Chosen one of the 10 best National albums of 2018 - Portugal.

Arte Sonora (Portugal)

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Chosen one of the 10 outstanding albums of 2018 - Iberian Peninsula. 

Canal Extremadura Ahora Jazz (España)

 

“Michael Lauren is a master of time and not only worships at the altar of creativity but also brings his chops to the sacrificial table with extravagant gestures always informed by the rich legacy of drummers from the history of Jazz”.

JazzdaGama - Raul da Gama (Canada)

 

“When the new mainstream threatens to be no more than a dead end alley, Michael takes it back to where it belongs, providing swing, passion and dynamics”.

João Moreira Santos - “Jazz a Dois” - Antenna 2 (Portugal)

 

“With Once Upon A Time In Portugal, drummer Michael Lauren delivers a no-nonsense blowing date of hard-bop-style jazz. This is sturdy, swinging stuff, played by musicians paying homage to a sound from long ago, but filtered through modern sensibilities”. For him, “It don’t mean a thing…” are words to live by”.

Illya Stemkovsky - Modern Drummer Magazine (USA)

 

“Michael has managed to bring together a group of musicians playing as if they had played all their life in this group. Their sound is modern, but it also takes us to the best of New York hard bop. Lot’s of  swing and a sound that transports you to the clubs where you can hear good jazz”.

La Habitación del Jazz (ESPAÑA)

 

“Drummer and composer Michael Lauren and his All Stars continues and strengthens their fresh path through intelligent modernism”. “Never overpowering, Lauren's nuanced ability to comfortably and skillfully execute many jazz interpretations provides a presence that allows his bandmates to stretch, explore, and improvise freely”. 

Jim Worsley – All About Jazz (USA)

 

“The Michael Lauren All Stars, takes us into music with clear, rich stylistic variables, in which tradition and modernity come together in a multidisciplinary and eclectic context. It is an honest and well-constructed album, a high quality work“.

TomaJazz ((ESPAÑA)

 

“Michael Lauren may well, of course, scale greater heights in the future, but even if he never achieves anything better, Old School/Fresh Jazz suggests that he has ample reason to be proud. The considerable degree of balance and integration of melody, harmony, and rhythm, of composition and improvisation, of intelligent and organic exploration, individuality and tradition is impressively maintained throughout this album to die for”.

JazzdaGama – Raul da Gama (Canada)

 

These musicians are All Stars. Their playing and composing proves it all the way through. Exciting music, rooted in the hard bop tradition without being mired in the past”. 

All About Jazz - Mark Sullivan (USA)

 

“This album marks a new success for The Michael Lauren All Stars and Michael Lauren, once again, proves his versatility as a drummer, bandleader and producer”.  All the duets are both beautiful and great”.

La Habitación del Jazz ((ESPAÑA)

 

“Great Music. With strong melodies and concise solos Old School / Fresh Jazz mixes longer pieces with duets that show Lauren's great versatility as a drummer and exalt the tremendous talents that make up the All Stars. " 

João Moreira dos Santos - Antena 2 (Portugal)

 

“A generous compilation of sparkling new music. This CD delivers its jazz promise multiple times over.”-

Debbie Burke jazz author (USA)

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"Traduzir musicalmente a alma com tal coolness é coisa, de facto, de All Stars. Michael Lauren, conduçãona bateria, é magnânimo.”

Arte Sonora (PORTUGAL)

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