“The Turning Gate is another intelligent post-modern gem that swings effortlessly as it incites with smart compositions, thoughtful arrangements and dazzling solos.”
--Bill Milkowski The Absolute Sound
“Like all the truly great jazz bands of the past, the New Jazz Composers Octet can turn on a dime from the sound of a roaring big band, breathtaking in its super-train precision, to a profusion of satisfying smaller units. The chemistry here, in mellower moments, recalls the Village Vanguard groups anchored by Mel Lewis and fronted by Thad Jones. Let one of NJCO’s reedmen stand up behind the mic—Jimmy Greene on soprano or tenor, Myron Walden on alto, or Norbert Stachel on bari —and the room is suddenly edgy, savage and wild.
"Bandleader-trumpeter David Weiss shepherds the overall chemistry brilliantly and is one of the cooler voices counterbalancing the thrilling cacophony"
-Perry Tannenbaum JazzTimes
“The sheer number of hours spent writing, arranging, and playing material has strengthened this fresh ensemble into a superior example of jazz excellence.
"Onward" points to new directions with a stunning arrangement of harmonic voices, majestic and mysterious. Walden's turn on flute is astonishing here, while the whole band develops a breath-like momentum throughout the piece"
“The Turning Gate marks a high point in 21st century acoustic jazz. The NJCO's soulful artistry and memorable compositions reveal subtle yet significant shifts in the ongoing evolution of the tradition.”
-Greg Camphire All About Jazz
“This is some bad ass modern hard bop that swings hard and unrepentantly. It’s loaded with the delightfully mad kind of jazz that shows the form is alive and well, looking forward with all deliberate speed. Hot stuff.”
-Midwest Record Recap
“The five horns sound more like fifteen at times, with an astonishing breadth and depth and warmth. Weiss’ 10 minute title piece is brilliantly orchestrated.
“The NJCO breaks quite a few boundaries and isn’t afraid to move the musical goalposts. An important contribution to progress.”
-Tony Hall Jazzwise Magazine
“Things move in an aggressive swing direction behind Jimmy Greene’s solo, a tour-de-force of angst and power.”
“The harmonic shadings in the music are beautiful and David Weiss contributes some trumpet soloing that could melt your heart.”
“Twilight” is a wonder of harmonic beauty with a superb blend and balance between the rhythm section and the horns.”
“A program of great compositional integrity and artistry.”
- Dan Bilawsky Jazz Improv Magazine
"Now with The Mirror, he demonstrates that Breathing Room was no fluke as he serves up a programme marking him as one of the more cerebral yet visceral writers to arise in recent years. With an album that is heady in both senses of the wordintelligent and exhilarating. Weiss emerges as one of the finest artists to mine the post bop arena, with an ability to develop longer-form composition that is clearly indebted to Wayne Shorter. Not since Dave Douglas rose to prominence in the mid-'90s has a trumpet player come along with such a perfect combination of technical prowess, unerring instinct for captivating melody, harmony and counterpoint, and sheer emotional force. A masterpiece by any definition, The Mirror deserves a place high in most listeners' top ten lists for '04 for its ability to engage more than just the ears; Weiss' compositions are remarkably visual as well".
- John Kelman, All About Jazz Read the complete review HERE.
"The compositions and especially the colourful, warm, often pedal-point punctuated arrangements show how rapidly Weiss is maturing. His writing may well be initially inspired by what Wayne Shorter was doing for Miles in the mid '60s, but it is totally contemporary in its expansion of that era's unfinished business. And his two scores for the larger line-up are exceptional. The outstanding work on this album is The Mirror which he dedicates to Tarkovsky. The emotional depth of the scoring and the solos make it really something special. So is the whole album. Watch for Weiss. He's a major new talent. One of my 2004 Top Three CDs".
- Tony Hall, JazzWise Magazine
"Weiss writes tunes with evocative melodic ambivalence and veering surprises and hovering pedal points and metrical asymmetry, all qualities associated with the sensibility that Wayne Shorter brought to jazz. But Weiss does not repeat it, he expands upon it"
- Thomas Conrad, Downbeat Magazine
"Wayne Shorter's influence may be apparent in the charts and Freddie Hubbard's in the playing, but Weiss' craftsmanship and individuality in both areas lift his music out of retrograde movement. It is an indicator of his skill that his five compositions complement the Shorter compositions on the album. Weiss' writing suggests that a major composer/arranger may be developing"
- Doug Ramsey, Jazz Times Magazine
"Rather than re-creating the music of the artists he respects, as, say, The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra does, Weiss combines the hard-bop vocabulary he loves with his own ideas for an updating of the music. With too few small groups working from tightly arranged music, not to mention from new difficult-to-play compositions, Weiss' sextet deserves attention for the opportunity to enjoy too-seldom-heard musicians who have matured musically ahead of their time. As did the earlier generation of musicians they revere".
- Don Williamson, 52nd Street Jazz
"Solid is key term here. Not in any "pedestrian" sense but in a more architectural one. b foundations, historically and structurally, and plenty of freedom and imagination in the design that goes on top, that is how Breathing Room operates. And, believe me, the operation is wholly successful."
- Maurice Bottomley, Pop Matters Read the complete review HERE.
"Weiss has everything that makes a jazz trumpeter great: a full-bodied sound, a complete command of the instrument, a thorough knowledge of the tradition and an intelligent application of those talents. He may be lesser known of the current trumpet kings, but this splendid recording will change that".
- Eugene Holley Jr., JazzUSA Read the complete review HERE.
"The influence of Wayne Shorter looms large over Breathing Room both in composition and execution. Weiss borrows from the Shorter muse with haunting themes, deceptive intros and tough playing, but he is far too restless an artist to settle for imitation. His own compositions like "Breathing Room" and "Dark Forces" deliver intelligently paced, emotionally charged hard bop that stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Shorter gems like "Armageddon" and "Those Who Sit And Wait."
- Ken Hohman All About Jazz Read the complete review HERE.