LoRe is making the connections among about 70 years’ worth of contemplative, articulate and light-toned players, people who can find the emotional node of a ballad where modesty turns nearly to shame, and also locate a single, fine, well-placed note through abstraction or understatement: Johnny Hodges, Lee Konitz, Mark Turner.
– Ben Ratliff, NY Times
The debut album of Alex LoRe establishes him as an alto saxophonist of relaxed composure, with an ear toward group interplay.
– Nate Chinen, NY Times
A promising career of substance.
– Cadence Magazine
The saxophonist’s bold and precise playing can encompass grooves from the atonal to the melodic, and shades anything he contributes to with flair and elegance.
– Catalina Maria Johnson, Downbeat Magazine
LoRe has a clear and unwavering tone, pointed and delicate, always in tune. He clearly is attempting to expand his melodic language beyond the well-established tenets of bebop in both his writing and playing.
– Do The G!g NYC
LoRe acquaints us with his good sense of swing and modulation, as well as an attractive, velvety tone seldom heard from the current generation of jazz sax practitioners.
– Victor Aaron, Something Else! Reviews
For extended saxophone soloing LoRe really is a very special talent.
– Peter Bacon, The Jazz Breakfast (London)
…[LoRe’s] alto lines develop intelligently, making many of the tracks sound as if one was watching the creative process in real time.
– Richard Kamins, Step Tempest
LoRe is that rare young alto saxophonist who eschews the dominance of Charlie Parker…creates richly melodic lines with harmonic daring and a consistently warm, inviting tone.
– George Kanzler, Hot House Magazine
With Karol, [LoRe] continues to carve out a unique space in the pantheon of present-day saxophonists and composers.
– Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz
This is what smart people listen to when they want to unwind (we’re guessing). A solid winner throughout.
– Chris Spector, Midwest Record
Alex LoRe continues to create music that is involving as it is evolving, free of clutter and cliché, rich with possibilities.
– Richard Kamins, Step Tempest
Clever, sophisticated and filled with long sepia shadows.
– George Harris, Jazz Weekly
LoRe doesn’t ape their styles or effect overly studious homages; instead, the pieces suggest he’s drunk from their respective wells and channeled their artistic spirits.
– Ron Schepper, Textura/Textura Top 20 of 2019
LoRe’s commitment to sound as well as his compositional intuition have always been some of the more remarkable qualities of his artistry.
– Adam Larson
A record to enjoy! From now on the name Alex LoRe will not be forgotten.
– Jan van Leersum, rootstime.be
Preview of Karol from Nextbop
This is better than good music; it’s outstanding. Contemporary and timeless, “More Figs and Blue Things” will reward the curious listener many times over.
– Richard Kamins, Step Tempest
The songs work when this band is functioning as a whole, often with sections playing in sync, but the musicians aren’t going for fireworks. The goal is to capture the natural beauty of the night sky.
– Anthony Dean-Harris, Downbeat Magazine (pg. 74)
His embrace of classically-oriented ideals and strategies allows him to move beyond standard jazz forms and tired formulas, yielding music of great(er) interest.
– Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz
LoRe best tells his story through his composing pen, his alto saxophone and his like-minded companions. More Figs And Blue Things is his engaging second chapter.
– Victor Aaron, Something Else! Reviews
A warm heart of a session, both loose and alluring.
– George Harris, Jazz Weekly
Left leaning domestic takes on Euro jazz and improv finds the sax man leading the crew through left field moves but not ones that fall far from the tree. Certainly in step as an ensemble, this crew aims to please as interplay and consonance is much more important to them than dissonance and dischord. A dandy stopping point when you want to move outside your listening comfort zone but want to feel like you spent your money wisely. Check it out.
– Chris Spector, Midwest Record
Top Ten, November 2016
– David Adler, Lerterland
Dream House exists at a dividing line: it’s tight enough to appeal to those centrists who are willing to go off the beaten path a bit, and it’s loose enough to appeal to more adventurous listeners who still prefer music that’s focused and friendly to the ear.
– Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz
Dream House is full of tasteful, intelligent music that’s also warm and swinging. The album has moments of pure beauty, belying a depth of experience and thoughtfulness.
– Florence Wetzel, All About Jazz
[Dream House] is marked by a combination of the rubato pastelism of late Paul Motian groups and Lee Konitz’s standards-type harmony.
– Mark Gilbert, Jazz Journal UK
Dream House [is] a cool-toned, subtly progressive new postbop album.
– Time Out NY
Listen to what Alex does to Ellington’s “Tonight I Shall Sleep”. The Duke himself will be listening from the clouds and smiling while thinking “Man, I didn’t even know that stuff was in there!”. It’s that kind of a CD.
– Mark S. Tucker, The Folk and Music Exchange