Top 10 Records of 2016 at Big City Blog
thebigcityblog.com/2016/11/30/best-jazz-releases-of-2016/
Best 100 Records of 2016 from Ted Gioia (Daily Beast, Stanford Jazz)
tedgioia.com/bestalbumsof2016.html
"Beautifully cohesive...the music exists in a timeless realm that touches on jazz, Hindustani music, spirituals and country without residing in any particular style."
-Andrew Gilbert, The California Report
"Spiritually soothing music..."
-S. Victor Aaron, Something Else Reviews
"A solid gone beauty of the rarest kind..."
-Jason Kennedy, The Ear Magazine
"Real musical talent is not limited by genres, but is best expressed when it can overcome them."
-Mario Calvitti, All About Jazz
"Today's listening: Upward, a new album of duets for 12-string guitar & tabla from Ross Hammond & Sameer Gupta. Recommended."
-Ted Gioia, Stanford Jazz
"The music that Hammond and Gupta make together is so warm, inviting, and easily enjoyed, there's just no way that a listener could feel many other emotions than joy when its sounds are spinning."
-Mark Pino, Disaster Amnesiac Blog
"There are handsome melodies, fiery interplay, moments of solemnity interspersed with moments of pure joy (the joy that comes from 2 friends making music together)."
-Richard Kamins, step-tempest blog
"Guitarist Hammond and tablaist Gupta have made a record, Upward, that is a dazzling set of songs and improvisations that get at the global, human roots of the blues....New, ancient, unclassifiable, powerful, fantastic."
-George Grella, Brooklyn Rail
"Endlessly delightful, lyrical and hypnotic."
-Seton Hawkins, Hot House Jazz
"If you’re in the mood for music which is meant for deep listening and entrenched engagement, which adeptly blends Indian and other types of music, then Ross Hammond and Sameer Gupta have something for you."
-Doug Simpson, Audio Audition
"Each piece here tells a story, setting a mood or scene and then expanding upon as it goes. Hammond has reinvented himself on each release so we must give him credit once again for a job well done."
-Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery (NYC)
"There is something deeply satisfying about the rich acoustic sounds of the acoustic 12-string's open tuning and slide work ringing out along side the clear precise tones of the tabla."
-Paul Acquaro, Free Jazz Blog
"What’s remarkable about the almost wholly improvised Upward is how well these instruments work together..."
-Shaun Brady, The Key (Philadelphia)
"When they improvise together, they transcend their respective histories and create something distinctly their own."
-Denny Dyroff, Coatesville Times
"Reflective acoustic music which subtly weaves together the warmly beautiful sounds of 12-string acoustic guitar and tabla."
-Martin Kasdan Jr, Louisville Music News