“a beautifully orchestrated, melodically rich piece that celebrates Greenwood as much as it laments the wanton violence that destroyed the neighborhood”  - Boston Globe

Rather than simply evoking Greenwood’s destruction, however, the suite encompasses the region’s creative ferment. Composed and arranged by Jacob Fred steel guitarist Chris Combs, the score captures the energy of Greenwood’s fervent churchgoers and the rollicking territory dance bands that crisscrossed the Southwest.  -LA Times

“…the 12-part suite pinballs between majestic melodies, free improv and ragged New Orleans rhythms, sometimes all within the same song…expect a heavy dose of history, but an even heavier dose of forward-looking, down-home jazz.” - Time Out New York

“The new Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey (+ horns) album might be their best”  –NPR’s A Blog Supreme

“Both musically and spiritually, The Race Riot Suite is a significant, important work”  -JazzIz

“[The] Race Riot Suite is the type of ambitious, big sonic manifesto that at the very least will make you miss albums, and at the most make you reconsider the music currently in your iPod. In short, it’s an important record……sounds like Duke Ellington under the direction of Tom Waits.”   -Westword

“…the group has matured into one of the finest and most exciting jazz groups around.” - Billboard

“The Race Riot Suite isn’t merely a serious contender for album-of-the-year. It’s one of the most compelling jazz-based albums of the new millennium.”  –Plastic Sax

“The Race Riot Suite is to JFJO what ‘Fables of Faubus’ was to Charles Mingus and ‘We Insist! Freedom Now Suite was to Max Roach: a daring and profound manifesto of both jazz and politics” –Elmore Magazine

“The music is filled with darkness, light, deep thought and inspiration all delivered with the inspiring playing of this airtight quartet of unique improvisers.”  -JazzTimes (review of JFJO at Festival International de Jazz de Montréal)

“A breadth and vision nearly untouched in modern jazz except by the likes of Wayne Shorter and Bill Frisell.” – Signal to Noise

“…a tour de force of jazz melded with classical…” - Downbeat Magazine review of Ludwig

“…one of the ensembles capable of pushing Jazz into the future with the creative vitality to keep new generations interested in the uniquely American art form.”  - City Beat

“…it’s here, between Coltrane and Yeasayer, Mingus and Animal Collective, and the very real sense of adventure, that JFJO truly find their stride, and Stay Gold, shines awfully bright.” - Jambands.com

“…the music of the 1920s is suggested by devices borrowed from New Orleans’ Louis Armstrong and Jelly Roll Morton and from Tulsa’s own Bob Wills. But those 90-year-old techniques often morph suddenly into the dissonance and harmolodic improvisation of modern jazz.”   –JazzTimes

“…the soaring melodies of keyboardist Brian Haas remain front and center, with the rest of the band offering eloquent accompaniment and robust grooves and beats. Stay Gold is another compelling chapter in the storied history of JFJO.”  -Alarm Magazine

“Melding their formidable chops and improvisational instincts with a flair for mercurial morphing, the JFJO are an ideal jazz force for the Blackberry generation.”  -Jazz and Blues Report

“…it’s here, between Coltrane and Yeasayer, Mingus and Animal Collective, and the very real sense of adventure, that JFJO truly find their stride, and Stay Gold, shines awfully bright.”  -Jambands.com

“The four specialize in a new – to JFJO, at least – type of jazz-rooted fusion, a sprawling, rambling instrumental Americana hinting at everything from Texas swing to psychedelic rock to the dynamic compositions of the Brian Blade Fellowship. Ambitious, unsettling, unclassifiable.”- JazzTimes

“The band creates romantic melodies, rock breakdowns and impressionistic jazz…” -Virginian Pilot

“…packs a punch, taking the listener on an instrumental adventure from the eerie opening drone of new addition Chris Combs’ lap steel (which clearly propels the entire disc) and the flutter of keys on “The Sensation of Seeing Light,” to the country-tinged “Song for Lauren,” to Brian Haas’s lush piano harmonies on the title track and “This, Our Home.” Recorded in just five days outside of Tulsa, Okla., this disc finds that The Fred’s experimentation with special effects, classical compositions and free jazz grooves continues to stay gold-en after all these years.” -Relix Magazine

“Raymer’s drumming voice not only echoes the power and touch displayed by jazz greats such as Roy Haynes and Jack DeJohnette, but also, to an equal extent, mimics the youthful, new-school swagger of a younger drummer such as an Adam Deitch.” -Music Marauders

“The Tulsa, Okla., combo is as ambitious as ever, playing improvisation-laced music that’s equally heady and earthy, a feast for the ears and fuel for the feet.”

