern classical elements in it blended with the freedom of jazz, without confining itself into either camp. The interaction between the musicians is invigorating.” —S. Victor Aaron, Something Else! Reviews (full preview)
“Hoffman is on another plane.” —Lee Rice Epstein
“He has a personal, cinematic vein which means that Asp Nimbus is also a cornucopia of dramatic entrances and sequences that make one watch French 1960s films for one's inner gaze. That's what separates him from Threadgill. Asp Nimbus is highly recommended, in other words. Wouldn't surprise me if it leads to some disciples for Hoffman himself.” —Johan Jacobsson Franzén, Lira Magazine (full review)
“…inquisitive rhythmic matrixes and irresistible forward momentums derive from the constant exchange between musicians who know each other’s temperaments and intentions, intuitively.” —JazzTrail (full review)
“Asp Nimbus is both original and accessible music, an album that eschews genre for a celebration of melody and rhythm. The interplay stands out, the solos are strong and often lyrical, and Christopher Hoffman builds off the foundations he was introduced to by Henry Threadgill –– this is music that is adventurous and entertaining.” —Richard Kamins, Step Tempest (full review)
“The record […] is remarkably assured, expansive in scope but nimble in sketching out these visions.” —Will Schube, Passion of the Weiss (full review)
“With many parallels to and collaborative work with Henry Threadgill, cellist Christopher Hoffman pens eight dynamic compositions for his superb quintet of Bryan Carrott on vibraphone, Rashaan Carter on bass, Craig Weinrib on drums and David Virelles on piano, merging melodic approaches to creative jazz with interesting structures and virtuosic soloing from all performers.” —Squidco (full review)
Nick Mazzarella / Quin Kirchner - See or Seem: Live at the Hyde Park Jazz Festival (OOYH U006)
“Mazzarella and Kirchner really tore the place up.” —One Man’s Jazz
“The thrill of actually playing in front of some people infuses this music, extracting an extra ounce of joyousness from Mazzarella’s free, boppish lines, and adding a restlessness charge to the drumming, as though Kirchner really wanted to squeeze as much music as possible into this 31-minute set.” —Bill Meyer, Dusted Magazine (full review)
Goldberger/Jermyn/Maneri/Cleaver - Live at Scholes (OOYH U005)
Avant Music News - Best of 2021 (full list)
“…a thick, heady mix that works equally well for passive and active listening.” —Avant Music News (full review)
“The quartet’s instinctive behavior and freedom allow them to create a palette of inviting sounds that you’ve likely never heard before.” —Filipe Freitas, JazzTrail (full review)
Michael and Peter Formanek - Dyads (OOYH 008)
“Michael Formanek’s bass sound is absolutely huge; he strikes his instrument in a way that makes you think his hands must be the size of catcher’s mitts. Peter Formanek’s tone is hoarse and bluesy, and somewhat miraculously for a young player, you can’t hear his record collection coming from the horn. He’s got his own ideas already, which makes me want to hear more from him, whether accompanied by his dad or in some other context.” —Phil Freeman, Stereogum Ugly Beauty (full article)
****1/2 “The level of sympatico between Michael and Peter is — I’m not going to call it extraordinary, but that’s what it is. Listening to them construct these pieces (with composing duties pretty much equally divided between the two) is like being privy to an intimate conversation. There is an equity to the roles that is emblematic of M Formanek’s past work. Yes, the bass supports, and it also weaves melody, and the saxophone also supports. There is a mutuality to the playing here that wins me over.” —Gary Chapin, Free Jazz Blog (full review)
****1/2 “The exposed format allows an in-depth appreciation of Formanek senior's rich brawny tone and dexterous articulation, made easier by a clear recording. With formative influences such as Berne and Chris Speed, his son inhabits comparable terrain, adopting a warm woody sonority on clarinet, while being sweetly bracing on tenor saxophone, notwithstanding the occasional stretch into expressive overblowing.” —John Sharpe, All About Jazz (full review)
“"No matter where they go--further left, or right, or straight down a rabbit hole--these men are in sync [...] Genes may have a little something to do with the magic here, but don't discount the tremendous work ethic and big, developed ears. It's all in the family." —Dan Bilawsky, NYC Jazz Record (full issue)
“Their performances unfold with a combination of patience and pith, which permits the listener to savor the elegance with which each musician supports the other.” —Bill Meyer, Dusted Magazine (full review)
