REVIEWS AND FEEDBACK DownBeat Magazine
Ultra World X-Tet’s ‘Wise Dreams And Fables of The Sky’ is a DownBeat Editors' Pick for June 2019 Read what DownBeat has to say about the album: http://downbeat.com/reviews/detail/wise-dreams-and-fables-of-the-sky Lonesome Banjo Chronicles
The Groove and Fusion of Hip Bones' new album "The Moose Lodge Sessions "While many bands in today’s music scene claim cross-cultural and multi-genre influences, few pull it off with the ease and mastery of Hip Bones...." http://www.lonesomebanjochronicles.com/2016/07/the-groove-and-fusion-of-hip-bones-new.html San Francisco Classical Voice
"I was particularly impressed by the chemistry between Schwantes on tenor and Wong on her Western-tuned guzheng in 'Lonely Woman'...Schwantes and Wong threw an entirely new light on that harmonic rhetoric, endowing this iconic piece of jazz history with a fresh sonorous character." Stephen Smoliar Examiner.com
"On June 13, 2014, music history was made when Ultra World X-tet presented their groundbreaking concert "Wise Dreams and Fables of the Sky" in the beautiful O1C sanctuary as part of their ongoing chamber music series..." READ MORE https://www.ultraworldxtet.com/reviews.html Examiner.com
ULTRA WORLD X-TET's "Magical Adventures of the Monkey King" concert listed as one of the best in 2012 https://www.ultraworldxtet.com/reviews.html San Francisco Classical Voice
by Jeff Kaliss An Ultra Magical X-tet Imagines the Familiar "In presenting Magical Adventures of the Monkey King as the centerpiece of its Friday concert at Old First Church, the Ultra World X-tet seemed to have taken on some of the qualities of the composition’s title character. The five-person ensemble, like the marvelous mythical monkey Sun Wukong, covered a great deal of ground in a short time, wielding magic in service of a lofty mission..." READ MORE https://www.sfcv.org/reviews/old-first-concerts/an-ultra-magical-x-tet-imagines-the-familiar Examiner.com
"To put it plainly, Ultra World X-tet is an extraordinary world class ensemble.” ULTRA WORLD X-TET: Chinese Music and Jazz converge in San Francisco by Johnathon Bakan "On Friday October 21, The Old First Church (O1C) on Sacramento St. presented Ultra World X-Tet as part of its ongoing concert series. To put it plainly Ultra World X-Tet is an extraordinary world class ensemble. Ultra World X-Tet combines jazz, world, classical and experimental styles in a pioneering mix of music and culture..." READ MORE https://www.ultraworldxtet.com/reviews.html Berkeley World Music Festival
"On behalf of the Berkeley World Music Festival, I want to thank you and Ultra World X-tet for your fine performance during the 2012 Festival. It was a pleasure working with you, to be introduced to your music and to have the opportunity to experience Ultra World X-tet live. We appreciate your music and applaud your pioneering work towards towards the 3 C's (creating, composing & choreographing) a new East/West musical sound." Berkeley World Music Festival Committee Tsou Tribe Culture Center, Alishan (Ali Mountain), Taiwan
"Hello Mr.Schwantes, i'm so glad to hear that you guys enjoyed your experienc at the Culture Center. we loved your version of the Ali Mountain, it sounds very different compared to the way we used to sing it. it sounds softer with layers, its almost like eating a "black forest cake", you taste the spongy chocolate layer and there is also whipped cream and cherries in between each layer of the cake, its hard to explain but i hope you can relate my cake analogy! We enjoyed the music very much! hope you and your wife can come again ! so we can show and tell you more about Tsou's life. wish you and your wife "YUYUPAS" which means Happy and Healthy!" Akung Islituan tuan Tsou Tribe Culture Center, Alishan (Ali Mountain), Taiwan 阿里山鄒族文化部落 The Roanoke Times/Roanoke.com
Tad Dickens http://blogs.roanoke.com/cutnscratch/2011/06/music-video-hip-bones-at_1 "Hip Bones, from parts across the continent, hit Awful’s Towers again on Thursday, and the jazz/rock/funk trio sounded as tasty and musical as ever...the band’s Gary Schwantes tearing up a sax solo on a cover of Prince’s “Purple Rain.” Laying down the groove for Schwantes are drummer Robin Tolleson and bassist Shannon Hoover. Really fun show last night. http://blogs.roanoke.com/cutnscratch/2011/06/music-video-hip-bones-plays-mr-money "an excellent original from Gary Schwantes...hot solos from Schwantes and bassist Shannon Hoover." Sing Tao Daily
April 7, 2009 ULTRA WORLD X-TET Concert at Chinese Culture Center, S.F. CA "Great musicians...a unique style." Connect Savannah
October 31, 2009 Noteworthy By Bill DeYoung | bill@connectsavannah.com HIP BONES Seriously funky jazz from San Francisco, this all-instrumental trio is fronted by hard-bopping saxman Gary Schwantes, who also plays bamboo flutes and keyboard samples, and is rounded out by North Carolina bassist Duston Hofsess (he plays the group's East Coast dates; they use a different guy out west) and drummer Robin Tolleson, who also has a jam band called Big Block Dodge. This band is all about deeply textured grooves and tight improve, on material from the likes of Miles Davis and John Coltrane. They also have a fair amount of cerebral original material, which can be tastily sampled on the Web site. Listen & learn: www.hipbones.net. At 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9 at Jazz'd Tapas Bar, 52 Barnard St. Modern Drummer
Review of Hip Bones 4 (03.07-vol 31, number 3) Grooving, sax-fronted jazz group Hip Bones are consistently interesting yet not overly slick. Drummer Robin Tolleson's engaging delivery makes you raise an eyebrow with his over-the-bar phrasing on the album opener "Scram" and the perfectly placed duple rolls in the half-time shuffle of the Police's "walking on the Moon" He knows how to set up others too, catching a tambourine here or a splash there lending the right support for Gary Schwantes' cool sax solos. The excellent recording seals the deal on a satisfying listen.-Ilya Stemkovsky |