Reviews for Let Nature Square

JazzTimes January 2009

Intelligent, keenly interactive Philly free-jazzers Shot X Shot absorb and re-contextualize the examples set forth by Sun Ra, the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Marshall Allen, Anthony Braxton, Sunny Murray, Milford Graves and other avant-garde heavyweights on this wildly uncompromising outing. These four young upstarts (tenor saxophonist Bryan Rogers, alto saxophonist Dan Scofield, drummer Dan Capecchi, bassist Matt Engle) embrace the diametrically opposed concepts of composition and chance music in their freewheeling jams like “Oh No” and “Autobonsai.”
-Bill Milkowski

Signal To Noise Fall 2008

Let Nature Square is Shot x Shot’s second long player, and they haven’t stood still… the dominate forces at work here are are well-developed interactional skills and strong individual chops. They erase distinctions between front and rear lines without ever getting so far from the jazz vernacular that you don’t know what they’re playing.
-Bill Meyer

jazzandblues.blogspot.com May 2009

…the group plays an open ended and energetic but still quite accessible brand of improvised music. The music rarely delves into squealing energy music, but often finds the saxophonists weaving around each other, creating a DNA-like double helix of interconnected musical chromosomes.

All About Jazz June 2008

…a true collaborative quartet, with each continuously listening, adjusting, leading and following. What is startling to realize is that even in the densest sections, when all four players are letting fly, each line can be heard as being in an almost contrapuntal relationship with the others. Let Nature Square is a remarkable achievement.
-Budd Kopman

Exclaim! June 2008

…unusually fresh approach to the free-jazz quartet setup, frequently touching on unexpected territory.
-Nate Dorward

Philadelphia Weekly June 2008

They lock down tight ensemble riffs, scatter capriciously, wade through transitions of fractured calm: whatever the moment calls for… ruminative, abstract, fiercely logical.
-David R. Adler

All About Jazz June 2008

…here they sound even more comfortable, more cohesive. The scenes they choose are nicely composed—establishing shots and passing conversations, rather than the all too common soliloquies that are the norm.
-Kurt Gottschalk

Philadelphia Daily News May 2008

…increasingly great young Philly quartet… Their first studio recording shows the leaderless, collective unit maturing into a sprawling compositional style blurring the boundaries between composition and improvisation.

Philadelphia City Paper May 2008

…a Philly quartet who’ve refined a collective identity over the course
of two CDs of sprawling compositions and deeply attuned interaction.
-Shaun Brady

All About Jazz May 2008

The band Shot x Shot excels in the art of group improvisation… No sophomore jinx here, this group continues to impress.
-Mark Corroto

All About Jazz May 2008

A young ensemble on the rise, Shot x Shot is poised for a promising future.
Let Nature Square effectively captures their emotive live energy and creative potential in pristine studio sound.
-Troy Collins

All About Jazz May 2008

…unfolding fifty minutes worth of interaction that is reeling with clear, four-part voice diversification… when the entire quartet fortifies itself like a larger band, the tempo increases and the music finally stops, the listener can be more than satisfied.
-Lyn Horton

Jazz Prospecting May 2008

Free jazz, rocks abstractly. Two good solid albums.
B+[***]
-Tom Hull

Time Out New York April 2008

…a commanding avant-jazz quartet from Philly. The group has established itself as a true collective, in which all members compose, as well as contribute integrally to the focused yet spacious improvisations.

Village Voice April 2008

[Shot x Shot's] two-reed front line is elastic enough to wax both pissed and pastoral without seeming bipolar… [on] Let Nature Square the playing is individual enough and charged enough to squash any echoes..
-Jim Macnie

Reviews for Shot X Shot

The Village Voice January 2007

Shot x Shot’s HighTwo release was listed among the top five debut albums of 2006 in the Voice’s First Annual Jazz Critics’ Circle Poll. In addition to his vote for Shot x Shot as “Best Debut”, Phil Freeman listed the album as no. 3 on his list of overall best releases of 2006. Click here to read the individual ballots.