“"...the tight timing of Formanek and Formanek is a beautiful thing, not least on the free improvisations that make up half of this 72-minute program. Hear, for example, “How Was the Drive” for how often they place their beats in exactly the same place, even when an implied tempo might shift in the middle of a phrase. (It’s not telepathy; it’s familiarity.) [...] They swap the roles of leader and follower, organically. Here and elsewhere, one’s line might follow the arc of the other’s in a general way, one sign they’re always listening." —Kevin Whitehead, The Audio Beat (full review)
“Dyads is the fruit of years of family playing and reciprocal love, especially when Peter switches to the clarinet where he excels.” —Citizen Jazz (full review)
“…completely enchanting and consistently creative throughout the 72+ minute entirety. Michael Formanek remains one of the best contrabassists around, his sound and playing here is superb. His son Peter sounds mature, well-seasoned with a strong tone well-beyond his youthful age.” —Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
“The recording has a cozy feel with well-structured, limber songs and invigorating dialogue between the two men.” —JazzTimes (full review)
“There is a purity to this music making that erases all distinctions of genre, technical limitations, age, or place.” —SEMJA (full review)
Scott Clark - This Darkness (OOYH 007)
“It is nourishing music, and imaginative rhythmic shape of restless assurance…Clark plays his drum-set with a strong sense of calmness, restraint and patience, building the emotional drama carefully and stressing the nuanced sonic universes he created in the recording studio. Inspiring and impressive.” —Eyal Hareuveni, Salt Peanuts (full review)
“Clark’s music stands out in its willingness to forge pathways to those places where introspection is needed most. The neglected places. The shameful places. There is just so much of that to contend with right now. It’s encouraging to think somewhere in there is a seed of progress waiting to grow. It’s equally encouraging to have music to turn to when you want to work toward cultivating it, and This Darkness is exactly that.” —The Auricular (full review)
“That patience is a quality well transferred into This Darkness, which has a natural, gravitational pull to it. There’s a feeling of vast, open darkness in the harmonica loops, and an intimacy in Clark’s use of percussion — a sonic voyage of internal discovery.” —RVA Magazine (full article)
"You might want it to move faster but Clark, in a sense, is saying, "No. Just listen”…It might not be an easy listen and might be a performance best enjoyed in person, but it comes with a Zen-like clarity that lingers after it ends." —Shanley On Music (full review)
**** "This Darkness reveals he has a striking musical maturity, evident in his patience and precision [...] an album of gloom and gloam, but also of discovery and, toward the end, something approaching clarity." —Nick Ostrum, Free Jazz Blog (full review)
“Leveraging the rhythms of his Native American ancestry through deep tom drums, along with percussion focusing around clarion bells, Richmond, VA drummer/percussionist Scott Clark (Scott Clark 4tet, SCUO) brings his listener on a darkly diverse journey through six superb solo drum improvisations, laid out with resolute patience in an epic rhythmic journey.” —Squidco (full review)
Berne/Mitchell Duo - Spiders (OOYH U004)
Included as one of the Best Albums of 2021 by Downbeat Magazine (full list), Best New Releases of 2020 by the NYC Jazz Record and Avant Music News Best of 2020: Part I – Honorable Mentions
Best New Jazz in November 2020 by Stereogum Ugly Beauty (full article)
****1/2 "Like the best chamber music, Spiders manages to be both compositionally intricate and conversationally intimate, a combination that rewards repeat listens." —J.D. Considine, Downbeat Magazine (full review)
****1/2 “Spiders has a lot of space to it and Berne’s and Mitchell’s voice are each as brilliant. It is genuinely surprising how light and fleet the two can be. There are moments that, to me, code as earnest and beautiful, almost elegiac in a chamber way. There is a particularly powerful side of Berne’s work that comes through in this recording.” —Gary Chapin, Free Jazz Collective (full review)
“Berne gave this one to OOYH, but it’s no warmed-over leftover: the audio quality is really good, the best of the Untamed batch so far. Also, this gig from just before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in February 2020 introduces five fresh Berne compositions not previously heard anywhere on record. Berne’s led all sorts of ensembles, but a sax/piano duet has a certain intimacy not quite felt on those other projects, especially when going one-on-one with such a resourceful and sensitive pianist like Mitchell. Many of years of playing together has gone into this special chemistry and it shows.” —S. Victor Aaron, Something Else! (full article)
