LIVE: AN EVENING WITH THE MEL BROWN QUARTET By KYLE O'BRIAN OCTOBER, 2006 Jazz Society of Oregon ***** This group just keeps getting tighter and tighter. After a sizzling opening set at the Mt. Hood Jazz Festival, it's only a matter of time before they're in demand in New York and beyond. Brown's buoyant rhythms propel this energetic and well planned live disc which was thoughtfully recorded with an audience in the studio at Kung Fu Bakery. The result captures the same intimate immediacy as they have at Jimmy Mak's every week, but with better recording capabilities, so we get to hear the tick of Mel's high hat, the intricate picking by bassist Ed Bennett, the chordal punch of Tony Pacini's piano, and the fluid, melodic guitar lines by Dan Balmer all with studio crispness. It starts with the heavy swing of Pacini's "Dandyish" and goes on a journey through the band's favorites, including the rapid-fire arrangement of "Prelude to a Kiss," and other originals by Balmer, Bennett and Pacini, including the freewheeling "Ticondeep" by Bennett. It's a fantastic album from a band deserving much wider recognition. LIVE: AN EVENING WITH THE MEL BROWN QUARTET By DICK BOGLE AUGUST, 2006 The Skanner***** "The Mel Brown Quartet" — with pianist Tony Pacini, guitarist Dan Balmer, bassist Ed Bennett and Brown on drums — has become a Wednesday night mainstay at Jimmy Mak’s in the Pearl District. This CD will explain the band’s continuing popularity over the long haul. It opens with the Pacini composition, “Dandyish,” a sprightly piece with an easy-to-remember theme. Duke Ellington’s “Prelude to a Kiss” gets an unfamiliar rapid-fire treatment from both Pacini and Balmer, which the live audience loved, interrupting with cheers and applause. Charlie Parker’s “Yardbird Suite” is beneficiary of Pacini’s piano with a nice share of block chords and his usual sparkling right hand. Ed Bennett contributes a melodic bass solo, followed by the swinging Balmer. It’s great to see and hear Balmer’s straight-ahead chops. Balmer shows the band’s appreciation of club owner Jimmy Mak with his tune, “One for Jimmy Mak.” Brown leads off with a very brief drum roll, and then it’s an off-and-running. There is no weak link in either the band or the recording. It is solid through all 10 cuts, some of which include “Smile,” “Gone With the Wind,” “Ticondeep,” “May Song” and more."