Fronted by sax and bone, and backed by Hammond organ and drums, this fresh take on a traditional instrumentation features all original compositions and some heavy blowing by four of New York's top up-and-coming jazz musicians.
Though I shouldn't really care, here's what the critics say:
"This is a debut recording of uncommon maturity."
-Peter Westbrook, Jazz Review
"Pratt exemplifies the approach of DPOQ. He composed most of the tunes on Springloaded, using challenging and unorthodox formal devices. Yet the tunes are accessible and melodic, and some of them, such as the uptempo burner "Who Knew," have the potential to become jazz standards. On tenor sax, Pratt has a huge, warm sound, and he improvises creatively and aggressively. He might play against the rhythm, and more often, he digs in and swings, as on "Blues With A Limp."
-Marc Meyers, All About Jazz
"A warm, invigorating blast of N.Y.C. jazz energy recently blew through town, when the Dan Pratt Organ Quartet showed up at the Firebird Lounge. Pratt, a notable up-and-coming tenor-saxist-bandleader-composer, illustrated the self-evident point that jazz harbors many great players under the radar of public visibility... From Pratt's first solo, it was clear that he's grounded in the contemporary saxophonic language exemplified by players like Joe Lovano, but also lacks neither creative vigor or fresh ideas."
-Josef Woodard, Santa Barbara Independent
"While on a West Coast tour, in promotion of its worthy CD, Springloaded, the East Coast-based Dan Pratt Organ Quartet stopped over one night to play to a standing room only crowd ... and set the house afire."
-Russ Roberts, LA Jazz Scene
"Besides being one of the most tremendous new saxophonists around today, Dan Pratt is also evolving as quite an exciting composer as well. He's the complete package."
-Christian McBride, World-Renowned Jazz Bassist
