“A clever and boisterous improviser and group leader the Copenhagen-born Kaspersen is a bright light in his native jazz.” – Richard Cook´s Encyclopedia of Jazz. –
“The Special Occasion Band,as he calls the group,rounds up some of Denmark´s best and brightist. It`s a mesure of Kaspersen`s abilities that he is able to corral such a cast.Kaspersen is a unique musician who should be heard.”
– Robert Iannapollo. – CADENCE
“There isnt a track here that wont give literature pleasure to any enthusiast of the work of one of the truly distinctive composers and players of jazz.”
– Michael Tucker – Jazz Journal
“…Kaspersens “Memo to the Moon” rose in this reviewes opinion from unpredictable dark horse to ealy candidate for Big Band Record of the year. Highly recommended. “
– Jack Bowers – All-About -Jazz
“Marvellous records from a Dane whose music is a beautifully personal inventive and humorous response to the particular influence of Thelonius Monk”.
– The Penguin Guide to Jazz.
“Kaspersen`s name deserves to become widely known, his powerful barrelhouse blues style and churchy interpolations are as authentic (and often better) than the sound produced by maney better known players”.
– Ellen Collison – CADENCE
“Magnificent jazz. If you are sick of routine hard bop records,try this. Jan Kaspersen is one of the leaders of jazz today,and this quintet session is a leaders record:witty originals, bristling solos, perfectly tunes empathy, loads of atmosfhere, and I can listen to all of it without feeling bored. The pianist is in charge of a quintet with two outstanding horns:Bob Rockwell, whose Rollinsish tenor has the faintly sardonic egde wich Sonny once loved, brings an ideal mesure of grit and polish to his solos, and Anders Bergcratnz is simply a breathtaking trumpeter.”
– Richard Cook – THE WIRE.
“Kaspersen is the composer of the most brilliantly tuneful themes in Danish jazz in the last ten years”
– Jørgen Siegumfeldt, Berlingske Tidende
“He seems to hold the history of jazz in his hands. James P. Johnson, Duke Ellington, Monk, Erroll Garner – and Jan Kaspersen.”
– Kjeld Frandsen, Berlingske Tidende
“It is a well-known fact that pianist, composer, and bandleader Jan Kaspersen is a veritable audience-puller – especially when he branches out into the “big” club format in the shape of his “Special Occasion Band”.”
– Jørgen Siegumfeldt, Berlingske Tidende
“This music is filled to the brim with the rare power of conviction.”
– Ebbe Traberg, Jazz Special
“Jan Kaspersen with his extended band delivers a sound without parallel.”
“… I have seldom left after an evening with Jan Kaspersen’s music without feeling elated and stimulated.”
– Thorbjørn Sjøgren, Politiken
“The audience’s enthusiasm was boundless – and not without reason as a result of the zest for playing that characterises the band.”
– Boris Rabinowitsch, Politiken
“S.O.B. should be on the Budget as a worthy successor to Pierre Dørge’s New Jungle Orchestra as the official national ensemble. It is original, it goes its own way, and is often provocative. And then it always swings.”
– Jack Lind, Det Fri Aktuelt
“… with clear traits of Ellington and Monk’s terse, but at the same time also sophisticated piano playing, Parlan and Kaspersen’s ambitions reach far beyond the qualified honky-tonk. A good example of creativity in an almost popularly accessible setting.”
– Jørgen Siegumfeldt, Berlingske Tidende
“Kaspersen and his colleagues are among the few here at home who have long been of international standard. And that is without surrendering a jot of the musical originality that always characterises the group.
– Per Calum, Jyllandsposten