Reviews of ONEIRA:
TAKE EFFECT
“Of Maker And Movement” opens the listen with 3 movements of animated and dreamy mallet manipulation that emits a very unique energy that radiates with warmth and playfulness. The title track lands in the middle, and it blends the trio’s many strengths into a climate that touches on jazz, ambient and New Age ideas in the very creative demeanor. At the end, “This We Have Now” alternates between intimacy and exploration, where a charming, cinematic appeal is very much appreciated. The 3 are joined by the guest percussionists Megan Arns and Kyle Flens, and together they illuminate Bellor’s vision with fascinating and exciting musicianship that illustrates an inimitable approach to percussion that few will ever replicate.”
TEXTURA
True to form, her writing is melodically alluring as well as rousing and infectious. While it’s possible to detect traces of Classical Minimalism and Balinese Gamelan in the material, she possesses a natural gift for eluding reductive categorization. Stated otherwise, her writing is more identified by an expressive personal signature than allegiance to a particular genre or tradition. Without restricting itself necessarily, the music eschews dissonance for a vibrant, harmonious sound that dovetails excellently with the quartet’s vibrant playing.
Gapplegate Classical-Modern Music Review
It turns out that Ms. Bellor came through with music that is not rote-ly repetitively Minimalist or New in an expected sense. Rather you might experience this music as I did, as a kind of New Classical Ethnic-Folk hybrid of pentatonic and diatonic musics of infectious rhythm and brightly chiming and syncopating excitement, like perhaps in essence Balinese Gamelan, only wholly original and local to the US like the legacy of percussion group music classics from here, only evolved and inventive in its own ways.
Each work unfolds in nicely built structures of expression, in ways that those who love melodic percussion groups will doubtless find as charming and continually invigorating as I did. Happily recommended!
Avant Music News:
“There’s a certain consistency of sound tying the pieces together—Bellor writes music that’s harmonically accessible and rhythmically propulsive, even as it moves through multiple time signatures with beats divided into variably accented odd and even groupings.”
I Care If You Listen – Video Premiere of ONEIRA
Click HERE to view article
textura – Review of Reflections at Dusk
“Neither a serialist nor a minimalist, she’s fashioned a personal style that’s easy to embrace; she’s also that rare composer whose music manages to be instantly listenable and emotionally resonant without any compromise to its sophistication.” – textura, Reflections at Dusk
Jazz Weekly – Review of Reflections at Dusk
“A collection of saxophones directed by Chien-Kwan Lin create a rich texture that hovers on “Skylark Lullaby” while dark shadows lurk with a pair of pianos by Olga Shupyatskaya and Futaba Niekawa teamed with percussionists Hannah Weaver and Kyle Peters on the noir “Amethyst.” Rich chimes form lovely impressions with bass and marimba on “Cerulean Twilight” while dramatic strings and harps create a soundtrack of a landscape for “High Resolution.” Evocative musical images.” – Jazz Weekly – Review
Innova Recordings
https://www.innova.mu/albums/jennifer-bellor/reflections-dusk
I liked her use of instruments: melodic percussion vs. non-melodic percussion, a variety of saxophone sounds, she really must like twilight, sunset, dusk because she understands the magic of that time of day. Be sure to check this out. – AArbor KFJC 89.7FM
Clocks In Motion: Of Maker and Movement (2019)
“Jennifer Bellor’s three-movement Of Maker and Movement (2018-19) created ethereal sounds with various mallet instruments, sometimes approaching an ambient aesthetic.
The simple, yet detailed beauty of the sounds, some motoric, others melodic, was arresting. Bellor writes ravishingly and imaginatively for percussion, and Clocks in Motion have made her their resident composer. Three more quartets will come from her pen in the near future.”
David Kulma, Cleveland Classical
New York Concert Review, Inc.
Review of High Resolution: “This work has an atmospheric, dream-like quality. It is an effective work that is a worthy addition to the repertoire.” (Click HERE to read full article.)