“To me, Spiders feels more like a good concert than a good record; a specific set of parameters investigated in real time rather than a pristine construction with all the variables balanced and the fat trimmed. In this sense it is an important document of the messy kind of music-making endemic to New York, and serves as another worthy entry in Tim Berne’s DIY legacy.” —Jazz Right Now (full review)
**** “High drama pervades every cut, delivered with a steely intensity which demands attention.” —John Sharpe, All About Jazz (full review)
“Saxophonist Tim Berne has been a decades-long stalwart in the city’s free jazz community, while pianist Matt Mitchell is well on his way there.” —The Bklyner (full review)
“On Spiders he [Mitchell] breezes through the themes yet it’s during Berne’s solos where Mitchell clearly shines. Harmonically he anticipates where Berne is heading. “Julius” is rife with surprising detours but when they arrive at the final theme, stated in unison, it’s an arresting moment. Spiders shows they still clearly still have plenty to say to and with each other.” —Robert Iannapollo, NYC Jazz Record (full issue)
“The music unfolds and reveals its secrets gradually, with careful precision and articulation allowing the selections to build upon one another while leaving room for interpretation and a logically unfolding narrative.” —Music and More (full review)
Michael Formanek - Pre-Apocalyptic (OOYH U003)
Rated #21 of the Top 40 Jazz Releases of 2020 by JazzTimes (full listing) and included in Avant Music News Best of 2020: Part I – Honorable Mentions
“Even if the money went straight to the devil, I would say buy this album, because the music is that good. Formanek’s quartet, with Tim Berne on alto, Craig Taborn on bass, and Gerald Cleaver on drums, offers an almost perfect balance between combo writing and free-form improvisation. Some of that stems from Formanek’s gift for composing tunes that offer enough melody to inspire the players but not so much that the writing hems them in.” —JD Considine, JazzTimes (full review)
“Pre-Apocalyptic is probably best viewed as a long-overdue last part of a Michael Formanek Quartet trilogy, the one that captures them in a live setting. […] Whatever band Michael Formanek, Tim Berne, Craig Taborn, and Gerald Cleaver are in is almost assuredly a very good band. When they are all in the same band, it’s more than very good, it’s special. Is it still too early to miss the early 2010s?” —S. Victor Aaron, Something Else! Reviews (full review)
**** “The creativity that unfolds is exactly what you would expect from this crew and it is utterly engaging and fascinating. Like an amazing Carrollian rabbit hole that drags you into it.” —Gary Chapin, Free Jazz Blog (full review)
“Formanek is a Hubble Telescope of a composer and this is music that peers deeply into cosmic vistas.” —John Chacona (full review)
***1/2 “The performances themselves will be essential listening for fans of the band. Berne sounds far more energized than he does in ECM studio settings, and the quartet’s nuanced performances of Formanek’s byzantine pieces attest to their road-tested rapport.” —Bill Meyer, DownBeat Magazine (full review)
“Among the album highlights is a new version of “Small Places,” which the band quickly abstracts into a thundering roil. Listen especially to how much restless energy Taborn brings to the equation, making any distinction between “solo” and “accompaniment” feel pointless, in the best possible way.” —Nate Chinen, Take Five (full review)
“It was recorded “somewhere in 2014,” and while it has a kind of chamber jazz feel at times, there are some extremely swinging and beautiful pieces, like “Small Places,” which starts out as a repetitive piano trio riff before Berne joins in and yanks the music down a side path. Before long, they’re in full rolling-and-tumbling free jazz mode, with Cleaver and Taborn careening along behind Berne, who’s unleashing almost Pharoah Sanders-worthy roars in between speedy free-bop lines. Formanek is a patient leader, providing a thick pulse for them to come back to, if and when they feel like it. Eventually, they do.” —Phil Freeman, Stereogum Ugly Beauty (full review)
“Formanek and his associates draw lyrical intensity from these modern sonic sculptures. Even when playing live, their deeply explorative musical sense remains effortless.” —Jazz Trail (full review)
“One listen to Pre-Apocalyptic reveals why that group received such kudos. Recorded live ‘somewhere in 2014,’ the disc depicts a band on fire.” —Shanley On Music (full review)
Anna Webber - Rectangles (OOYH U002)
Included in Downbeat Magazine Best Albums of 2020 year-end list as well as Avant Music News Best of 2020: Albums of the Year
