What the press has said about the Luckman Jazz Orchestra:

Don Heckman, Los Angeles Times:
“The Luckman Jazz Orchestra did what it does best… vividly display the galvanizing excitement of big band jazz.… [the LJO is] already one of the country’s finest musical organizations.”

“As adept, talented and inventive as Wynton Marsalis’ Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, the Luckman Jazz Orchestra is fully capable of establishng a similarly important bastion for jazz on the West Coast.”

“The Luckman Jazz Orchestra, conducted by James Newton, making its debut...almost instantly defined why the music of large ensembles is so irresistible.”

“The LJO, continuing to expand its importance as one of the Southland's premier jazz ensembles, once again demonstrated how a big jazz band can perform with the improvisational spontaneity of a small group.”

“The establishment of the Luckman Jazz Orchestra adds an impressive new organization to the list [of resident jazz ensembles]...”

“...the orchestra reaffirmed its growing importance as one of the Southland’s premier musical ensembles.”

Greg Burk, LA Weekly:
“Sweating, panting, tux untucked, [James Newton] slapped our faces with the message that jazz...can still live and writhe like the streets of your city.”

Neil Strauss, New York Times:
“The nimble orchestra, led by James Newton, proved that an eclectic virtuoso jazz suite...could be as emotionally and spiritually resonant as a Buddhist sutra or a Vedic hymn.”