Jazz Articles about Michael O'Brien

About Michael O'Brien

Album Review

Jon Gold: Things Are Looking Up

Read "Things Are Looking Up" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
May 8, 2026

On Things Are Looking Up, California-bred pianist and composer Jon Gold uses a dozen able musicians in groups of various sizes from duo to quintet to add color and spice to his generally harmonic and accessible post-bop themes. Four of these themes are tributes to those who have influenced Gold musically or personally, and the album opens with one: a quintet reading of the “For Rudy van Gelder," with sometimes strident solos by tenor saxophonist Kevon Scott and ...

Album Review

Allyson Briggs: Promises, Promises and Raindrops

Read "Promises, Promises and Raindrops" reviewed by Richard J Salvucci

by Richard J Salvucci
January 16, 2025

Allyson Briggs describes herself as an “old soul" who connected almost instinctively to the music of the 1970s. Her models are Tony Bennett and Ella Fitzgerald, bearers of a very different musical culture than what is currently on offer. She is part of a different era, of not exactly big band singers, but of the sort that emerged from that scene. Her work is tasteful, swinging and familiar in a good way. A kind of quintessential New York club singer, ...

Album Review

Jason Vitelli: Head Above Tide

Read "Head Above Tide" reviewed by Paul Naser

by Paul Naser
April 28, 2018

New York-based artist Jason Vitelli should be highly commended for his efforts at blending songwriting with interesting musical forms and arrangements (think Steely Dan), a sound that is too often avoided. Rooted in his experience as a composer for film, Vitelli's music often has a theatrical sound. His baritone voice set against the sparse production recalls a musical theater production on more than one occasion. His third full-length release, Head Above Tide, explores many styles. From reggae to ...