**** “After a dizzying free introduction, the musicians give the piece’s asymmetrical groove a marathon workout. They repeat it, speed it up, slow it down, and break it into component phrases, which in turn launch intricate solos and intense, collective improvisations. Once more, the chance to experience the totality of the music’s development overrides any caveats about the audio’s slightly in-the-red sizzle.” —Bill Meyer, DownBeat Magazine (full review)
“…a single, unbroken 35-minute piece with all the fire you could want.” —Nate Chinen, WBGO Take Five (full article)
****1/2 "...it's clear that with sufficient imagination the potential for individual expression within the constraints of the piece is boundless. It's minimalism on steroids. Her band is a tight unit, but still able to effortlessly shift between group improvisation and highly structured notation." —John Sharpe, All About Jazz (full review)
“This quartet recording from Anna Webber not only provides an opportunity to hear one of the top saxophonists on the scene, it also also allows you to witness the ways creative musicians adapt.” —Dave Sumner, Bandcamp Best Jazz July 2020 (full review)
“Tangled but not impenetrable, Rectangles will be available for download at the end of the month. If anything, the rawness of this recording complements and dovetails nicely with Webber’s sense of discipline. Do not hesitate one bit.” —Avant Music News (full review)
“Anna Webber builds a talented band around an idea from years earlier and her deeper dive into that idea is well justified, judging from this galvanized performance.” —S. Victor Aaron, Something Else! (full review)
“Through it all, Webber moves implacably forward, never looking back, making what could have been a forbiddingly intense performance into something raucously alive.” —NYC Jazz Record (full issue)
“The quartet deconstructs and reconstructs this melodic-rhythmic cycle, again and again, suggesting layered variations in a manner that brings to mind the enigmatic compositions of Tim Berne where the composed, melodic parts integrate perfectly with the free-improvised segments.” —Eyal Hareuveni, Salt Peanuts (full review)
Nick Dunston - Atlantic Extraction: Live at Threes (OOYH U001)
Included in Downbeat Magazines Best Albums of 2020 year-end list and Avant Music News Best of 2020: Part I – Honorable Mentions
**** “While it lacks the clarity and dynamic range of Dunston’s debut studio recording, which OOYH released in 2019, it ably presents the musician’s command of his mercurial compositions. The unconventionally configured quintet nimbly shifts among stately chamber melodies, combative free passages, and exhilarating steeplechases.” —Bill Meyer, DownBeat Magazine (full review)
“The performance feels both exacting in its dynamic shifts but loose in terms of spontaneous possibilities, afforded by a group of musicians that are brilliantly locked in and committed to Dunston’s vision. It all feels like a tightrope walk, bristling with tension and reliant upon total concentration. It also doesn’t sound like anything else out there.” —Peter Margasak, The Quietus (full review)
**** “Now, from Out of Your Head’s new imprint Untamed, Dunston has released a live recording, Live At Threes, providing a new and equally enthralling lens to view his compositions. Both [albums] are recommended for readers, whether you’ve heard Atlantic Extraction or not, the two combined form a picture of the first act of what’s sure to be a grand career.” —Lee Rice Epstein, Free Jazz Collective (full review)
“Dunston marshals his resources in a dizzying kaleidoscope of combinations which hint at the diverse backgrounds of the participants in contemporary classical, improv and jazz, but never explicitly settle in one or the other camp. Although the detail can be a little murky on occasion, there's still enough clarity to discern the fertile imagination, formidable musicianship and laser focused intensity at play. What's scripted or spontaneous seems beside the point, as Dunston and crew have created a shape shifting extravaganza which deserves to be heard.” —John Sharpe, All About Jazz (full review)
“As evidenced by the overabundance of inspired ideas/execution/processes on this modestly recorded live date, there is no doubt that Dunston will continue to flourish as a major force in the direction of new music.” Kevin Coultas, In On The Corner (full review)
The MacroQuarktet - The Complete Night: Live at the Stone NYC (OOYH 006)
“Throughout these two spellbinding sets lie myriad layers of rich detail and engrossing interaction. The music is certainly of the cerebral variety, full of textural nuances and rhythmic shifts, but the landscapes they lay bare are feathery, ethereal, and hypnotic. The MacroQuarktet improvise at the highest level of unpredictability and adventure. A sure-fire candidate for best historical release of 2020.” —Brad Cohan, JazzTimes (full review)
