I am pleased to share StereoGum‘s great review of Brooklyn Calling, my latest quartet release on Sunnyside Records.
“Saxophonist Stan Killian is originally from Texas, and you can hear a little of the Texas blues in his playing, but he’s a longtime New Yorker with a hard-bitten hard bop style perfect for the city’s dark, crowded jazz bars. On this, his third album for Sunnyside, he’s backed by guitarist Paul Bollenbeck and a rhythm section he’s used before, bassist Corcoran Holt and drummer McClenty Hunter. Those two guys, who worked together brilliantly on Hunter’s 2018 album The Groove Hunter, are fantastic here, keeping the swing light and airy while being ready and willing to drop atomic bombs as needed. On “Buy Back,” the whole band is burning from start to finish. The title refers to a Covid-era policy where if you bought two drinks, the bar would buy you a third, and the band plays like they’re exactly three drinks in — loose, energized almost to the point of recklessness, but still very much in control and (mostly) focused.” – StereoGum, 07/01/22