-SF Chronicle

“‘Song for Lauren’”twists country elements around big, pop piano chords and Afro-Cuban–laced drumming, while the title track mixes growling pianos with tinny slide work and minor key melodic matchups between instruments and rhythmic lines that are mimicked by each of the players.” -Oklahoma Gazette

“Haas could be playing Schroeder’s toy piano from Peanuts and he’d still kick your ass with blinding passion and exemplary technique.” -State of Mind

“…the jazz project has been a beacon for tradition, experimentalism and psychedelic adventurism with a brotherhood of musicians expelling compositions that mixed improvisation with the invocation of moods.” -The Waster

“…the cinematic scope of the instrumental album, flavored with haunting lap steel, is as vast as the Oklahoma prairie.” – There Stands the Glass

“….intensely improvisatory head-fuckery, which embraces Beatles covers, free jazz and just about everything in between.” – The Village Voice

“JFJO burns with a quiet intensity rather than dramatically explodes. The musicians play with a coiled looseness, improvising with quicksilver yet deliberate force. You can hear the band’s power and inventiveness creatively eroding structure, and the tension produced from that is exhilarating. If JFJO isn’t moving jazz forward, it is shifting its center of gravity interestingly askew.” - Jazz Times

“…bathes in electro-blackness, a blood-red island in a skewed fantasy. Gorgeous or beastly, it sticks to your shivering bones.” – Under the Radar

“Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey weave the kind of impressionistic, imaginative new jazz that shatters any kind of identity, much less categories and classifications.” - Chicago Sun Times

“The Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey step through the looking glass to emerge from the shadows of their disparate rock and jazz influences with something wholly fresh.”  - The Absolute Sound

“Delicious postmodern jazzitude from the Tulsa-based piano trio.” 4 of 5 stars. - Mojo (UK)

“JFJO distill the best of 1970s jazz-rock: up-tempo bashing drums, a little bit of funk, and crafty licks…”  - The Stranger

“This band was born out of a messianic devotion to the idea that jazz means improvisation. They thrive on risk, often creating spontaneous compositions onstage.”  - Downbeat Magazine

“What other experimental jazz band do you know that plays well with everyone? You could drop them into the middle of a hippie festival and they’d fit in. They go well with rednecks and even rock ‘n’ roll. That’s what impresses me most — not only to they fit in everywhere, but people take notice. It’s not only their sound that works so well, it’s their attitude. They love what they do. The only other Oklahoma band that’s as internationally influential as Jacob Fred is right now is the Flaming Lips.” -DJ Chuck Stikl from The Edge 104.5 (from the Tulsa World)

“The finished music is effectively a suite, in which JFJO’s minimalist tunes and solid grooves are twisted, cut up, turned on their heads, and morphed in and out of dreamlike soundscapes of considerable charm.” - All About Jazz

“One Day In Brooklyn, the group’s new EP, documents a two-pronged shift: toward countrified timbres and post-bop exposition.” - The New York Times

“Born in Tulsa and raised up on the road, this adventurous piano trio plus lap steel guitar get alternately scrappy and pastoral on their new EP, One Day in Brooklyn.” - Village Voice

“On ‘One Day in Brooklyn…you’ll hear how creative and adventurous Tulsans, lap steel and all, are redirecting the future of jazz “ - Kansas City Star

“….many of the ephemeral hooks, subhooks, and sub-subhooks are powerfully evocative, making the listening experience alternately trying and transcendent.” - Bass Player Magazine

“These are modern sounds, yet it’s like listening to something very ancient and distant.” - Rochester Democrat & Chronicle

“Hear some of the latest in jazzoid sounds…with the Tulsa-based Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey “ - LA Weekly

“They do Monk (a gorgeous “Four in One”), Abdullah Ibrahim, Roland Kirk (a crazier “Black & Crazy Blues” that weaves and darts and cooks), and some Beatles. Their own “Country Girl” is just lovely, a little off the track, languid here, hurried there….Recommended.”  - LA Weekly

“There’s a rustic foundation to the band now, thanks to the acoustic plunking of Mr. Hayes and the swoony embellishments of Mr. Combs…the current group pursues an earthy vigor. On Kirk’s “Laugh for Rory,” Mr. Combs reached for the uplift of a gospel revival; on Mr. Ibrahim’s “Imam” he struck a prayerful vocal timbre. Mr. Hayes was a less assertive presence, but he locked in well with Mr. Raymer, a smartly physical drummer. Mr. Haas steered from the piano, making use of an emphatic attack, a rococo sense of flourish and the trustworthy power of crescendo.” - The New York Times

“JFJO hits the mark with a tribute to the late producer Joel Dorn on the Rahsaan Roland Kirk medley “A Laugh for Rory / Black & Crazy Blues,” a reading of The Beatles “Julia,” a stab at Thelonious Monk’s “Four in One,” and a pair of originals – including a clever mashup of Dr.Dre and Beethoven. JFJO ain’t dead, just reborn” - Relix Magazine

“…sonically fascinating take on “Four in One,” not unlike the streamlined approach you might expect from Bill Frisell. Rating:9/10″ - Jazz.com