**** “The players seemingly never draw from the same well twice, keeping the stream of improvisations flowing. This is one awe-inspiring effort by four masters.” —Mark Corroto, All About Jazz (full review)
“This is an odd record, those that’s not a pejorative…They're not trying to fire anybody up or, refreshingly, are there any gestures meant to manipulate a response. The band makes music of dark beauty, something that they seem to surround and leave for the listener to approach." —George Grella, New York City Jazz Record (full issue)
****1/2 “They explore, they challenge each other. As their band's name suggests, they explore the tiny and go for the big picture, like pointillist paintings conjuring up feelings and imagery from little notes and in-the-moment interaction, moving between dense semi-rhythmic moments to light-textured free phases. It flows and cascades, it erupts and calms down again, in great collective movements of beauty, pristine sonic creation and sounds that are almost made tangible. There are moments of drama full of severe gravity, but also moments of fun.” —Stef Gijssels, Free Jazz Collective (full review)
“…their energy, inventiveness and enthusiasm is on full display.” —Squidco Pick
“Both horn players share the same sense of abandon though their styles differ. Gress and Rainey don’t miss a single cue and stay in sync, especially remarkable considering this is the band’s first gig; there’s a reason why these two are among downtown NYC’s best at what they do.” —Victor Aaron, Something Else! (full review)
“Although both trumpets have much different styles and backgrounds, both are adventurous and work well at finding common ground and exploring together. Lines and ideas are shared and extended, flutters, smears, high-end note-bending eruptions are well-matched by the equally inventive and diverse rhythm team. I vaguely recall being at these sets and recall how much I anticipated before hand and how much I was knocked out by the results. Both sets are outstanding and well worth returning to again.” —Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery (full review)
**** “In a selfless group music, the quartet often breaks down into its constituent permutations. The wonderfully adept rhythmic tandem of Gress and Rainey ensures that the proceedings fall firmly under the free jazz banner, even when the brass players are at their most extreme. Consequently putting the two sessions together gives a fully rounded portrait of the band's capabilities, its constant reinventions, and consummate storytelling.” —John Sharpe, All About Jazz (full review)
“[This recording] recalls some open moments in AACM performances. Later, their chattering horns stop for a smooth transition into Gress' bowed bass. By the second set, the MacroQuarktet was a well-oiled machine. It's now hard to imagine hearing one disc without the other.” —Shanley On Music (full review)
“The short-lived MacroQuarktet played at The Stone as if it was a working band, and as a strong, organic outfit. It is hard to believe that this was the first ever performance ever of this collective. The Complete Night still sounds fresh and invigorating even today.” —Eyal Hareuveni, Salt Peanuts (full review)
“The music is complex and challenging, but never unnecessarily so. The camaraderie that the musicians share, skill at their instruments, and the art and science of improvisation ensures that even the knottiest passages are accessible to the attuned listener.” —Music and More (full review)
“Open, bold abstract forms built by exceptional improvisers and the extraordinary atmosphere of the concert after 13 years still make a huge impression.” —Long Play (full review)
“Very human music that is completely fascinating and relevant. What more can one ask from improvised music?!” —Vital Weekly (full review)
Curt Sydnor - Deep End Shallow (OOYH 005)
Included in Avant Music News Best of 2020: Part I – Honorable Mentions
“Out Of Your Head Records is quickly becoming an “it” label. That trend continues with its newest out-there release: Deep End Shallow by Richmond, Virginia keyboardist and composer Curt Sydnor. A proggy, space-jazz assault…a keyboard-splattered fusion of art-rock, psych, surf, and free jazz. Think Deerhoof meets Sun Ra meets Yonatan Gat.” —Brooklyn Rail (full article)
****1/2 “Purists beware, Deep End Shallow was not made for you. It’s made for reveling in the endless auditory joys found within. It’s made for combing over. For heavy, over-ear noise-cancelling headphones. For skyscraper speakers. For languorous, sweltering days and hazy, late nights. Play it loud. Play it long. Just play it, over and over. Fin.” —Lee Rice Epstein, Free Jazz Collective (full review)
“…a nice sense of balance to everything. This is catalyzed by how the opening sequence serves as the ending sequence as well. In short, it’s absolutely great.” —Everything Is Noise (full article)
