PRESS

Press for 'Can of Worms':

"There’s something challenging and satisfying in the way Crowley’s compositions unfold, rarely predictably, with written passages jostling with fully improvised sections for attention. This is music that clearly seeks to avoid being pigeon-holed, wanting to splice elements from a variety of musical worlds and for the most part succeeding."
★★★★ Music OMH

"Here is a young musician who is pushing his own musical boundaries and relishing the opportunity of doing so... one of the most impressive things about “Can of Worms” is how it avoids the clichés of the two tenor line up."
★★★★ The Jazz Mann

"... varied and artistically exciting territory. It all bodes well for the future, with Crowley's development as a player and writer promising much."
★★★★ All About Jazz

"Can of Worms looks towards a freer approach towards form and tonality... It's really impressive stuff from start to finish."
★★★★ Jazzwise Magazine + feature article

Album of the Week (May 3rd, 2015), The JazzUK

"Overflowing with writhing, jostling spontaneity, but with sufficient compositional structure to keep a lid on things, London-based saxophonist George Crowley’s new two-tenor quintet recording is a veritable powerhouse of creativity."
AP Reviews

"A twin tenor album this might be but don’t expect those hard bop or swing contests, such as we’ve known from the classic encounters. Crowley has found a whole new context for this line-up and while there are some moments when the two saxophones are intertwining their lines in compelling fashion there is a lot more five-way interaction."
The Jazz Breakfast

"The conversation between the horn men is fertile and free of platitudes, energetic and intellectual but, and most importantly, accessible to everyone with an ear tuned to simulating, discursive interplay."
Jazzviews

"Free-form, muscular sounding jazz with plenty of exchanges between tenor saxes."
Jazz Journal

"It’s rugged, clever, crisply played contemporary jazz, from a fine young composer/player who knows where the music has been and where he’s headed with it."
The Guardian

"There’s a clear sense of adventurous interplay within the group, the two tenors aiding and abetting each other, jostling and cajoling, bouncing ideas, taking risks, all egged on by the all-hearing Nicholls."
Marlbank

"A satisfying melange of post bop, free-er sounds and rhythmic variety make this an interesting collection, rewarding repeated listening."
London Jazz

"Chattering free jazz-y horn dialogues and surging Afro-Cuban-edged themes gave way to cooler, wormier high-register unisons, with a gospel tinge at times that recalled something of Mingus... the thunderous applause and whoops at the end of the second set was thoroughly deserved."
Jazzwise Magazine (live review feature)

"Crowley’s strongly melodic themes provide the jumping off point for vigorous group interaction and the balance between the written and the improvised and between the accessible and the abstract is excellent throughout."
★★★★ The Jazz Mann

Press for 'Paper Universe':

An Album of the Year - London Jazz
An Album of the Year - The Jazz Breakfast

“One of the outstanding UK jazz débuts of recent years. A glorious confirmation of Crowley’s promise.”
★★★★½ The Jazz Mann

"This is the kind of debut on which illustrious careers are built, and which deserves to raise Crowley’s profile well beyond the London scene."
London Jazz

“An impressively individual statement from an already distinctive voice.. tenor saxophonist George Crowley is only in his twenties but already displays the conceptual and expressive assurance of a veteran.”
★★★★ MOJO Magazine

"Crowley's warm, melodic style and forthright solos make him one to watch."
Time Out, London

"[George Crowley's] work sounds fresh...[his] rolling, faintly dolorous tenor sax delivers the winding title track and encourages the first of a series of thoughtfully shaped and thrilling improvisations from [Kit] Downes...stories about Crowley's growing promise haven't been exaggerated."
★★★★ Guardian

“Rarely does a player so young debut with such a fully rounded tone and range of writing skills, so keep a keen ear out for Crowley: the future could yet be his.”
Jazzwise Magazine

"Creating long, flowing melodic lines with a more contemporary edge, Crowley has the potential to make a major impact...impressive stuff from an imaginative young talent."
All About Jazz

"George Crowley is a new name to keep an eye on as a player and composer...[his] ideas are fluid and flow like a spring tide after a full moon...I look forward to hearing more form this band and leader."
Bebop Spoken Here

"Crowley's band mates lend him exemplary support developing a musical relationship that enables them to accompany with an assured understanding."
All About Jazz

"The title track bustles with purpose, darts down obscure alleys, and pauses to hover over the always alert rhythm section... they accent each turn, twist and change of mood. Elsewhere, tricky lines snake over contemporary swing, “Embracing Air” is a lovely ballad and “Bela Lugosi” is rich with passion and pathos."
★★★★ Financial Times

"Tenor saxophonist George Crowley brings to this recording the kind of sage judgement and restraint you would more typically associate with a veteran of the scene than a twenty-something music college graduate."
London Jazz

"A very strong album, and having a real tenor romantic on the scene is, indeed, cause for loud hosannahs and hurrahs."
The Jazz Breakfast