"A wholly satisfying musical experience, Frazier and the band create a complex labyrinth of textures and sounds... This disc offers a brilliantly innovative musical perspective and one surely benefits from repeated listens as there are so many layers of elements that reveal themselves at different times throughout. The Colter Frazier Quartet features a great ensemble of talented musicians and [is a] truly inspired compositional and musical adventure." -JazzReview.com
"Colter Frazier has put together a startlingly original and polished record of brilliant postmodern jazz... Taken as a whole, the record is among the most mature and beautiful jazz debuts in recent memory, and it ought to propel Frazier into the international limelight as both a player and a composer." -Santa Barbara Independent
"...an intriguing set of originals that seamlessly fuse chamber music, free jazz, minimalism and Eastern folk music traditions into a cohesive whole. A tasteful and inventive composer, Frazier's writing tends toward the chamber-esque, with periodic interludes of turbulence and rousing rhythmic activity. He generates a kaleidoscopic array of textures and tones from his string heavy ensemble... The ensemble's empathetic interpretations of Frazier's opulent tunes reveal a symbiotic rapport. Individual solo statements are effortlessly integrated into the overall fabric of each piece as communal expressions...
"Frazier's mastery of the tenor saxophone encompasses a vast range, from hushed overtones to coruscating multiphonics. His aesthetic inclinations are subservient to his compositional goals however; although capable of extreme dynamics, he is no mere pyrotechnician. Alternating soaring unison lines and thorny contrapuntal themes with Coventry, the pair veers from songbird like harmonies to terse sinewy lines fraught with dramatic dissonance. Jay and Wallace eschew predictable swing in favor of inspired polyrhythms and colorful textural accents to support Frazier's multi-layered pieces... Frazier avoids conventional strategies for improvisation in his heady compositions, focusing his thematically direct works towards specific goals...
"Arriving fully formed with a singular artistic focus, the Colter Frazier Quartet is a stunning debut, worthy of the highest praise." -AllAboutJazz.com
"Frazier composes his lines with some thought, avoiding the expected. He's not playing Bop but there is some kind of distilled Sonny Rollins extract present." -Cadence
"...somber, organic and quietly haunting... lovely, lyrical and softly soulful." -DowntownMusicGallery.com
"...possesses musical challenges and intrigue at every turn." -Exclaim!
"...tight and unpredictable...and yet strangely calming and provocative." -Babysue.com
"I am totally digging the new Colter Frazier. This kind of material gives jazz a good name. Excellent tunes and playing, first rate production. Outstanding! ... No matter what they say, jazz ain't dead yet." -Don Campau, KKUP 91.5FM