“Here and elsewhere, the focus is more on ensemble playing than individual soloing, with the players intent on powering through the tunes like some hellacious, single-minded beast.” —Ron Schepper, Textura (full review)
“Curt Sydnor doesn’t seem to appear to be interested in anything mundane, as Deep End Shallow is about as unusual as you could be without being completely unhinged…one of the most atypical listening experiences of 2020, where psych-jazz and Afrobeat are also part of the inimitable formula.” —Take Effect (full review)
“Curt Sydnor clearly doesn’t want to make the same album twice. Deep End Shallow is absolutely nothing anyone would’ve expected after hearing his debut album, but it fulfills a different expectation – the expectation of a certain level of quality and creative drive. While the album doesn’t have an apparent narrative force behind it, it is aptly animated by the structures that hold it in place and the sonic flow that wobbles its momentum back and forth. Deep End Shallow is a great example of fusion being executed with an experimental mindset in a concise and tempered manner.” —Everything Is Noise (full review)
“Deep End Shallow sometimes has a little bit of that intelligent Kneebody vibe going for it, but with a dirtier sonority. Other times, jazz is nowhere to be found.” —Victor Aaron, Something Else! (full article)
“Deep End Shallow has taken vintage keyboard sounds that were once novel voices used minimally by '80s bands and has given them a serious role in creating progressive music.” —Mike Shanley (full review)
“Deep end Shallow is a fantastic electric ride with a psychedelic finale. A very joyful and convincing album what makes me curious what Sydnor and his companions will be more capable of in the future.” —Vital Weekly (full review)
“The compositions were well designed and thoughtful, bringing the listener back to an important time in the composers life and career, while playing and improvising music that is completely alive and in the moment.” —Music and More (full review)
Nick Dunston - Atlantic Extraction (OOYH 004)
“Long story short: Dunston has made the debut of 2019, and it’s likely that its beauty will resonate for much longer than that.” —Jim Macnie, JazzTimes (full review)
Voted one of the Best Debut Albums in the 2019 NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll (full list)
Best Debut Album of 2019 in the NYC Jazz Record (full list)
Best Debut Album of 2019 by In On The Corner (full list)
Best of 2019 by Free Jazz Collective (full list)
"An ambitious bandleader and composer who’s writing can make his quintet sound like a massive ensemble." —Downbeat Magazine (full preview)
“Nick Dunston's debut as a leader features the unusual instrumental of double bass, drums, electric guitar and flute [and violin] - and his compositions put that configuration to imaginative use." —Daniel Spicer, The Wire Magazine (full review)
****1/2 “Bassist Nick Dunston’s debut, Atlantic Extraction, was a glorious bolt from the blue, the kind of exceptionally performed album you can turn over in your mind repeatedly, reflecting on its many angles and perspectives.” —Lee Rice Epstein, Free Jazz Collective (full review)
“Dunston’s music immerses the listeners in a world of ambiguity, scoring big with the aggregation of both written and spontaneous ideas. Atlantic Extraction is a wonderful debut from a qualified young bass player from whom we expect even more in the future.” —JazzTrail (full review)
“Most impressive and unexpected.” “This disc is a breath of fresh air from the upcoming Downtown New Music Scene.” —Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery (full review)
“In production terms, he opts for rawness over polish, the focus more on process and spontaneity than note-perfect through-composition. Apparently, some pieces were written years ago, whereas others were birthed in the studio minutes before recording. That he adopted such a bold approach for his debut as a leader says much about the artistic personality involved.” —Ron Schepper, Textura (full review)
“It isn’t just the distinctive instrumentation, crisply plotted compositions and spanning of genres, it’s the substance underpinning it all. Dunston gives full realization to charts sounding both like nothing else and fully formed…” —NYC Jazz Record (full review)
“A sophisticated album of concisely fascinating compositions.” —Squidco
“This entire album is evidence of someone who grew up with big ears. It is not just songs from outside of jazz which are then “jazzed” up nor is it outside of genre stylings Frankensteined on.” —Maxwell Chandler, Our Man On The Coast (full review)
