Press Quotes
One of the most energizing songs you’ll hear this year is the 7:48 opener, “Onset”… don’t be surprised if you find yourself spinning this tune over and over (and OVER) again; it’s definitely in the “instant hit” category!… “In Sight” … gives each of the players the chance to shine ever so brilliantly. Perfect timeing and flawless recording will have you completely absorbed from the opening note to the closing measure… I predict this song will win awards. This is an amazing jazz journey that gets a MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED rating from me, with an “EQ” (energy quotient) score of 4.99.
- Dick Metcalf, Editor, Contemporary Fusion Reviews
May 1, 2023 https://contemporaryfusionreviews.com/tantalizing-tasty-original-jazz-carl-clements-a-different-light/
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Carl Clements – A Different Light, apart from his talents as a musician, is also a very inspired composer. The arrangements on this album prove it; everything here is done with lightness and intelligence. Across the 9 diverse tracks of “A Different Light,” the musician seems to paint us a novel drawn from his travels and encounters, as the way he manages the instruments in his compositions sometimes reminds me of the brilliant Joe Zawinul, especially when the latter performed accompanying other artists on the piano, allowing space for each while imposing his style. Clements does exactly the same thing, not with his instruments, but with his compositions, which are sometimes dauntingly complex yet always very aesthetic.
I would struggle to pigeonhole “A Different Light” into a too defined category, but with each listen, this album has become “Indispensable,” [highest rating] and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do.
Thierry De Clemensat
USA correspondent – Paris-Move and ABS magazine
Editor in chief Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News
PARIS-MOVE, May 1st 2024 https://www.paris-move.com/reviews/carl-clements-a-different-light-eng-review/
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Carl Clements, the internationally acclaimed jazz saxophonist hailing from Massachusetts, weaves a remarkable tapestry of sound on both Tenor and Soprano saxophones. With a conversational style that's both explorative and emotionally invested, Clements mesmerizes listeners with his pensées and visions, while the guitar provides a beautiful backdrop to his sonic wanderings.
- Mediaversal Music (US)
July 2023
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"Carl Clements is both a jazz master of tenor and soprano saxophones, as well as, alto flutes, again with many compositions." Scott S Mertens, The Phantom Tollbooth (http://www.tollbooth.org/index.php/home/music-reviews/994-kevin-kastning-carl-clements-nowhere-no-here)
"The 13 entirely improvised pieces on this sublimely beautiful recording by Kastning... and Clements... tap deep wells of subterranean feeling while simultaneously filtering light from the Empyrean."
Barry Cleveland, GuitarPlayer.com
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"catch the remarkable tone Clements invokes... sounding like a lost artifact from Oregon's prime, something providentially found on the cutting room floor during that remarkable band's Music from Another Present Era period...Clements is... conversationally inclined, explorative, emotionally invested, at times Garbarekesque... Clements.. wastes no time mesmerizing the listener as the guitar paints backdrops for his pensees and visions."
Mark S. Tucker, AcousticMusic.com
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“a fine composer and player… … maybe due to his assimilation of Indian music performance techniques. Clements can articulate verbally and on his instrument with ease and dexterity."
Marc Medwin, Bagatellen.com
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"Clements tells a compelling story with his strong sense of time and linear development."
H. Allen Williams, Jazz Times
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“A touch of Hindustani inflected the entire performance….The scorching solos drew applause every single time.”
Arhat Sett, The Times of India
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“The mood is pensive and it flows musically through Carl's soprano saxophone solo as it tells the story in a very picturesque way.”
Peter LaBarbara, Jazz Zine
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“…brawny yet thematically rich tenor sax soloing”
Glenn Astarita, All About Jazz
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“Clements' style harkens back to early jazz by emphasizing the melodic variation of the piece's central theme rather than using it as a starting point to be abandoned. This results in spare yet friendly runs… Clements' saxophone is more aggressive, invoking the bluster and brilliance of Charlie.”
Ron Davies, Spendid Ezine
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“Carl… chirps with power, letting all share in his joy”
John Barrett, JazzUSA
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"North March" highlights the strong emotion of Carl Clements' singing soprano sax,” “The intriguing ‘Firefly’… Clements ‘flies’ in, as the sax glides over the track with intensity,” “Clements soulful sax gets the steam rolling.”
Denai Burbank, Jazz Review
"a throaty blues workout, with bracing solos by saxophonist Carl Clements..."
Nathaniel Friedman, Jazziz
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