LittleGLOBE.org | Chris Jonas PRESS QUOTES

Chris Jonas’ remarkable composed suites [are] subtle breakthroughs and fantastic journeys.
--Ann Powers, The New York Times 6/2001

In the midst of well-deserved critical acclaim... One of the premiere stylists on his instrument.
--Derek Taylor (Musings), 2000

Jonas constantly inverts foreground and background activity, crafts lovely and unusual color combinations and uses written material to instigate improvised stuff... Although bold improvisation is a big part of this group, it is Jonas’ imaginative, provocative compositions and arrangements that really stick out and make him one to watch.
--Peter Margasak, Jazz Times, 2000

A deeply nuanced world -- Jonas crafts a richly expansive sound that stresses subtle timbral shadings and tersely composed phrases punctuated by sudden bursts of flavorful improvisation... Distinctive, accessible, simple and achingly beautiful.
--Michael Kremer, Jazziz, 2001

Jonas' [has] evidently assimilated the best qualities of two of the musicians he's worked with: Anthony Braxton (flexibility and a sense of surprise in compositional structure) and Cecil Taylor (clear, consistent and insistent presentation of a defined pitch universe). The music, without ever swinging, propels itself forward by the accretion of melodic and rhythmic building blocks, in a manner closer to contemporary classical music than to jazz (whatever "jazz" means these days): the crystalline serialism of late Stravinsky haunts the intricate canons of "Prosperity" and the chorales of "Betta", while the wilder passages ("Ottoman", with its athletic pianism and wailing trombones) recall Xenakis' "Eonta" (with better pitches). Jonas neither hogs centrestage nor overdoes the extended techniques, but leaves plenty of room for the music to develop. Consistent, thought-provoking and totally satisfying.
--Dan Warburton, Paris Transatlantic Magazine, 2001