“...drinking from deep clear sufi wells and ascending to dolphynian heights of sensorial grooving bliss.... new original
compositions from ancient pages, many books of one writer, Tomchess.”
-Charles blass, WKCR, Live Constructions.
"...a buoyant frontline attack, accelerated by sinuous time signatures via linearly designed unison phrasings....Here, the
power of music offers a boost to one’s spiritual health, which is an insinuating notion that parallels the highly entertaining
groove-focused aspects of this largely euphoric encounter."
-Glenn Astarita, All About Jazz (review Tomchess & The Lovedogs-In The Beautiful Future)
"...Starting with "Oud Taksim On:" Tom's powerful oud is featured playing a long, exotic and enchanting opening
unaccompanied solo in a raga-like fashion. Tomchess is obviously a virtuoso on the oud and takes a number of
outstanding solos on this great double disc set. Tom's ensemble is featured on "19 Times in 17 Years" and sound great,
blending cultures, ancient and modern into an enticing multi-ethnic sound. The midsection of this piece features both
percussionists together, on tabla and frame drum, they sound perfect together playing interlocking rhythms, bouncing
ideas back and forth. When the trumpet and contrabass come in, it gets even better. Tom takes another superb oud solo
bringing up the level of intrigue even further. Another thing that Tom does well is looping exotic and eerie sounds, like he
does on the fascinating "Two Paths." While Tom takes a haunting ney solo, he loops a handful of strange sounds into a
mesmerizing blend that is most riveting to behold. Both discs here are consistently enchanting on a number of levels. The
great cover of Ornette Coleman's "Peace Warriors" is especially inspired.
-Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery (Review Tomchess & The Lovedogs-In The Beautiful Future)
"...Trombonist Ryan Snow and Chess engage in a horde of bustling, supple and spiraling dialogues as they often
accentuate a given theme, firmed up by bassist Will McEvoy, and percussionist Dan Kurfirst's crafty world-beat grooves.
Chess is a superfine improviser with total command of his instrument...Chess leads the group through a buoyant
assortment of song-forms and occasionally treks into the avant-garde domain, as they sustain a high level of interest
amid a suspenseful sequence of progressions.... They also mix it up in a jazzy sort of way. Indeed, this is one of those
magical efforts, teeming with striking comps and the artists' superlative technical expertise. They hit all the right spots
while kicking out the proverbial jams via a fresh slant that yields gratifying results. " 4.5 stars.
-Glenn Astarita, All About Jazz. -(Review Tomchess-Momentarily Endless)
www.allaboutjazz.com/momentarily-endless-tom-chess-foot-jumbo-records-review-by-glenn-astarita.php
"...The rhythm team often whip up a storm, spinning quick, tight lines together while the oud or ney burn profusely on top.
I find this music to be both exotic, intoxicating and intense. The oud is especially well recorded here, warm, expanding
and continually vibrating. Tomchess is a virtuosic player, whether playing solo or with a duo, trio or quartet. His solo
piece, “Oud Taksim Coverage” is extraordinary and shows him a force to be reckoned with." - Bruce Lee Gallanter,
Downtown Music Gallery (Review Tomchess-Momentarily Endless)
"...The gorgeous melding of their instruments can be heard throughout and, while tones can easily change from smooth
to barbed, the intensities keep ranging according to their whims.
“If Going Again” opens the record by probing experimental ways that are also very communicative. ....“Liberation of the
Mirror”, where shades of light and dark coexist. Swanson sets the mood...while Tomchess (playing Oud), in certain
passages....evokes the eloquence of flamenco through flurries of notes sequenced with chromatic invention.
However, my favorite pieces are “Tapestry of Evidence”, where the duo drops down into a dark shimmer before leading
their instruments into a contrapuntal dance, and the title cut, a flexible conjugation of Eastern classical moods where the
musicians alternate roles as the leading voice and accompanist. Amidst pensive reflections and racing progressions, there
are well-defined cadences.....each piece reflects the enthusiasm of these musicians for improvisation and free form. The
nearly 19-minute “The Innocent River” is more cinematic and no less tense either.
Tomchess (also) plays Ney, as well as morsing, an instrument commonly associated with Carnatic Indian music. Vocals
are also added as a percussive element.
Ney also appears at the center of “Wilderness Harmony”, where Tomchess takes the bulk of the lead by throwing
beseeching chants. Yet, Swanson’s woody bass plucks stand out, complemented with feathery harmonics, robust two-
note intervals, and keening arco laments.
...totally rideable for lovers of improvised music and alternative sonorities.
-Jazztrails, NYC (Review of Tomchess & Zach Swanson-Ghost Narratives)
https://jazztrail.net/blog/tomchess-zach-swanson-ghost-narratives-album-review
"...I dig the way both of these musicians move together, their lines of notes flowing in a most mesmerizing way. Each solo
by Tom, tells a story and takes us along with him to exotic places. Superb, at times sublime and always engaging."
