“Revitalizing big band orchestration for the modern era… an alternate soundtrack to a spy thriller that plays out only in your mind.”
Phil Freeman | Stereogum
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“The festival’s absolute pinnacle, taking big band expression to its highest level.”
Martin Longley | DownBeat
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“The most culturally resonant jazz album of 2016 turned out to be Real Enemies, a big-band meditation on the various strains of paranoia in American civic and political life.”
Nate Chinen | The New York Times
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“The range of different colours and textures Argue gets from the ensemble is astonishing… a bravura piece of large ensemble writing that proves just how nimble a big band can be in the right hands.”
Thomas Rees | Jazzwise
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“A mind-blowing example of truly great, era-defining jazz composition.”
John L. Walters | London Jazz News
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“Chilling, funny, and rollicking with varied grooves, strong solos, and the occasional drop-in spoken-word.”
Jon Garelick | Boston Globe
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“The music scintillates… heady, soulful, and a little creepy… one of the best jazz albums of 2016.”
Fred Kaplan | Slate
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“A work of harrowing prescience by a great young composer who gets greater every year.”
David Hajdu | The Nation
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“Argue’s calling card thus far has been an ability to combine his love of jazz’s past with more contemporary sonics … He’s clever without being arch, a syncretic creator who avoids obvious imitation.”
Seth Colter Walls | Pitchfork
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“A sonic incarnation of our strange and dangerous times… slides in and around numerous styles with cloak-and-dagger stealth.”
Milo Miles | The Village Voice
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