RECORDINGS

 

PRESS

for Out Of The Hole

“Special features of this unusual ensemble: permanent harmonic-rhythmic refinement, delicate phrasing and electrifying movements - both in collective play and in the solo parts. The tracks are pervaded by a stimulating  inner tension, they form a cosmos of energetic, overtone-rich vibes. And then "Stella by Starlight", the only third-party composition on the album: Melancholy, nihilism, alienation as an experience of modernity mercilessly transform and deconstruct the popular standard. Masterful!" – Udo Andris, Badische Zeitung

for Cluster Swerve

****, Downbeat Magazine

"From track to track there is a consistent sense of rumination, where every intervallic brushstroke feels like the work of a painter meticulously applying and manipulating his medium to the canvas. But that movement comes within a matrix of lines sculpted by his ensemble, which achieves a sublime level of interaction." – Peter Margasak

****, All About Jazz

“ . . . a slanted spin on Americana . . . No doubt, Kaplan's provocative compositional pen and the musicians' telepathic communications only add to the intriguing storylines and multifarious frameworks exercised throughout. – Glenn Astaria

****, Free Jazz Blog

As Kaplan picked up the pace, his dark tone filled in the remaining space between his taut microtonal phrases. Moving in a blur of melody and motion, he pushed the sound further and further . . . a Kinetic swirling of sound” – Paul Acquaro

Additional Selected Press

“Kaplan is an uncanny combination of the cerebral and the impassioned, exploring precise microtones amid lines of turbulent and elemental power.”
— Stuart Broomer, The New York City Jazz Record

“He romances the sound of his saxophone like no other player.”
— Raul D’Gama Rose, All About Jazz

“High-points were . . . Kaplan’s operatic microtonalism.”
— Tom Greenland, The New York City Jazz Record

“Noah Kaplan Quartet ‘Descendants’ is a tour de force of naked, off the hook, formidable free jazz.  Those who are in tune with this music, and understand the talent, imaginative horse power and commitment required to play it, will never get enough of this CD.”
– C.J. Bond, Jazz Music

“Such is Kaplan’s devout love of his craft . . . his playing is notable for its stylistic reach.  Kaplan explores history through supple illusion rather than explicit evocation.”
— The Wire

“Quite the auspicious debut . . . one that is quite impossible not to be entranced by.”
— Mark Corroto, All About Jazz

“A stellar young tenor saxophonist . . . excellent.”
— Thom Jurek, Image Journal

“Kaplan keeps things imbued with a strange and intoxicating weightlessness”
— Derek Taylor’s Best of 2011, Dusted Magazine

“A marker at the edge of western tonality”
— Cormac Larkin, The Irish Times