PRAISE FOR WELCOME TO THE SHOW

Lookout, ladies and gentlemen! I have just made a new pitcher of grape KOOL-AID and I don't know what I'm capable of! I'm in a sort of strange mood today (*mainly, it's the kool-aid) and I need some sort of music to deal with this emotion that I'm feeling. Good thing I've got the newest CD from AVI FOX-ROSEN here! Seriously, I am really into this album. It's like a strange, jazzy, cabaret-type of music that you can't tell if it's serious or not. Well, it's the kind of music that I can get into - and I think you should, too!

by Andy Wilkins
The Biggest Letdown
August 5, 2009

Self-professed vaudevillian Avi Fox-Rosen presents an album that would sound slightly peculiar no matter what decade it was released. On Welcome to the Show, Rosen's band consists of Art Bailey (accordion, keyboards), Chris Berry (drums), Benjy Fox-Rosen (bass), and Jon Singer (Marimba, glock, xylophone, percussion). On some of the tracks on this album, the overall sound and vibe is reminiscent of Frank Zappa...while other tracks are much more accessible than such a comparison might imply. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what genre this music fits in...the only real constant in the music are Fox-Rosen's surprisingly smooth and resonant vocals. Some of the tracks have a cool jazzy sound that is most appealing. We particularly like the lyrics on the album so its too bad that a lyric sheet wasn't included. Twelve tracks here including "Welcome to the Show," "The Tower of Babel," and "So Long, Farewell." Interesting stuff, well executed... (Rating: 4+++++)

Baby Sue
June 2009

Guitarist/Vocalist Avi Fox-Rosen calls it absurdist rock cabaret, but this ain�t no fooling around. Most of the humor is wry and some material is downright cavalier. The musicians are accomplished yet understated, so don�t expect some gala goof-fest.

Welcome to the Show has a Paul Simon feel to it from Avi�s assorted vocal inflections to the instrumentation including Jon Singer�s marimba, xylophone and glockenspiel, along with Art Bailey�s accordion and keys. Compositions reflect folk, jazz, and rock with a smattering of world music tossed in.

The a cappella beginning of the opening title track amusingly states the disc�s agenda and punctuates it with heavy guitar and marimba. �Life�s Short (and then you die)� quickly follows with marimba, throbbing bass, and Avi�s smooth, faux suave croon delivering the rollickin� goods. �Truth and Beauty� is a slow burner fueled by guitar, bass, and accordion. �White Collar Crime� chugs along with rolling snare keeping the brisk pace.

The absurdist rock cabaret blue ribbon goes to �The Tower of Babel,� with its wild lyrics and mood swings including the huge proggy chorus.

by Warren Barker Progression Magazine (print publication) July 2009

Imagine Paul Simon fronting a band that is trying hard to emulate an odd conglomeration of OK Go, Spoon, Tally Hall with a touch of They Might be Giants. Does it work in your mind? Yeah, it doesn't really work on the disc either. There are bright spots where it does come together fairly well like on the upbeat "Life's Short (and then you die)" or the tongue in cheek "White Collar Crime". Overall it has a ton of potential, it's just that most of the songs fall flat.

The Chicken Fish Speaks
July 2009

PRAISE FOR EARLIER WORK

So Out It�s In Two different brands of endearingly sentimental music

Avi Fox-Rosen likes to identify himself as �anti-folk,� part of a movement most notable for its insistence on what it�s not�that is, the hokey and sincere �pro-folk� music that hails John Denver and Judy Collins as its lovable, naively optimistic icons. In some ways, however, Fox-Rosen�s music fits more comfortably in the latter camp. His first solo effort, One, is stuffed tight with nostalgia and melancholy, and feels like a fuzzy sweater you could fall asleep in on a cold winter night. On the first song, �All I�d Like to Say,� Fox-Rosen sings, �I�d like to give you my heart but I can�t / It�s still beating in my chest and I need it for the time being,� his voice ballooning with emotion that�s more Motown soul than Matador irony; his guitar practically drips with the earnestness that�s boiled over from his voice.

