"Too many jazz recordings today reflect attempts to squeeze the last drop of virtuosity and clever turns of phrase from the proud legacy of the idiom, mixing it with various flavors of classical and world music. This album is instead straightforwardly a man's expression of who he is, and that is the true essence of jazz. Eminently listenable, Almost Home is also a valid musical expression of the human heart." (read entire review here)

Victor Schermer, All About Jazz Aug. 2008

 

 

"What comes to mind in connection with Nate Birkey: Christmas are dry martinis, The New Yorker magazine, twilights by the ocean, and being half-asleep as embers glow in the fireplace. Even though the songs are mostly regulars for Christmas and New Years, the style provides a pleasant contrast to the standard holiday fare... It is touching, as it is contemplative, with just a splash of romance and nostalgia" (read entire review here)

Victor Schermer - All About Jazz Dec. 2008

"Nate Birkey's appearance at the Metropolitan Room celebrated the release of his new CD, Almost Home. A West-Coaster, he's recently been sharing his talents with more east coast audiences. Birkey's is a well-knit group that plays with skill, thought and keen sensibility. With Birkey on the trumpet and occasional flugelhorn, Jim Ridl on piano, Tony Marino on Bass, Chris Karlic on tenor sax and drummer Marko Marcinko, it was a grand event.
...The high point for me was the CD's title song, "Almost Home," a most beautiful melody . Birkey's trumpet solo was full of punch, with creamy tones that defined jazz. All the musicians played thoughtfully, integrating their solos with each other's. Birkey's music has been described as introspective and subtle. It is more than that; it is a manifestation of a remarkable talent."

Seymour Spilka Cabaret Scenes New York
July 10, 2008

"Make way for Nate Birkey, a talented trumpeter / vocalist / composer who has been honing his talents in the Santa Barbara Jazz scene and is now getting the national exposure he deserves. Birkey's latest release, Shortest Day, recorded live in 2004, showcases his considerable gifts and puts him front and center among Jazz' most promising musicians." (read entire review here)

Florence Wetzel, All About Jazz - New York

"All you have to do is look at his two current CDs, The Mennonite and the vocal driven Ballads, to see his affinity for Chet Baker. On both, the trumpeter strikes a pose musically and physically that is very Chet like. But the sounds are solid, and Birkey definitely deserves a place on the impressive list of trumpeters with a Denver connection."

Norman Provizer, Rocky Mountain News

 

The Mennonite:
"Nate Birkey's trumpet rings with a clarion tone, as his quintet interprets straight-ahead ideas. Acoustic, and derived both from jazz and blues traditions, his session favors original compositions. Birkey's sense of the modern mainstream includes light Latin reflections, moody trumpet daydreams, cohesive ensemble play, and a bit of adventurous growth. The album is a clear winner. Nods to Miles Davis are everywhere. When the trumpeter steps forward, his ballad tone takes over. There are classical music overtones. Several of the pieces proceed suitelike, telling stories through their myriad mood changes. The title track - a loose, bouncy affair - adds guitars to color with a contemporary brush. Guest Joe Woodard elevates Birkey's straight-ahead piece to the leading edge. This is where today's jazz should be. The tradition remains intact, while familiar elements from rock, pop, and world music serve to provide an avenue for growth."

Jim Santella, All About Jazz

Ballads:
"Nate Birkey sings each of the classic songs on his ballads album. Like Michael Franks and Chet Baker, he possesses a fragile, upper-register voice that floats lightly on the breeze. And, like both singers, he colors his performance with light pastels. Birkey has taken care to avoid messin' with these familiar tunes. Interludes by trumpet, guitar, bass, vibraphone or piano settle in nicely and complement the singer. The eerie guitar sustains on "Hi Lili, Hi Lo" seem to indicate a desire to alter the scene somewhat. For this one piece, a mild-mannered cabaret mood is surrounded by strange electric guitar sensations. It's as if their late night concert hall were experiencing the front lines of a winter storm...Throughout the session, the band supports by improvising brief solos, and each member finds a way to add something fresh. Whether it's quoting Monk during a Kurt Weill song, clicking a drum cadence on an Alec Wilder tune, or waxing acoustic Latin via a Gershwin number, these Household Ink artists provide mild adventures."

