"It is remarkable to hear perhaps the most beloved Mozart symphony played in a jazz style. True, these days it is more or less commonplace for arrangers to take classical themes and jazz or pop them 'up'. That is not what this is. The Mark Kramer Trio has literally played the entire symphony including in each movement all principal themes, secondary themes, and developmental sections true to form. This alone - that is, reducing the score to piano bass and drums - would have been considered a monumental achievement. But, this CD is more than that. Mark's reharmonization is sophisticated, masterful, harmonious, and thoroughly progressive. If anything he clarifies the underlying logic of the symphony. In addition, jazz improvisations occur frequently based on Mozart's delineated harmonic structures. Perhaps, the richest feature of this outing is the seamless blending of true no-holds-barred jazz improvisations superimposed on a strict structure. Yet, the entire work stays within a jazz idiom. Though some of the fugue type sections are reminiscent of a 'Swingle Singers' approach, the trio never ever stays there for long. Rather, the group's uniquely relaxed and lyrical, sometimes brooding, sometimes triumphant style infuses the soundstage."

Dr. W. Davis Jerome, Rutgers University. The Mozart Society, Music Director and Conductor.

"An entire Mozart Symphony performed by a jazz trio? Perhaps it took a classical violinist turned jazz pianist to pull this one off. Mark Kramer and his trio have done a very hip thing here. Mark Kramer, a uniquely gifted jazz pianist, seems to hold the lonely niche of transforming unlikely material into jazz (e.g. The Rolling Stones in Jazz [STONEJAZZ: Forte/Lightyear/Warner Bros.], Evita en Jazz [Telarc International.] Add to that list his uncanny ability to interpret a complete symphony by Mozart. Jazz bassist Gary Mazzaroppi, with Mark's trio for about 10 years, and also frequently heard accompanying Mary McPartland on NPR's piano jazz, essentially fills an essential melodic role in this neo-Mozartian "ensemble." Drummer John Mosemann adds a kind of melodic drumming, in which the textures he creates take on an orchestral dimension. In some ways his understated style makes all this work. It is difficult sometimes to tell where the written music ends and the trio's complicated spontaneous interactions begin. The whole jazz symphony flows beautifully and is bursting with surprise, beauty, and at times pathos. This work is a landmark, and rich as anything!"

Herbie Hancock, Jazz Pianist