Fox-Rosen�s voice is strongly reminiscent in both tone and emotional heft of Jeff Buckley, and in a genre where people often cite Bob Dylan as a vocal�not lyrical�influence, it�s not outlandish to imagine that some of his potential fanbase might be repelled Fox-Rosen�s perfect alto and polished-sounding sadness. Lyrically, he has his Dylan moments, waxing poetic about long and lonely streets and his place in the universe (�O Lord, I fear the truth will devour me / because we live in contradiction and sing out loud�), but then he�ll turn around and drop a straight clich� that lasts the length of a song, musing on girls and crushes and the intimated romance of crushes. �If I could I would cage you in a palace,� he sings on �Man,� �If I could I would break these chains of my mind.�

�Jerusalem,� the penultimate song, is the album�s cornerstone; a mission statement that unites Fox-Rosen�s elegant existential soliloquies with his emo-esque relationship reveries. At moments, it seems he could be referring to a lover, but it turns out he�s talking about the anthropomorphized city itself: �Out of the ashes, you rise up from the dead / your bridal gown�s in tatters, your long dry tears a river of dust.�

Although One was Fox-Rosen�s main project of 2008, he also fronts a four-piece bluegrass band, the Frozen String Quartet, which released a self-titled album this year. A collection of quaint, mellow originals and odd covers (a laid-back country rendition of �Summer in the City,� for one), the album is like a window into Fox-Rosen�s influences, including Fairport Convention and Lyle Lovett, and is more lighthearted and fun than One.

But Fox-Rosen�s newest work, a one-off cover of Santogold�s top-40 single �Creator,� might be his most complex yet. He trades in the tortured-poet uber-emotiveness for David Byrne�like gymnastics; the rhythm track plays a manic game of �duck, duck, goose,� jumping from different percussion instruments to a bowed bass to Fox-Rosen�s own wry vocals. Flighty and sexy, his �Creator� serves as a knowing wink to the people who heard his first album and will inevitably gawk at this out-of-left-field cover, but it may also be a hint of what�s to come from the musician. Coming from him, the line, �The rules I break got me a place / Up on the radar��written by Santogold, appropriated by Fox-Rosen�is either mightily egotistical or massively spiritual; sure, he is heralding his bravado, but when set beside the testimony of �Jerusalem,� the song almost seems like an attempt to embody God�s own voice. This indicates a less introspective, more self-aware state of mind for Fox-Rosen�he is making fun of his own seriousness without entirely giving it up.

by Matthue Roth
Tablet Magazine
December 2008

This full-length from New York’s Fox-Rosen is a hodge podge of mellow sounds, running the gamut from rock and folk to jazz and world music. Unassuming and quiet, Fox-Rosen reveals himself to be a fine musician and outstanding singer. The 10 songs included here are abetted by lush arrangements that feature Fox-Rosen's supple acoustic guitar playing (not at all unlike contemporaries such as James Taylor). Expect to hear real strings and such unexpected lilts as pedal steel guitar and rickety keyboards. This effort sounds major label in every way, and it should, considering the album was mastered by Allan Tucker at Foothill Digital.

The album’s second song, “Contradiction,” is a joyous mess that actually sounds like a band tuning up until it settles into a one of a kind funk groove featuring the strings. This type of heady stuff isn’t for everyone, but if you’re a mature listener who isn’t into the usual cookie cutter rock band, Avi Fox-Rosen is a true artist. Highly reccomended.

by Syl Nathan
Good Times Magazine
September 2007

You know when your friend has a friend that plays music and you go to dinner and eventually music comes up in the conversation and he mentions he finished an album and would love for you to hear it. Well, generally you are left thinking, “that's nice” but you are also left thinking that it probably won't be anything special. I don’t know, maybe I’m just a pessimist, or maybe the majority of times I have been in that situation the music turned out to be standard singing with standard guitar accompaniment. Well, I popped on Avi Fox-Rosen's “One” album and the only thing standard that comes to mind is that maybe these songs sound so classic that they could perhaps be dubbed “standards” for the singer song writting crowd.

