Roots And Things earns a place in your heart and on your stereo with every play. It simply doesn’t get better than this!
– John Wilcox, progsheet
Proof that the hard-bop spirit still evolves in capable hands.
– Cedric Hendrix, CirdecSongs Record Reviews
Ultimately, Roots and Things succeeds as a bridge between past and future, honoring the foundations of jazz while pointing toward where the music still can go.
– Cedric Hendrix, CirdecSongs Record Reviews
The album, available on Fresh Sound Records, feels at once urban and introspective, cinematic and meditative. Its long arc unfolds like a journal of moods, or perhaps a suite of inner monologues.
– Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move
Each track becomes a question, a reflection, a note in an unfinished diary. What emerges feels less like a jazz album and more like a chamber symphony for a jazz ensemble, an invitation to dream, to drift, to listen deeply.
– Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move
This album may not be for everyone, it demands attention, patience, and surrender. But for those who allow themselves to be carried by its current, there awaits a form of grace.
-Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move
Every note reveals a fragment of beauty; every silence, an echo of thought.
– Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move
Aside from his stellar bass playing, Dreyer’s compositional prowess is on full display on the album.
– No Treble
At the center is Dreyer’s steady, shape-shifting groove, which flows confidently even over shifting meters and layered rhythmic ideas. He plays with a refreshing sense of purpose, giving his bass as much or as little space as the moment calls for. This musical humility allows the band to flourish.
– Cedric Hendrix, CirdecSongs Record Reviews
Recommended to all jazz collections!
– cdhotlist.com
Dreyer’s willingness to shake things up, to put together a new ensemble to present his new music, is a good thing. He took a chance, and it worked well.
– Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
[…] there is clearly a tremendous amount of talent on these tracks […]
– Michael Doherty, Michael Doherty’s Music Log
Dreyer draws deeply from the rhythmic and melodic language of classic jazz, yet the recording never feels retro for its own sake. Instead the music arrives with a crisp contemporary sheen.
– Cedric Hendrix, CirdecSongs Record Reviews
Man darf es gerne von “The Fifth Floor” bis zum “Choral Diner” durchhören. Das Album ist ein Fest für die Ohren.
– Gerald Langer, Music-On-Net
[…] aufgenommen mit seinem, erst vor einiger Zeit gegründeten Quartett, das an Intensität, Kreativität and Zielsträbigkeit als eine absolute Entdeckung gelten darf.
– Jörg Konrad, Kultkomplott
Ein Tatkräftiges Quartett, mit dem Jakob Dreyer eine robuste, wie sensibel austarierte Musik spielt, die in ihrer Komplexheit starke magische Momente aufweist. Hier wird wunderbar untereinander und miteinander kommuniziert und die fast durchweg Eigenkompositionen aus der Feder Jakob Dreyers suggestiv ausgeleuchtet.
– Jörg Konrad, Kultkomplott
This is an excellent debut for Dreyer. On it, he shows both a strong sense of composition and arrangement, but it is his bass playing that always stands out. He has incorporated many influences in his young career and has managed to develop a sound that is uniquely his own.
– Dave Lynn, All About Jazz
Dreyer has been a sideman on over 20 releases, and his first listen as a bandleader is a superb and timeless outing that thankfully has a sequel, too.
– Take Effect Reviews
In his remarkable debut as a bandleader, Dreyer presents Songs, Hymns and Ballads, a captivating two-volume project comprised of original compositions performed in an intimate quartet setting. The synergy created by the talented musicians in his band – Jason Rigby, Jon cowherd, and Jimmy Mcbride – brings his vision to life, infusing each note with passion and soul.
– Matt Micucci, JAZZIZ Magazine
Dreyer displays an unflashy virtuority and georgeous tone in both his ensemble and solo expressions.
– JAZZIZ Magazine
He has delivered one of the best debuts by a new leader this year and he surrounds himself with name players proving himself more than up with the stellar company that he keeps.
– Marlbank Jazzblog