From the Jazz Times:
... and a kaleidoscopic, edge-of-sanity “Comedy Tonight” that, courtesy of arranger Bevan Manson, blends Baroque courtliness with Big Top buffoonery.
Cathy Segal Garcia: The Jazz Chamber
November 2, 2018
Review: All About Jazz
November 2, 2018
There are also two remarkable, extended tracks, arranged by Bevan Manson, that take this set to an entirely different place, back to the deep, mysterious experimental-fusion of early Weather Report and Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi. Bennie Maupin's "Message To Prez" is a collage of strings, piano, woodwinds, the wordless scatting of Segal-Garcia's vocal improv group, Fish To Birds, and Maupin's own bottom-rattling bass clarinet. It flows for almost 13 minutes, alternating between bright vocal babble and hovering tensions among the strings and reeds. The other surprise is a medley of two songs out of Les McCann's repertoire, "Universal Prisoner" and "Compared To What," where Segal-Garcia brings in Tierney Sutton as a duet partner.'
Bevan Manson and Friends: The Jazz Cave
Review: Jazz Weekly
by GEORGE W. HARRIS • November 28, 2019
Pianist and composer Bevan Manson mixes trios, solos and group outings on this easy swinger of a session. Bassist Matt Livingston-Jeff D’Angelo, drummers Matt Gordy, B3er Brian Charette, percussionist Brad Dutz and vocalist Tierney Sutton all take turns in the session. Sutton is icy warm for the clean and stately uptown sounds of “Beats Two” while she glides with aplomb over Livingston’s bass on the crystal “Caramel.” Manson gets soulful for the swinger “Kingston Sugar” and brings lots of soul for “Interlude” while a solo read of “Caramel” displays his warm distal phalanx joints. Rich moves.