“Notes and sounds reflect and refract like inside a funhouse full of mirrors…” Tim Niland, Music and More (full review)
“An extraordinary and impressive debut from a new exponent of the New York avant-garde scene. Surely a name to watch! Very nice to see this one released on Out Of Your Head Records, the small label of Adam Hopkins who operates in similar comparable musical territories.” —Vital Weekly (full review)
Michaël Attias - échos la nuit (OOYH 003)
Honorable mention for Album of the Year in the NYC Jazz Record 2019 (full list)
“This is music of deep inquiry and patient exposition. It has the air of a soul-baring even as Attias keeps his cards close to his vest.” —Nate Chinen, WBGO Take Five (full article)
“Hearing these 12 tracks is like inspecting the mysterious line drawings of a beloved artist. Sometimes you’ll almost discern the contour of a landscape or the dark shading of a limb, but ultimately the shapes all drift back into a desolate, spacious abstraction.” —Giovanni Russonello, New York Times (full article)
“With a sound that gives off an after-hours feel and a command of his instrument that is both majestic and gritty…Completely improvised, Échos la Nuit is a one-man show of the highest order.” —Brad Cohan, JazzTimes (full review)
"This feels like an album which should inspire poetry, rather than a review. Michaël Attias’ first solo album is an incredibly beautiful, patient, delicately unfurling recording, an intimate duo for alto saxophone and piano played by one person simultaneously…it deepens my respect [for Michaël] even further, one of the most beautiful and unusual new albums I’ve heard in a long time." —Olie Brice, London Jazz News (full review)
“Spare, haunting, and meditative. Attias is cerebral in the best sense, a strong improviser and interesting composer." —The Wire (full review)
“Although this record doesn’t remotely offer any hint of Attias’ formidable chops, it may be the most vivid album he’s ever made.” —Lucid Culture/New York Music Daily (full review)
“Listening to this album was such an oddity. Each track feels like looking at perplexing pictures whose thin focus is on the closest object while the background keeps immersed in obscurity. Indistinctness means forever open and this very personal album is beyond style.” —JazzTrail (full review)
“You have to adjust to the minimal nature of things here, every note and silence has meaning or feeling which is palpable. A utterly sublime effort that is more than a little haunting.” —Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery (full review)
“The best recordings solicit multiple listens, each time offering up some new little gift. With the music which has become most compelling to me, I can not listen to any album at any time (Kind of Blue being the exception to the rule). However, when the situation is right, the correct music being played is a joy. This album is a new favorite to which I will find myself going back to when I need what it offers. Always the right music for the right time.” —Maxwell Chandler, Our Man On The Coast (full review)
“…the clarity of an ECM recording and an emotional pull that keeps one returning to these songs time and again with renewed wonder.” Richard Kamins, Step Tempest (full review)
“For all the music's minimalist qualities, it is complex beneath the surface and best rewards careful listening.” —Karl Ackermann, All About Jazz (full review)
“This album would have been very impressive from a duo, but considering it came from one person it is remarkable. Attias draws on many threads from classical music to jazz and free improvisation, melding them creatively to create an album that is fresh and unique.” —Tim Niland, Music and More (full review)
“…a deep meditation on extended breathing techniques where every touch of the sax key and every blow is a decisive one.” —Eyal Hareuveni, Free Jazz Collective (full review)
“Attias is beyond adept at taking a phrase and slowly developing it into a pure experience. The one-two punch that is “Circles” and “Rue Oberkampf” are perfect examples; both use time, space and extended techniques to explore what a solo saxophone is truly capable of achieving.” —NYC Jazz Record
“Attias shows dexterity and ease when playing both instruments together. If things sound rigid, the music calls for it, not for lack of ideas…even if he forgoes the piano and gets introspective or stuck on an idea (the repetitive "Rue Oberkampf" is based on his studies of the Schillinger Technique), he adds something to the music to keep it from merely sounding like an exercise and gives it a proper payoff.” —Mike Shanley
“A wonderful nuanced reflection in tone, melody & color.” —Squidco
Trinité previewed by S. Victor Aaron in Something Else! Reviews
