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| JAZZINSIDE MAGAZINE George Hoar Oracle Bassist/composer/pianist George Hoar’s latest album, Oracle, features some beautiful and haunting compositions and an A-list of musicians. The album begins with a striking polyphonic solo bass suite that was composed in a classical style, yet it evolves into an improvisational performance, showing the two sides of George Hoar. The second piece is the title track which is perhaps the highlight of the album. The beautiful melody is handled by Dave Liebman, on soprano saxophone, who infuses it with his soul-stirring sound."Solace Anon" finds Hoar playing beautifully on the piano. Again the melody and chords that he has arranged, along with the bowed bass put it in the field of classical music, but then some Latin percussion enters and improvisation begins. Hoar’s improvisations on this composition are heartfelt and intense. Suddenly, the tempo increases, and the melancholy quality turns to hope and excitement. Track five has a very contemplative and otherworldly vibe and is entitled "Celestial Awake." This tune gives Hoar a chance to really shred on electric bass, even though the tempo is slow. It is no surprise that he dedicated it to Eric Satie and Jaco Pastorius. "Gentle Giant" is a very pretty duo played between Hoar and Troy Conn on guitar—Conn gets a very Bill Frisell type of sound on this track. Hoar really gets to stretch out on this one, taking a more rubato approach to tempo. "Scenes from a Marionette" is an epic composition with some exciting twists and turns, through-composed from beginning to end. Mark Feldman plays beautifully on violin. "Farewell" is exactly that—the album closer, and it ends how it began, with solo bass. For me, the opener and closer are the best two tunes on the album—he arpeggiates two absolutely beautiful chord progressions that will go right through your chest. The closer has more of a joyful quality to it, where the opener was dark and haunting. It is dedicated to his father, Arthur Hoar
JAZZ REVIEW. COM George Hoar "Eclectic Heart"
Jazz composer & multi-instrumentalist George Hoar hangs out with the right people (re: Dave Liebman- reeds, Dave Samuels-marimba, etc.) ergo, his proud array of original musical artistry. George's tribute to Bill Evans, 'Evans Remembered' displays the group's & Hoar's virtues of immense musicality, taste, & artistic sensitivity.
Review from DownBeat magazine George Hoar "Eclectic Heart"
"Highly Creative composer and performer"
REVIEW FROM GUITAR NINE RECORDS: TRIKUS
"The New York area band Trikus, Led by Bassist/Keyboardist/Composer George Hoar self-titled album delivers a hard edged jazz/world/blues sound that is immediately likable and of keen interest for both guitar and bass fans. "Front St." features a classic guest performance by none other than Mike Stern, while the second track, Free Bass", is a grooving George Hoar -led bass showcase (he plays four basses), but for a novelty track, is fine stand-alone composition as well. The final bass inspired piece on the album is "Palette One", a lyrical piece which finds Hoar going toe to toe with himself on piano. Trikus has a modern sound, outstanding musicianship, a sense of humor and a great direction for the future. Try to get a CD from the band when they become available - you can't go wrong.
JAZZ REVIEW. COM TRIKUS, "New Mood Suite"
The name of the group and the CD's cover art suggested art suggested European Progressive Rock to me, so I was not surprised by the intricate bass introduction by George Hoar to "The Funhouse," the first track on Trikus's New Mood Suite. I was slightly surprised, though, how funky the track became something like a cross between Prince and Stanley Clarke. Likewise, the Zappa-esque flourishes on "Festoon" and the electric guitars on the title track and elsewhere were of a piece with my expectation. The fluid and dense Brazilian rhythms of "Ginaroma," though, were both welcome and unusual. "Slippery When Wet," the trombone and euphonium of Matt Tracy, is a swinging piece that seemingly could've been written at any point in jazz. Pallette Two" is a nice ballad with a lovely melody played by Hoar on piano. All Compositions were written by Hoar who plays wooden flute in addition to Basses & Keys. This is an interesting album, full of diverse styles. Hoar displays a wide range as both performer and a composer, and the rest of the group backs him effectively. Anyone interested in Jazz played on electric and acoustic instruments should find something of interest here.