Chicago Reader January 2007

Top 40 of 2006
No. 8: Shot x Shot Shot x Shot (High Two) This excellent young Philadelphia quartet steers between the poles of pure schematic exercise and pedal-to-the-metal blowing, arriving via intuition and empathy at a beguiling middle ground. The sophisticated interactions of saxophonists Dan Scofield and Bryan Rogers are particularly striking.
-Peter Margasak

All About Jazz December 2006

Shot x Shot’s HighTwo release was listed among the best albums of 2006 by Budd Kopman on All About Jazz.

All About Jazz New York December 2006

Shot x Shot’s HighTwo release was picked for “Best Debut Albums 2006″ in AAJNY’s annual “Best of the Year” issue.

Chicago Reader November 2006

CRITIC CHOICE
…one of the year’s most striking and satisfying jazz albums. Steering between the poles of pure schematic exercise and pedal-to-the-metal blowing, Shot x Shot arrive via intuition and empathy at a beguiling middle ground …it’s always perceptive, precise, and ensemble minded.
-Peter Margasak

Downbeat July 2006

3.5 stars… Shot x Shot takes deceptively simple, bare-bones structures and turns them into spacey, infinitely layered improvisations… I wonder what’s next for this excellent young quartet.
-Greg Buium

The Wire May 2006

…leave(s) an impression, upon completion, of being neither solipsistic nor beholden to cliché—a small miracle, these days. This calmly assured debut bodes well for the future of all involved.
-Phil Freeman

All About Jazz June 2006

From the very first notes of this debut album, it is abundantly clear that it’s an important record, and these young men… have that special something. This very refreshing disc is worth playing repeatedly in order to uncover deeper layers of thought and feeling. Easily on my short list for the best recordings of 2006, Shot x Shot is amazing music, debut or no debut.
-Budd Kopman

All About Jazz July 2006

…a precociously mature sense of pacing and restraint: these guys know when not to play, giving the music space to grow organically… Shot x Shot, a prime example of the often overlooked underground, epitomizes the vitality of local jazz scenes.
-Tom Greenland

DownTown Music Gallery April 2006

When the ensemble erupts it feels organic and purposeful; their languidity is restraint for the sake of nuance, not a rut for the sake of a concept. These guys have the elusive group chemistry and personal depth that deserves the attention of serious jazz fans.”
-Michael Anton Parker

WNUR 89.3 Chicago’s Sound Experiment “The Jazz Show” April 2006
PICK OF THE WEEK

This is a remarkable album and a rare event in that we hardly ever see a debut recording from a group of musicians whose eldest member is 26 as conceptually solid and well executed as Shot x Shot’s. Shot x Shot’s emphasis on ambiance and texture draws it closer to post-rock while its instrumentation and emphasis on improvisation puts it squarely in the jazz/free improv camp. Shot x Shot’s debut represents a meaningful step forward in jazz’s evolution.
-Justin Glick

Dusted Magazine June 2006

It is remarkable to hear musicians so young playing with such expression, and above all, discipline. Too much exposure to the same styles of improvisation led me away from a healthier appreciation of improvisational musics. That a group like Shot x Shot could bring me back into the fold speaks volumes on their songcraft, musical acumen, and innate sense of purpose and creation. This is a thunderous, thoughtful debut from a group well on its way to turning every last head that will listen.
-Doug Mosurak

Philadelphia City Paper March 2006

All four members share an equal voice, and it is the push-pull of each feeding off the others, taking and surrendering the lead, that gives the group its powerful collective identity.
-Shaun Brady

Philadelphia Weekly April 2006

At their best moments, they wed a reverence for jazz traditions with a need for deconstruction until we hardly notice the difference.
-Doug Wallen

Jazz Prospecting March 2006

Lee Konitz vs. Warne Marsh, John Coltrane vs. Pharoah Sanders, “let’s split the difference.” Seems much more postmodern to me — maybe Chris Cheek vs. Tony Malaby, a match up that should sell more records than it does. The five pieces are mid-tempo, the saxes tightly intertwined — as opposed to the flaring more typical of pianoless quartets — and the drummer definitely plays with the band. [B+(***)]
-Tom Hull

Jazzreview.com May 2006

Seductive is the first word that comes to mind… The message conveyed by the music is sensual and lithe and glides on silken wavelengths. The message begs to be heard many times.
-Lyn Horton