Jim Santello, All About Jazz

"Nate Birkey and his Quintet have dropped two new albums on us recently, some kind of reward for waiting three years since his debut, Indelibly You. Taken together they point backward and forward, and show where one of Santa Barbara's most talented ensembles currently stands. The Mennonite, in places, sounds like a great, long-lost Blue Note album, circa 1961... this is prime post-bop material with detours into Latin Jazz and 70's funk, and always intriguing playing from the quintet. On Ballads, Birkey's hushed vocals are as delicate as rice paper, and on numbers like "But Not For Me", seem to float away before your ears."

Ted Mills, Santa Barbara Independent

Tight, focused playing by the band and a set of solid compositions by the leader make this an enjoyable set.

Michael Laprarie, jazzreview.com

"The timbre of his disarmingly soft and reedy voice is itself closely akin to the sound he gets out of his horn, and it is precisely these unexpected and melancholy vocals that - combined with his seemimgly effortless skill on the trumpet - have most critics rushing to compare him with the late Chet Baker."

Jim Reed, Connect Savannah

"The third and fourth albums by trumpeter / singer Nate Birkey and his excellent colleagues contrast greatly. The Mennonite, with its essentially Hard-Bop orientation, suggests the music once associated with the Blue Note studios. The pensive Ballads seems derived more from West Coast cool... Both recordings feature creatively varied arrangements. The players are strong musicians, with Birkey himself being something of a cross between Miles Davis and Chet Baker."

David Franklin, Cadence Magazine

 

"Nate Birkey has a lithe trumpet sound and slight, soft vocal delivery that will undoubtedly draw comparisons to Chet Baker... His trumpet playing is more plaintive and even closer to Miles Davis' minimalist approach than Baker's ever was. Ballads is a recording of just that, and a nice introduction to Birkey's "medium cool" aesthetic. With creative group arrangements that often feature vibraphone, he breathes atmospheric life into "For All We Know" and "I Will Wait For You". This is touching and pleasant afterglow music."

Matt Collar, All Music Guide

 

"Trumpeter / vocalist Nate Birkey takes a break from playing standards on the progressive The Mennonite. While Birkey does sing and play piano on "What'll I Do" at the end of the set, he otherwise opts for a more contemporary approach akin to mid-60"s Miles Davis an Art Farmer. He starts things off with "The Fool In The Tree", a solid, angular, mid-tempo blues that allows Birkey and saxophonist Justin Claveria to lay down some great diminished lines. Birkey then showcases his gift for writing strong melodies on the Latin-infused "Delirio". Another stand-out track is pianist Jamieson Trotter's atmospheric, minor-key "Prohibitation", which is reminiscent of Black-Codes era Wynton Marsalis."

Matt Collar, All Music Guide

 

"Anyone who's seen the concentrating soulful demeanor and elegant slouch this brainy trumpeter bears onstage with him in his signature open white shirt and sports coat, will readily attest to his virtual gone daddy-o status, a rarity in our ironic times."

D.J. Palladino, Santa Barbara Independent

"Birkey's trumpet chops are strong, his playing is lyrical and passionate... his singing voice is soft and sensitive, making the ballad format the most appropriate for his style. Birkey seems to me to be an enigma. As was once queried of Chet Baker, is he a trumpet player who sings, or a singer who plays trumpet? Birkey is adept at both."

Frank Rubolino, Cadence Magazine

"His biggest, boldest, most original statement as a musician yet."

Steve Libowitz, Santa Barbara News-Press

 

"Nate's latest offering is his most inspired to date, fusing a myriad of styles into a single expression of jazz excellence... With Indelibly You Nate has arrived as a world-class jazz musician, able to change any room into an atmospheric dreamscape or hard-bop cutting session."

Mark Fahey, Santa Barbara Independent

 

"The Mennonite shows Birkey to be more than a capable trumpeter, with a Miles Davis bent. With an emphasis upon original works, all in a modern mainstream mode, he and his equally capable sidekicks have the goods, with enough originality to come up with a musically attractive album that doesn't sound like somebody else's."

Russell Roberts, L.A. Jazz Scene

 

"Birkey's compositions are magnetically appealing. The melodies are lazy and often painful, though refreshingly alive."

-Eugene Pidgeon, Santa Barbara Independent

 

"There is a mystical quality to Nate birkey that manifests itself in both his vocals and trumpet style. Birkey has been compared to both Miles Davis and Chet Baker, and his playing has more than a touch of the former and a whole lot of the latter. And Mr. Birkey with a nod to his influences, adds his own message that makes this recording (Ballads) a most enjoyable endeavor."

John Gilbert, Jazzreview.com

"Birkey hypnotized the crowd with his unique, melancholic style."

Robert Cass, L.A. Jazz Scene