...of Nick's Tricks
This CD is a winner from the opening moment of track one all
the way through track 11... Nick's originally from Chicago and
I can almost taste liquid jazz/blooz drippin' from those
strings. Very high energy playing thoughout...this gets our
highest rating, Most highly recommended...
-- Dick Metcalf, Improvijazzation Nation
Nicholas proves to be not only an accomplished guitarist
but a session leader who knows how to share the groove.
The fact that Nick has packed 11 beautifully performed tracks
into one CD is a 'trick' in itself...
-- Jazz Now, Oakland CA
...Hoffman shows a good deal of inventiveness...he really
digs in...I’m for it!
-- Larry Smith, WBEZ, Chicago IL
...warm, very liquid smooth Johnnny Smith-like guitar work as
Hoffman takes over, swinging like crazy...This is skilled warm
swing, concise. Very enjoyable, swinging set of tunes...
-- Chris Lunn, Victory Review
Hoffman’s intelligent phrasing and warm sound make this well-recorded
set of straight-ahead jazz a thoroughly enjoyable debut effort. And it
swings!...Fans of modern jazz guitar and lovers of good music will
not be disappointed by this disc.
-- Randy Smith, Kansai Time Out, Kobe, Japan
...a fine new CD...
-- Jim Wilke, KPLU, Seattle WA
Nick Hoffman is a first class guitarist. Very clean attack and
very musical all the way.
-- John McDonough, Downbeat Correspondent
...an adroit player...tastefully done...a generally pleasant
and full-bodied concoction...
-- Stuart Broomer, Cadence
...of Jazzy's Dance
Regardless of the tune or tempo, Hoffman's guitar
stays clean and refreshing; there's no heavy smearing in his technique.
This album is a marriage between guitar and organ that everyone can enjoy.
Recommended.
-- David Nathan, All Music Guide
I love it!
-- Luis Carlos Pavan, Radio Cultura, São Paulo, Brazil
...a truly magnificent effort.
-- Pete Fallico, KUSP, Santa Cruz CA
Voila un combo dans la plus digne tradition des quartettes a orgue des
annees 1960. Dirige par Nicholas Hoffman, guitariste originaire de
Chicago, ce groupe tisse un filet soyeux d'une musique douce,
reverencieuse et juste. Pas de surprise, certes, mais Joey DeFrancesco
et Dave Mathews, qui se relaient derriere l'orgue Hammond B3, ouvrent
un espace propice a de belles improvisations, sur "Silly Wabbit", "Blues
in the Closet" et "Backup" de Larry Young notamment. Le saxophoniste
tenor Hadley Caliman est a l'aise dans cet univers codifie dont il semble
avoir largement digere les lecons. Une atmosphere de plaisir plane sur
cette session, comme si le reflux d'une onde positive venait nous caresser
les oreilles dans le bon sens. Ce qui, dans de bonnes conditions, s'avere
un bol d'air frais inattendu mais sacrement utile! Cette musique aura au
moins trouve sa raison d'etre et illustre l'univers du guitariste leader
aujourd'hui base en Californie. A l'entendre, la vie doit y etre paisible
et charmante.
-- Gulliame Bregeras, So What, Paris, France
Two more undercover discs I admire are Nicholas Hoffman's Jazzy's Dance
and Nu Soul Zodiac by Gold Sparkle Band... the leader is shrewd enough
to take his time and build orderly solos; the backbeat cuts—-Willie Dixon's
"My Babe," Larry Young's "Backup"—-are most effective.
-- Gary Giddins, The Village Voice
Hoffman plays with clarity, instilling each of the selections with
robust spirit to make what could have been an ordinary outing an uplifting
one. He adds zeal to each cut, transforming them into toe-tapping exercises.
-- Frank Rubolino, Cadence
...this admirable, enjoyable 60 minutes of jazz-making.
-- Kevin Henriques, Jazz Journal International
...As good as that earlier disc (Nick's Tricks) was,
this one is even better. From the opening notes of of the briskly
played standard "This Can't Be Love" to the reflective treatment
of Horace Silver's serene "Peace" which closes the album, Jazzy's
Dance is a winner... Securing the services of Hammond B3 whiz Joey
DeFrancesco rates as Hoffman's greatest coup for this current project.
One of today's undisputed master of jazz organ, DeFrancesco's solos on
four tracks are nothing short of miraculous.
-- Randy Smith, Kansai Time Out, Kobe, Japan
No less a person than Joey DeFrancesco joins this quartet to give his
impressions about fantastic organ jazz.
What takes us by surprise is the wonderful playing of the organ player
Dave Mathews. His organ is vital, at the same time with a deep feeling.
-- Jürgen Wolf,
The International Archives for the Jazz Organ (IAJO)
...of Blues for Eddie
Guitarist Hoffman is thoroughly committed to a blues-infested bop
style of playing. His style
is fluid and smooth with just enough musical "grease" to always keep
things interesting. His first two albums are excellent and he again
delivers on this recording.
-- Joe Barth,
Just Jazz Guitar
Hoffman's cleanly conceived, singing ideas will appeal to anyone who
enjoys the best of post-bop guitar, while 'underground' tenor legend Caliman
(one-time neighbour of Dexter Gordon in Los Angeles)
contributes lines of measured authority and weight, thoughout.
-- Michael Tucker,
Jazz Journal International
...of Fangs
High energy, high quality Puget Sound jazz...
There's enough of a "working band" feel for intimacy in the back line, and
plenty of front-line fire. What can't Nick do well, very well, from blending
with the B-3 to his bluesy and freer form solos? I most liked him in both
modes on the title track, Fangs, his composition. Dumas is a young
multi-instrumentalist whose Hammond sings and rocks, combo and solo. Caliman... just
keeps the good music coming and contributes his own fine ballad... Hammon
brings a harder saxophone sound, perhaps the road warrior's legacy... Jud's drums
anchor the back line...
-- Milt Krieger,
Entertainment News Northwest
|