Dustin Carlson - Air Ceremony (OOYH 002)
One of the Top 20 Best Albums of 2018 by Jazz Right Now (full list)
“Amongst the most promising and inventive discs I’ve heard from under-recognized members of the current Downtown network. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery (full review)
“In Air Ceremony we find delirium and ecstasy, avant-garde and noise rock, Henry Threadgill and space jazz but above all so much Dustin Carlson, a musician to be followed carefully.” (translated) —All About Jazz Italia (full review)
“Sophisticated, intricate, lyrical and compelling compositions driving the enthusiasm and exuberance of their ceremony!” —Squidco
“Take late 80s Tim Berne circa 'Fulton St. Maul', combine with the propulsive machines from 'Red'-era King Crimson and leaven with a substantial dose of good old-fashioned free jazz, a pinch of Threadgill and a dash of thrash and you are in the ballpark.” “The band is tight, Carlson's able guitar work tending to lead the way through the juicy throb. This will be right up the alley of many.” —Just Outside (full review)
“The album as a whole is filled with music that never fully grounds itself and never really feels like it needs to. Where this kind of music lives is in the space around you, floating and fleeting.” —Jazz Right Now (full review)
**** “Throughout Air Ceremony you can tell these are performers who love to improvise together.” —Audiofile Audition (full review)
“Carlson offers a new, angular voice on this septet record as he ranges from classical-style solo pieces to noisy and textural group rave ups.” —Guitar Moderne (full review)
Adam Hopkins - Crickets (OOYH 001)
“Mixing jazz sophistication with punk agression, bassist and label owner Adam Hopkins makes a striking debut.” —JazzTimes (full article)
CRICKETS was ranked as the #2 Best Debut Album in the 2018 NPR Jazz Critics Poll.
Best Debut Album of 2018 by El Intruso, Music and More, NYC Jazz Record, JazzdaGama, Jazz Trail, and Stalker 21.
Best of 2018 on Avant Music News (full list), One of the Top 20 Best Albums of 2018 by Jazz Right Now (full list), Best of 2018 (Jazz/Fusion) on Something Else! (full list)
“While seemingly an incompatible musical proposition, Crickets works on practically any level, announcing Hopkins’ OOYH label as the one to watch.” —Beat Media (full review)
“Crickets introduces Adam Hopkins as one of the few talents with the vision to make jazz directed at the current and future generations, not the past ones.” —S. Victor Aaron, Something Else! (full review)
“…compelling and unconventional jazz compositions juxtaposed with blowouts. This is a singular release and hopefully the first of many from Hopkins.” —Avant Music News (full review)
“There is something different going on here than the usual Downtown noise/improv.” —Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery (full review)
**** “From the opening circular melody of “They Can Swim Backwards but Sometimes Choose Not To” built upon a deadly groove to the distorted madness of “Scissorhands,” the band plays with forceful conviction, shattering ear drums and taking no prisoners.” —David Menestres, Free Jazz Collective (full review)
**** "Hopkins’ debut unpacks a thrill-a-minute suite rooted in grunge, indie, and punk.” —MOJO Magazine
“Hopkins employs adroit compositional strategies throughout the recording, aiming at an inviting hybridity, which he has all the reasons to be proud of. This is a wonderful start for him as a leader.” —JazzTrail (full review)
“Creative and inspired by punk rock energy, there's a lot of cool things going on here well worth taking notice of. An accomplished debut…it's obvious great things lie ahead.” —Midwest Record (full review)
“Exploding with a diversity of musical ideas…music that lives from contrasts that are well aimed by Hopkins’ musical vision.” —Vital Weekly (full review)
“It’s heartening to see the DIY spirit of yesteryear alive and well as we do on Crickets.” —In On The Corner (full review)
“An enthusiastic, and technically brilliant album.” —Squidco
“If you like your jazz forward-looking, seasoned with fractious horns and head-bobbing beats, this fits the bill nicely.” —NYC Jazz Record (full review)
“…the improvisation is clamorous and full of life and joyous noise.” —Music and More (full review)
“Mudball, the first single from the album, is a sombre and riveting composition, driven by its entrancing bassline and emblazed by a multi-layered melody highlighting the restlessness and the brashness of the saxophone trio at the forefront. The piece meticulously builds, bobbing and weaving on a path to destruction, only to be dismantled and disassembled into the organized chaos and cacophony of an extended and abstract improvisation led by the horn of Webber.” —Nextbop.com (full article)