MUSE'S MUSE REVIEW: TRIKUS, "New Mood Suite"
"With some tweaking, Trikus could become a major force in jazz. The CD is strikingly original and the virtuosity displayed exist for musical reasons, not for its own sake. There is good variety. "Funhouse", which opens the CD, features a very funky groove that shifts around, keeping the listener guessing. "Ginaroma" has a more tropical vibe, featuring the Indian Ioni Flute. "Druids" is a moodier funk piece while "Quite Contree M's B" is a modern staight-ahead jazz waltz, sounding similar to some of the Yellowjackets acoustic material. Bassist/composer George Hoar delivers, whether it's a melodic solo or accompaniment. With some changes in the overall production level, Trikus might well have captured the elusive balance of being both accessible to a wide audience and artistically satisfying.
MUSIC DISH REVIEW: George Hoar - Difference in Bleu
This 56 minute, 11 track instrumental jazz album needs only 2 players. Joe Nocilla on drums, precussion, and George Hoar on Piano & Upright Bass. There's a good mixture between new compositions and classics here. The style of play is so consistent that when a new song comes around, like "Silly Lilly" you can't really tell the difference. After all, once you hear the tune in the opening moment, you might not hear it again. Improv and variation on the themes is a favorite romp with George, one he manages rather well. The CD is well worth the first hour, and the fifth hour you play it. Smooth and cool and satisfying.
Bass Inside Magazine TRIKUS, "New Mood Suite"
Not Content with one or two genres of music, or fretted and fretless, George eats it all up with Bass, Piano, Keyboards, Flutes. Celtic projects , Jazz, Baroque and who knows what else! Alongside guys like this , I feel...well, dumb. Covering such a wide range makes it no easy task trying to describe the album. Safe to say, he is a notable talent on Bass. There is even a Steve Morse feeling to the album with Baroque and neo-classical rock overtones abound. There you have it. Great playing, good tunes, I'll buy that. REVIEWS FROM CELTIC BEAT: LOUD WHISPER, Celtic Music Of Two Brothers "This CD has some very unique renditions of traditional Celtic tunes as Well as some engaging original tunes, all containing a wide variety of Influences from other genres of music in them. There are pieces on the CD that are very haunting such as the opening medley, "King of Sprites," and "Barrack Hill" and other pieces which are totally charming like "The Honeysuckle/The New Potatoes," "Tobins Favorite/Humors of Whiskey. On the Cool side of things, there are some Celtic jazz fusion pieces like "Poll Hapenny" and the "Harriers" and there are tunes which are truly moving as in Dear land written by The Brothers Mother, and those that are creative like "Celtic Sonata for Bass & Pipe." Yes, creativity is evident in this CD. If you're looking for a unique take on Celtic music, look no further... LOUD WHISPER, An Early Music Christmas George
and Arthur Hoar have a talent for making music sound like it comes from another
place and time and authentically so... a great testimony to this is found on
their Christmas CD. Spanning many historical periods, it demonstrates what fine
and creative musical artist the multi-instrumentalist Hoar brothers are. For a
collection of Christmas And rare gems can be found here such as very old carols from the middle ages, tunes from the Baroque period and other tunes rarely heard on other CDs. For a totally unique holiday CD like no other, this one is highly recommended.
LOUD WHISPER, Baroque & Traditional Music Of Ireland And Scotland
"This CD sounds like you are listening in on a 19th century session. Indeed the music is played on antique instruments. That is part of where it's charm lies. among those cuts that stand out are "Liverpool Hornpipe"/"Quarrelsome Piper"/"Fairies Hornpipe" and "Farewell To The Creeks. "The latter is a nice combination of Arthur Hoar on Pipes with Agnes Schaper on Bells. Bells and Pipes also work very well indeed in "Highland Cathedral." One cut I enjoyed the most was "Castle O'Neill" with an unusual combination of instruments. Some of the best selections here are George Hoar on his piano in "Star of Munster"/"Congress," "Bundle of Rushes" and "The Fair Child." The CD finishes off with a fine rendition by Arthur Hoar on Pipes of "Cameron MacFayden." Much of the music here I think of as being played in a country church long ago, ironically from an era where many denominations actively tried to suppress music, often violently. It has an atmosphere of "through the glass dimly." That atmosphere even gets eerie sometimes. On that level Loud Whisper certainly succeeds. I hope that Loud Whisper will continue to expand in their explorations in this style.
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