Avi Fox-Rosen is a Jamie Cullum with a guitar and a brilliantly influenced Jeff Buckley fan. The music sweeps in with a finger picking that makes you feel like you are laying back on a hammock in Martha’s Vineyard without a worry in the world. From the heartfelt opening lyrics “I'd like to say that I could give you my heart, but I can’t/It's still beating in my chest and I need it for the time being,” I can tell I won’t be leaving this hammock for a little while. The guitar playing is so in tune with the singing its obvious he is the one playing it, but the singing is what takes this music throughout all the turns and tells the story. “Contradiction” is the second track and establishes Avi as a true poet. “If you are hording all your money while you criticize the poor. sing it hey hey! If you fought equal opportunity, but money got you in the door. sing hey hey!”. These lines sound like they would fit right in at any juke joint, and I can almost hear the applaudatory snaps as the orchestral arrangement jumps in.

It is the fourth track, “Man” that speaks to me the most. “Mans home is his palace/mans palace is his mind.” Avi definitely plays the philosopher on this track and it fits well with his existential writing throughout the album. The most powerful moment is the chorus. “Man walks tall carries a big stick / doesn't take no shit from a little man / a man smiles not / a man cries not and a man takes anything he pleases as his lover / a man does not…desire other men except as allies of war and conquest…and a man dies alone…” After the intensity of these lyrics, there is a sudden empty vacuum of sound, and just when I think its all over, the soothing finger picking that began the album off returns to thematically tie the album together. The chorus is sung once again but slowly, and this time with an obvious pride…

As the album progresses it is apparent that even if Avi isn't giving us his heart, he is definitely lending it to us with each chord and lyric.

By Guy Emanuel
Shemspeed.com
October 2007

Avi is a Featured Artist in Zeek Magazine's Best New Jewish Music: Volume One. A compilation featuring Pharaoh's Daughter, Kobi Oz, Chana Rothman, Mirah, Juez and more!!

Avi Fox-Rosen: One
Jewish Jazz
By Nahteboy

Who’s up for a little Jewish Jazz? I ask this question in both a lighthearted, yet realistic nature. Avi Fox-Rosen, a young music teacher out of Brooklyn, also works as an accompanist at synagogue and has taught around the country.

His style of music on his debut, simply entitled One, is a mix of Tom Waits, alongside pop artists such as James Taylor and Paul Simon. The Simon influence, whether intentional or not, is very evident on “Tumbad,” which could’ve easily fit alongside Simon’s “You Can Call Me Al.”

Occasionally, a song will get into a little more of a freestyle of jazz, as Avi sings and plays guitars with bandmates Chris Berry (drums) and Patrice Blanchard (bass). Avi also brings in a variety of strings, percussion instruments, piano and even a lap steel to help fill out some songs.

Other songs such as “Prophets” and “Jerusalem” may make one think that this is a religious album, but there’s really no preaching on One. The singer/songwriter does take a look at people and the world. Especially on “Alone in the City” and “Woman (Drizzle)”, which has the James Taylor-like vocals. Another piece that takes a good, hard look is “Man,” a scathing, bitter song that has more of that freeform, tortured poet garbed in a black and smokey coffee shop.

When he’s not ranting on “Man”, Avi’s vocals are, for the most part, smooth and somewhat soft. He does, however, get a little off, possibly on purpose, on “Burn,” which has a few bars that sound like he may be on fire, and a measure or two in “Prophets” that could’ve been left out with his wavering voice.

Overall, this is an interesting album that is well-produced, has great instrumentation and definitely something he can be proud of. Now someone just needs to teach him how to design a better CD cover and website. At the moment, you can only find this jazzy debut through his site or at CD Baby or iTunes.

By Nahteboy
Pop Syndicate
October 2007

With this, his first commercial CD, Avi Fox-Rosen co-produces a truly superior sounding disc ably assisted by Aaron Nevezie who also engineered along with John Davis. Singer-guitarist Fox-Rosen has a pleasant voice, not unlike Paul Simon, that fits well with the varied material on the cd. With an emphasis on strings, Jeremy Brown and Jake Schulman-Ment play violin, Leanne Darling contributes viola, Myk Freedman adds lap steel, David Moore does keyboards and piano, Ward Williams plays cella while Matt Kilmer lays down the percussion. Their performances are excellent both musically and sonically. The result of these efforts is a very pleasant, nicely recorded disc (from The Bunker Studios) that, in many ways, stands out from the crowd.

In Guitar Digest Magazine
November 2007