a d a m m a k o w i c z r e v i e w s
"... a magician of the keyboard."
By
any standard, Makowicz is brilliant. And while the legacy of
Tatum resonates deeply, so too does Makowicz .... Makowicz is
magical!
Chuck
Berg, JazzTimes
Makowicz
plays with beauty, compassion, and vision. He is one of the most
phenomenally spectacular pianists in jazz.
Hugh
Wyatt, New York Daily News
Adam
plays with virtuosity, spontaneity and style that surely would have
delighted Gershwin.
Michael
Feinstein
Makowicz
is a jazz master, and like great practitioners of any style,
he is all music, to the point where questions of influence,
mechanics, and sub-genre (swing, bop, chamber, neoclassical)
have become irrelevancies.
Twin
Cities Reader
Adam
Makowicz has been praised by Benny Goodman, compared with Art
Tatum, Erroll Garner and Teddy Wilson, honored by jazz publications
and toasted all over Europe as a genius. Mr. Makowicz's fiery
style, firm chording, and rapid, Tatumesque right hand phrasing
make him more than deserving of the accolades he has received.
--
Jim Fuselli, Wall Street Journal
"...
his playing ... can only be called astonishing."
Adam Makowicz, a remarkable virtuoso
with technique on the level of an Art Tatum, performed some miraculous
unaccompanied solos... Although Tatum is an influence, Makowicz
has a harmonically advanced style with a personality and strong
wit of his own; his renditions of standards were often breathtaking.
--
Scott Yanow, Music Connection
Adam
Makowicz is a magician of the keyboard.
--
W. Royal Stokes, Washington Post
Adam
will make the history books.
--
Earl "Fatha" Hines
Here
is the most astonishingly gifted improviser to come along in
a couple of decades. Adam is once in a lifetime.
--
Detroit News
...
His albums and his playing in general can only be called astonishing.
Gifted with a fertile imagination and an unlimited technique,
he is not only an extraordinary pianist, he is also an unusual
and fascinating composer.
--
Gene Lees, Jazzletter
...
a pianist of awesome technical accomplishment, he played with
delicacy and great affection. There seems no idea, no matter
how complex, he cannot carry off with flair. Striding magnificently,
swinging mightily, full of warmth and presence.
--
Richard Sudhalter, New York Post
Jackpot!
Adam performed an utterly entrancing program, mostly standards,
that purvey unerringly fine taste, crafty phrasing and prodigious
technique. First-time listeners to Makowicz who fancy themselves
would-be pianists are forewarned: so majestic is his technique
that you may switch to another instrument. To his credit, Adam's
wizardry on the keys is refined in, indeed balanced, by the emotions
he seeks to convey. And, boy, does he swing! The legacies of
Art Tatum and Erroll Garner converge in the 10 fingers as he
sweeps across the keys one moment, then drops in a few well-chosen
trills. Even at the fastest tempos, his approach is unhurried
and seldom florid, full of springy jubilation, so much so that
his right and left hands seem to operate autonomously.
--
Gene Kalbacher, Jazzline
A
rare artist who grips and holds attention, Makowicz handles the
classics of the American songbook with an aplomb equal to the
way he deals with the devastatingly complex structures of his
own compositions. A gifted improviser with splendid technical
prowess, the pianist can also offer warmth and affection in melodic
lines, the balance of fine taste, pungent swing and a jubilant
approach inevitably generating audience cheer.
--
Geoff Chapman, Toronto Star