#4 Best Jazz Album of 2014
"New Orleans brass band meets Sun Ra and Ornette Coleman - fiery yet booty-shaking music - it's a stone cold killer diller! ... Most bands can't get the New Orleans stuff right, but the Revolutionary Snake Ensemble is one of the few who does and then takes it in fascinating directions."
"Led by Ken Field, an alto saxophonist and flutist, this Boston-area band puts a premium on Mardi Gras-style rhythm - the opening track of its new album,Live Snakes, is aptly titled Parade- but also pursues a sinuous, writhing counterpoint, in ways that justify the band's name."
"Mardi Gras on steroids...Take everything you thought you were familiar with in terms of the music of New Orleans and wipe the slate clean. Boston based Revolutionary Snake Ensemble takes that Crescent City vibe to the next level with a live release that will set your hair on fire! Spectacular"
"The band thrives on experimentation while still keeping things accessible...passionately performed... captivating"
"The music has depth, complexity, but never gets so esoteric that it loses its visceral kick."
"Mix traditional brass band and avant garde jazz, what do you get? Ken Field's Revolutionary Snake Ensemble Live Snakes a Mardi Gras party!"
"A mix of traditional New Orleans brass band, James Brown, Sun Ra, and raucous street performer enthusiasm, RSE's music is as fun as it is engaging."
"Sizzling!"
"A first class band worthy of much wider recognition."
"Beauty and anguish"
"A jubiliant celebration of music and life. This is one movin', groovin' funfest."
"Hauntingly beautiful music!"
"Fun, musical, energetic and filled with agape-styled love, this disc is a reminder ... of why you're alive."
"Revolutionary Snake Ensemble finds joy in the rhythms of the street, in the melodies of the everyday, and in the shouts one creates against the darkness."
"Brilliant improvisation...superb interpretations...inspired...deserves to be heard by all."
Best of 2014 Jazz
"Pretty heavy duty one-two punch starts this album from a fast-flying hydra big band led by Ken Field. Quite the stirring cocktail...the funk button is in full effect. Harkens back to some of the best Thirsty Ear beat collider digi-blue jazz. Ride the Snake!"
The 3rd release by Field's improvisational & experimental brass band the Revolutionary Snake Ensemble, an Editor's Pick in Downbeat Magazine
"Mardi Gras on steroids...a live release that will set your hair on fire!" CriticalJazz.com
Available from Accurate Records.