Clock Shop 2018-2021
https://www.clocksinmotionpercussion.com/index.cfm?id=88972
2018 Music Now Festival, Indiana State University
https://www.indstate.edu/cas/cmf/contests/contest-results
NewMusicBox 2016 Staff Picks
debut album STAY, December 13, 2016
“wonderful demonstration of how to maintain a highly individual compositional identity without needing to take refuge in pre-post-genre musical silos” – Frank J. Oteri, NewMusicBox
http://www.newmusicbox.org/articles/newmusicbox-mix-2016-staff-picks/
Washington Post
Duffy’s Cut (2013)
“flair for full-bodied, operatic sound” – Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/washington-national-opera-gives-young-writers-a-chance-to-emerge/2013/11/14/ce73eb46-4d77-11e3-9890-a1e0997fb0c0_story.html?utm_term=.03ddaade2c07
Huffington Post
Duffy’s Cut (2013)
“using contrasting rhythms and clever harmonies to an intriguing effect” – Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-dormady-eisenberg/review-three-mini-operas_b_4280687.html
AdZel Duo makes music for two clarinets
https://news.ku.edu/2018/06/29/adzel-duo-makes-music-two-clarinets
2018 The American Prize, Ernst Bacon Award, 2nd Place by College Division Ensemble
http://theamericanprize.blogspot.com/2018/08/ernst-bacon-award-american-music.html
2018 The American Prize, Honorable Mention for Songs in the Dark
http://theamericanprize.blogspot.com/2018/04/winning-composers-vocal-chamber-music.html
Fanfare Magazine
Bordello Nights
“Jennifer Bellor tops exuberance with raciness in Bordello Nights, evoking smoky erotic haunts in New Orleans. Bellor is amazingly deft at pitting jazz soloists against big-band splashiness. I was riveted and entertained by its unfolding air of fantasia and improvisation.” – Huntley Dent, Fanfare Magazine
“Jennifer’s special ability to guide the listener on an introspective tour encompassing a wide range of emotions is realized with this brilliant composition.The use of contemporary/popular music compositional form and technique, the essence of a jazz-like performance, and a serious piece for wind orchestra such as this, are great combinations resulting in this superb piece for wind orchestra and jazz ensemble.” – Fanfare Magazine interview with Tom Leslie, UNLV Wind Orchestra
http://fanfarearchive.com/ntbm/articles/leslie-int-dent.html
“terrific piece of big band jazz” – Henry Fogel, Fanfare Magazine
http://fanfarearchive.com/ntbm/articles/leslie-fogel.html
2016 The American Prize
Winner, Chase the Stars, in the orchestra category
http://theamericanprize.blogspot.com/2017/01/composer-winners-orchestra.html
No Depression
debut album STAY, October 9, 2016
“raw and wild with a beauty that’s so enchanting it is unforgettable” – No Depression
http://nodepression.com/album-review/poetic-imagery-and-stylistic-diversity-make-new-jennifer-bellor-album-enchanting
Jazz Corner
debut album STAY, January 13, 2017
“like a piece of literature through the form of music. Every cut tells a story that is worth listening and understanding” (Jazz Corner and Wavelengthla)
http://www.jazzcorner.com/news/display.php?news=7754
KNPR
898 Hildegard, March 30, 2017
898 Hildegard with the Las Vegas Philharmonic
Interview on KNPR with Dave Becker March 29, 2017
Alamosa News
Music in the Air throughout the San Luis Valley, January 21, 2018
Performance of Querencia
Read full article
UNLV News Center
UNLV Dance Announces 2017-18 Season —”The In Crowd”, August 17, 2018
Performance of Chase the Stars with choreography
Read full article
Rochester City Newspaper
CLASSICAL | “Sonic Cluster II”
Adams State University News
SLV Cultural Commissions to be premiered at CMEA convention, January 20, 2017
Premiere of Querencia
Read full article
UNLV News Center
NEON Festival Returns September 13-17
Performance of Songs in the Dark
Read full article
All About Jazz
Take Five with Jennifer Bellor, August 23, 2016
Rochester City Newspaper
Album release concert at Bop Shop Records
“gorgeously ethereal” – Rochester City Newspaper
http://www.rochestercitynewspaper.com/rochester/classical-jazz-jennifer-bellor/Content?oid=2864491
Eastman School of Music Newsroom
Eastman School of Music Saxophonists perform, teach in China this Summer, June 10, 2016
Las Vegas Weekly
Neon Rhythm: A Spontaneous Symphony Among Historical Signs, April 27, 2016
“Moments Shared, Moments Lost,” is sentimental and jazz-like. With a slow, free-flowing beat on a tubano drum, it echoes the stories of the once-fantastic, worn and retired signs enveloping us.”
Read the full article – Las Vegas Weekly
Las Vegas Review Journal
Philharmonic Announces 2016-17 Concert Season
Jazz @ Eastman
Overdrive (2015) , July 7, 2015
University of Rochester News Room
THREE EASTMAN GRADUATE STUDENTS WIN DOWNBEAT AWARDS, May 9, 2013
Midnight Swim, Downbeat Award in the original composition, orchestrated work category at the graduate college level
Read full article