Photo: Peter Gannushkin/downtownmusic.net
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A really well written and perceptive profile in the San Jose Mercury News, by Richard Scheinen, July 2014.
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Great review of avantNOIR at YBCA by Chicago jazz critic Howard Mandel, on his blog Jazz Beyond Jazz, February 2015.
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Listen to Andy Gilbert's review of Comeuppance and X Marks the Question on "The California Report"on NPR, December 2013:
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Voted one of the year's "Rising Star" bassists in the Downbeat Critics Poll, 2013 & 2014
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A lengthy interview with Randy McKean on his jazz profile show "The Deep End" on KVMR Radio:
Audio player
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"Lisa Mezzacappa's monthlong JazzPOP series [is] ... reliably excellent ..."
- LA Times
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"Bassist-composer Lisa Mezzacappa is one of the most imaginative figures on the Bay Area creative jazz scene."
- Rich Scheinen, San Jose Mercury News
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A nice preview of a Cylinder show by Andy Gilbert in Berkeleyside, September 2012
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Best Debut Album of 2010, Village Voice Jazz Critics Poll
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A really nice profile in the San Francisco Chronicle by Andrew Gilbert, June 2011
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An interview I did with the excellent Argentine jazz magazine El Intruso.
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Preview (and review) of Bait & Switch's fall 2011 SoCal tour in the LAWeekly music blog by Sean O'Connell
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Jazz Pick of the Week, in curatingla.com
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"Mezzacappa has become a ubiquitous figure on the Bay Area's creative music scene, and her presence on the bandstand is a reliable sign that something extraordinary is going down."
- Contra Costa Times
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"No phobias allowed: The bassist's amalgam is freedom (and craft) personified. If you're into Ayler, Shepp, Sharrock or Captain Beefheart, you'll appreciate this full-strength band."
- San Jose Mercury News
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Preview of Bait & Switch Dream Octet in the Monthly.
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"The work of San Francisco bassist-composer Lisa Mezzacappa demonstrates an admirable balance of grit and whimsy ... "
- Time Out New York
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"Lisa Mezzacappa's presence on a bandstand is one sign that musical fireworks are about to ignite."
- San Francisco Chronicle
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"Ms. Mezzacappa is a bassist and composer based in the San Francisco area and rooted in a rugged approach to experimentation."
- The New York Times
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"Mezzacappa's Bait & Switch delivers a raw, unfettered dose of primal expressionism that also works as sophisticated modern jazz."
- Point of Departure
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"Mezzacappa and her band of merry men plunder the jazz canon and delightfully toss the treasures about, playing with a bold approach and delightful musicality. What Is Known is no holds barred all the way, so bring your best wrestling moves and dive in."
- New York City Jazz Record (formerly AllAboutJazz-New York)
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"The musical vision she creates is entirely her own, with lots of rhythmic delights and raw energy, with long unison phrases between guitar and sax, with fun elements and lots of room for improvisations … This is really great stuff, authentic and highly enjoyable from beginning to end.
- Freejazz Blog
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"Brawny and brainy new out jazz from some of the scene's most accomplished and passionate players ... It had been a long time since I had heard anyone follow up on the sophisticated traditions of the seventies' AACM / loft jazz scene with such dedication and focus."
- Transbay Creative Music Calendar
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"She's a musical explorer, experimenting with both improvisation and composition, and lending her talents to a wide range of projects.She's also an established musical curator, leading us to believe that this tribute to her own free-jazz heroes will be a well-cultivated mix."
- Flavorpill SF
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"Keep watch of bassist Lisa Mezzacappa."
- San Francisco Chronicle
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Profile by Rachel Swan in the East Bay Express, June 2010
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