“The long notes of Combs’ sliding lap steel guitar mix with the emotion that Haas can draw from the deepest corners of his piano, while likely the best rhythm section the Fred has ever unleashed in Raymer and Hayes give a text-book jazz lesson in keeping the parading jam on this universe.” – Honest Tune

“The Tulsa, OK-based Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey further cements its status as one of the most forward-thinking units in jazz with its new EP, One Day in Brooklyn.” - Popmatters

“It swings, it sways, but the jazz trio form in their hands has an almost primitive, inside-your-head, idiosyncratic quality to it that suggests the three are truly one.” - Downbeat Magazine

“In my humble opinion, one of the most fascinating trios currently walking around on God’s green earth.” – SlagwerkKrant (NL)

“It’s combined jazz, fusion and alternative music of all genres to create a new sound here that brings the community together, it helps define our city and our state, and is influential on a national and international scale.” -Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame CEO Chuck Cissel

“Anyone who digs the new and boundary-pushing is likely to dig what one of the most respected young experimental bands is doing today. ”

– North County Times

“Dense and surreal, Lil Tae is jazz-informed ambience that refuses drift into “background” sound. “ - SF Weekly

“Their own unflappable dedication to their muse(s) often sends them on wildly divergent explorations – one week a semi-traditional jazz trio in the McCoy Tyner mode, the next up to their asses in studio wizardry that’d make Aphex Twin giggle. ” - Dennis Cook, Jambase

“Sameness of Difference is a post-modern jazz masterwork, a disc that will still seem fresh in five years even though it also seems right in the present moment.” – Jazzitude Magazine

“When it comes to doing things differently, Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey is right at the forefront. This trio of creative minds has come up with one of the best releases of 2005″ - All About Jazz NYC

“Crafted by Reed Mathis (bass), Brian Haas (keys) and Josh Raymer (drums), and featuring the production and electronics of Meyulks, the album is jazz as both exercise in psychedelic nostalgia and adventurous future dance party. “ -Corvallis Gazette Times

“One of the most consistently creative and dynamic groups on the scene today.” ssey has deservedly become one of the most talked about Jazz trios in recent memory.” – Bill Milkowski

“The Sameness of Difference features JFJO’s patented improvisational brilliance on a set divided by remarkable originals and startlingly arranged covers …With an expanded and insanely broad songbook to choose from, the Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey has deservedly become one of the most talked about Jazz trios in recent memory.”   – Cincinnati City Beat

“The Sameness of Difference is placed in perfect equilibrium between tradition and modernity with the mark of refinement. “ - Jazz Magazine (Italy)

“Their jazz-rock-electro-whatever sound has been honed in 12 years together and the chemistry is as formidable as it is omnivorous.” – Relix Magazine

“A quintessential piece of post-modern jazz which plays tribute to a number of influences and mentors…a fantastic mix of originals and covers, each a seamless voyage…” - Blogcritics.com

“It’s all there: the talent, the expression, the humanity. All we can do for now is hope that Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey is, in fact, the future of Jazz.” - Daily Collegian

“JFJO – a band unwilling to compromise their creativity for the mainstream ear – has developed a constantly evolving sound unlike virtually anything on today’s market.” - Jambase

“Hipper than MMW, louder than The Bad Plus, wider-ranging than just about any other jazz piano trio, these guys have taken some giant steps to the forefront of modern jazz.” – Practical.org

“The #1 New Star of Jazz in America” - US News and World Report

“The bravest, strangest trio to bitch slap the calcified face of jazz in a decade.” - Jambase

“Together this intrepid trio has reinvigorated jazz music’s corpulent canon with a glorious spiritual jumpstart that puts them solidly on the map of the new jazz landscape.” - Jonathan Zwickel, Crazewire.com

“There’s no reason for this trio to be as good as they are…(Walking with Giants is) just the sort of jazz album that Charles Mingus could look down from heaven and smile upon!” – Orlando Weekly

“You cats are pushing jazz forward in a brand new direction. Thank you.”  -Jazz Legend Cecil Taylor after listening to JFJO for 3 hours

“…they’ve transported this music back from some distant eon where boundaries between genres have been abolished and music, pure music, pours out like water from a rock in the desert before thirsty Israelites. It’s like forbidden technology from the future smuggled back through a tear in the time-space continuum. They are onto something most haven’t caught up with..yet.”  -Dennis Cook, Crazewire.com

“Haas is a free player, creating his own style of music that brazenly eludes any label or description, you can hear the sound of musical boundaries being erased, and it’s a beautiful thing.” -Robbie Gennet, Keyboard Magazine

“As one of the hottest touring bands on the scene today, JFJO is as real as it gets.” - Lee Abraham, Las Vegas Weekly

“defies expectation and stands out from the sea of bands.” - Pete Gershon, Signal to Noise

“more harmonically involved and rhythmically intricate than anything coming out of the jam-band scene” – Bill Milkowski, JazzTimes

“one of new jazz’s most inventive trios, tearing up sonic terrain with a seamless blend of composition and improvisation” – Ted Drozdowski, Pulse Magazine