-Bruce Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery, nyc (review of Tomchess & Ravi Padmanabha-Continuance)
"...Tomchess’s trio is captured with great care, blending the ancient and the modern, various cultures into one righteous,
uplifting blend. The erhu or zonghu might just be what sounds like chanting voices, no actual words but most haunting
nonetheless. “Oud Taksim-Tiger in the Smoke” is another incredible solo for the oud, telling a tale with lightning flash
runs peppered throughout...Each of the seven pieces evokes a different middle East/far East vibe with consistently strong
solos from the oud, ney, erhu or zonghu. On “Between Earth and Sky”, the oud and frame drum are locked into one
groove while the Chinese string thing dances or weaves like a ghost in the background, a bit of echo adds an eerie,
ghost-like vibe to the ancient strings. Mr. Chess plays what sounds like a hammered dulcimer on “Sacred Time”, which
might be the paracho, a handmade Mexican instrument. This disc concludes with “Ney Taksim-In The Forest of Night” a
long, almost prayer-like solo piece for the ney, which is filled with several layers vibrations: sorrow, joy, fragility, strength,
religious-sounding reverence, the soft winds blowing through the desert… a great way to bring our journey to a humble
conclusion...Tomchess...in a class of his own."-Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery (Review of Tomchess-
Secret Key Sun Heart Wing Ear Sky {with MImi Jong & Dan Kurfirst})
"Stunning Wonder
Exquisite mystery
Uncanny yet kind
Unfolding Magic of Knowing
The Key to the Heart of the Sun
Through Sky on Winged Ears
Dancing Embers of Embryonic Glowing
Tones of Sowing Love in Fertile Soul
Unsoiled, Unspoiled, Always Majestic
Upright, Light
Right, Lively, Life
The green team in your dream
Has the rhetoric to make it seem
They are the machine to break
the cycle of hate
To realize the dream of going beyond the rhetoric
Between the words into true action
Pure and positive at large
Dig within to the sound at the center
Enter the sky
Through the heart
Through the art
The key is the ear
Hear without fear
Frayed like jeans well worn
Hair unshorn
Defrayed tears unborn
Reaching, searching for soundness
In the soundscape
Scintillating among the stars
Escape to reality
Listening"
- Charles Blass, Lovolution International
A beautiful 'review' of Tomchess-Secret Key Sun Heart Wing Ear Sky
www.lovevolv.org/2016/05/tom-chess-secret-key-sun-heart-wing-ear.html#!/2016/05/tom-chess-secret-key-sun-
heart-wing-ear.html
Tomchess is one of the most fascinating oud players on the scene. His astonishing technique, combined with a real poetic
sensitivity and instinctive sympathetic vision of the music constantly conjures unpredictable musical delights. He exudes
a vibe of a master who is unconcerned with the trappings of spectacle and showmanship, and concentrates on perfecting
his art.-DBDBD, NYC Arts and Culture magazine. (Review of Tomchess & Bandit Hat Trio performance @Spectrum, NYC)
"...one senses that this will not be an ordinary musical journey....the sound is bold...it feels as if you’re witnessing the kind
of genius often celebrated in the works of John Williams, John McLaughlin, or Ali Akbar Khan. You feel proud to be alive,
fortunate to hear something as beautiful as this..it may suggest that as musicians (a/k/a "the dreamers of the dream"),
they are the ones who may find a way to bring peace on a hateful planet. "
-John Book-The Run-Off Groove (Review of Tomchess & The Lovedogs-In The Beautiful Future)
"...Tom’s powerful oud is featured playing a long, exotic and enchanting opening unaccompanied solo in a raga-like
fashion. Tom Chess is obviously a virtuoso on the oud and takes a number of outstanding solos on this great double disc
set. Tom’s ensemble is featured on "19 Times in 17 Years" and sound great, blending cultures, ancient and modern into
an enticing multi-ethnic sound...Another thing that Tom does well is looping exotic and eerie sounds, like he does on the
fascinating "Two Paths." While Tom takes a haunting ney solo, he loops a handful of strange sounds into a mesmerizing
blend that is most riveting to behold... Both discs here are consistently enchanting on a number of levels. ...The great
cover of Ornette Coleman’s "Peace Warriors" is especially inspired."
-Bruce Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery, NYC (Review of Tomchess & The Lovedogs-In The Beautiful Future)
A Beautiful interpretation of exactly what music is: genuine and honest and seeking to connect with all things. Like the
universe itself, There exists in this music a paradox of Peace and Urgency. Match that with the instruments and Timbre's
Mr. Chess plays and it is a profound sound poem for today.
-Frankie DiDonato, NYC public school music teacher.
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