"...relentless romanticism comes courtesy of Paul Jost's stunning singing. His burnished, soulful vocals are remarkable - daringly inventive and freely expressive in true jazz tradition, but uniquely his own. In both the charted vocalization (wordless vocals) and improvised scatting, Jost's musical soul shines. He nearly single-handedly reclaims the male voice as a valid and critically important jazz instrument, and it's simply thrilling to hear. Swinging breezily, scatting with ease and authority, and softly seducing the listener with a catchy combination of the crystalline soulfulness of Sting and the fearless inventiveness of Mark Murphy, Jost is clearly a man coming into his own. If that comparison seems somewhat glib, just listen to him soar and you'll soon realize what a remarkable accomplishment it is for an original jazz vocalist today to be both accessible and deep."

-Buster Maxwell- "Woman's Journal"

 

"In an era of male jazz vocalists jousting for position as Rat Pack wannabees and angst-ridden, twenty-something posers, Jost is a sigh of relief. He possesses an abundance of convincing vocal qualities, most notably his ability to deliver fresh, uncontrived readings.  Jost's somber rendering of Rodgers and Hart's "I Didn't Know What Time It Was", is drenched with pathos and is astonishingly compelling."

- John Barron - "All About Jazz" (N.Y.)

 

"Ambitious, experimental, straight ahead, traditional-these words go a short way to describe one of the Philly area's most broad-minded and daring jazz groups. Vocalist Paul Jost's elastic maneuvers transform the songs' expected direction.  Antfarm Quartet's Dialogues, Pt. 2, contains impressive arrangements of "The Days of Wine and Roses", "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" and Joe Henderson's "Tetragon", and turns "Put on a Happy Face" into the hippest thing this side of Mose Allison and Han Bennink."

-Ken Micallef - "Philadelphia Weekly"

 

""...within a short time, the listener becomes absorbed in his highly intelligent, richly emotive, and musically sophisticated renditions. Jost uses rhythm and dynamics to great effect to evoke the variety of moods suggested by the tunes, and the degree of such a swinging force is surprising."

-Victor L. Schermer - "All About Jazz"

Cadence/NorthCountryAudio News

Slim's Pick of the Week

The Antfarm Quartet "Dialogues, Pt. 2"

Right from the git-go, opening with Mancini's "Days of Wine and Roses," The Antfarm Quartet bursts through the gate swingin' and energized. Jost's ultra hip vocals make this a standout date. On an adventure scale of Mark Murphy to Mel Torme, he lurks somewhere halfway between. His occasional scatting sounds natural and unselfconscious -- not always a given mastered feat amongst vocalists. The band sounds both dreamy and gritty on their brilliant rendition of "And I Love Her." Other standout tracks include: "Centerpiece," "Gentle Rain," and "How Insensitive."

 

Reviewer: Marissa Dodge

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