BRUNO & PEGGY KICKS - KICKSEXTREMERADIO (Belgium): Absolutely amazing compositions in a truly timeless unique style. Book III is truly a classic! It's great to hear musicians who keep the integrity to their own voice.
FO - KZSU-FM (Stanford, CA): Gonzo mix of beat poetry and avant-garde jazz out of LA, with some great players. Chuck Britt growls out humorous, angry or philosophical poems (many about family or crises of the self) with gusto, and the band is all over the place. There’s more than a touch of Frank Zappa in here... it’s weird and wild and wonderful, how can you not love it?
MASSIMO RICCI - TOUCHINGEXTREMES.ORG: ...an amalgamation of talking turmoil and spectacular arrangements...typified both by drama and thrilled outbursts...persistently remarkable...they just sound gorgeous.
JEREMY KEENS - AMPERSAND ETCETERA (Australia): ...out of the blue...complex, dramatic, amusing and evocative poems put to music, and delivered musically (not a spoken-word album)...rich in detail, metaphor and humanity, and drive the album forward. Themes include relationships, politics, remembrance that are specific and universal...an album of breadth, musicality and sophistication which is a surprise and delight.
DON CAMPAU - KKUP-FM (Cupertino, CA): ...harkens to some of the great iconolclasts like John Trubee, Carla Bley's JCOA period, and even Zappa. Excellent work...
GUY DAROL - METROPOLIS (France): The speaking voice of Chuck Britt, grating and cavernous, perches above a vast body of instruments sounding like a film score of horrors and farces. Funny, carnival improvisation, musical or noisy citations, pharaonic arrangements resulting in a muscular journey.
LA READER: Each is an outstanding player deserving of wide critical and popular acclaim, together this unit burns.
OPTION MAGAZINE: ...this Britt guy is out there, growlin' and shoutin' fairly unfathomable impressionistic (though not unhumorous) images of sex, morality and transcendence...
BOB RUSCH CADENCE (On Michael): In this music one can hear reminders of Mingus, Braxton, Ornette and even touches of Ellington, Brilliantly conceived and strongly executed.
BEYOND BAROQUE: TRANSVALUE, an ace bunch of forward-looking musicians...
LEONARD FEATHER-LA TIMES (On Michael): The band is notable for its unusual instrumentation, encouraging pallet, repertoire of originals, and its good intentions...Vlatkovich's resourceful writing provided a framework for his gritty, muffled-toned trombone.
KIRKSILSBE - LA READER (On Michael): Expressive trombonist. A distinctive compositional approach which strikes a good balance between polyphonic improvising and structure.
JACKI APPLLE - HIGH PERFORMANCE: I played composition #43 on Dec 2. I like the album. It is certainly a performance work. You’ve got a great voice! Tom Waits meets Captain Beefheart. Works great with the music. What a contrast! It’s wacky and eccentric. I Like the music too! I like it best when tough, funky and funny. I love the trombone!!
PATRICK DOWDEY – WREK, ATLANTA: I play it a lot! Will definitely play it on upcoming special. #60 is the “Best Rap Song” of the August /September sweeps in Atlanta.
ROY DURFEE – KUNM-FM ALBUQERQUE: We enjoyed Vlatkovich’s 1st and this one too. Nice to have art jazz and poetry together. Wish there was more of it.