There are few electric bassists in modern jazz with such a broad and expressive palette and mature sense of collectivity as Jeff Song. - Sam Prestianni, Jazziz
The musicians know and respond to each other laudably, turning in ensemble work that, while highly fragmented, is quite coherent. Mood and textural change takes place frequently but not jarringly. Not only is the group interplay impressive, the individual musicians are distinguished. - Harvey Pekar, Jazziz
...like Steve Swallow on steroids. - John Garelick, Boston Phoenix
Boston’s Song & Turner are an improvisational rarity. Not only do these players command their instruments and extract from them a range of mature, beautiful tone, their art has intuition, form, context, variety, and humor. Dedicated “to everyone who plays by their own rules,“ this music is brilliant. - Hal Howland, Modern Drummer
Want to experience the Best of 21st century Boston improv? You can’t go wrong with [Trio Ex Nihilo]. - Ken Waxman, Jazz Weekly
Song is an outstanding bass guitarist. He reserves that instrument for the final track of Diasporama, concentrating instead on electric and acoustic cellos which he plays with comparable panache. Fragile/tough, melodic/abstract, placid/enraged, ironic/heartfelt. Both/and music to supersede the either/or. - Julian Cowley, The Wire
Duo & Group Projects
Two cellos on Quaaludes create a free jazz Electric Light Orchestra in the fourth dimension, with flute and trumpet. - Dave McElfresh, Phoenix New Times [on Diasporama]
Song has drawn upon diverse models for these collectively improvised compositions. Yet the music [of Jeff Song & Lowbrow] does not carry its antecedents as marks of identification. It has a personality of its own, growing out of both its highly personal instrumental combinations and what can only be described as a keenly calibrated ensemble instinct. While the contributions of the individual players are worth appreciating in isolation..., what is most impressive about Lowbrow is its success in creating unified statements where voices blend and separate metabolisms merge into a group flow. - Bob Blumenthal
A stick-to-the-ribs helping of gourmet jazz wizardry. - John Noyd, Maximum Ink
Song pulls together, into a dual foundation in jazz and past-Romantic classical music, affinities as diversified as Hendrix, avant garde music for cello and flute, and crackling trumpet sonorities... There’s no “anything goes” music on [Rules of Engagement]. All the moods invoked are deftly controlled. - Ron Welburn, JazzTimes
Full of surprise, Trio Ex Nihilo slowly reveal themselves with a sort of quiet dignity that pulls a listener in with genuine warmth and subtly bracing invention. - David Greenberger, Signal To Noise
Here folk song, classical dynamic, and prog rock pomp all interweave to make this an epic of wide-ranging scope and variation, textures by rhythm and spatial dynamics. [Rules of Engagement] is a solid effort, much more mature than Song's debut, deeper emotionally as well. - Thom Jurek, AllMusic.Com
Trio Ex Nihilo has established itself as one of the strongest improvising ensembles in the Boston Area. - Stu Vandermark, Cadence
sideman
This is bold, pioneering work which pushes the boundaries and limitations of expression further and further with each new piece. - David Robinson, Northeast Performer
Frenetic bebop energy mingles with mellow atonal ambiences, as the ten tracks on The Other Pocket flow from tenuously structured improvs to barren freeform soundscapes. Although it's tempting to think otherwise, it takes outstanding musicians to pull this kind of thing off convincingly, as these players certainly do. - Rob Walker, Exposé
This intriguing chamber ensemble is dedicated to the art of compositional improvisation. [Lowbrow] is highly recommended. - David Lewis, Cadence
Song and his bunch are extremely adept at creating new textures from piece to piece, all of them hammering a stake in the ground far outside Jazz tradition. As Song says, “Don’t simply push the envelope. Unfold it, tear it up, and make your own wings to fly.” He walks what he talks, ladies and gentleman, and you’d do well to give it a listen. - Dave McElfresh, Jazz Now
Other Appearances
The twelve tracks [on Diasporama] each have a strong structural identity, but achieve at the same time a refreshing plasticity of form. Ed Hazell's notes invite a listening that calls into question "the diaspora of Asian cultures [..] turning over ideas about immigration and identity" - a valid enough approach, but one that might tend to read into the music a level of irony that otherwise might not be immediately apparent (except explicitly, in Song's vocals on "Monday School"). The limpid freshness of tracks like "Siblings" and "The Third Wave" needs neither explanation nor justification. - Dan Warburton, Paris Transatlantic
Invisible Maniac is creative jazz of the electric kind, but don't dare utter the words "fusion" or "funky" to these cats. They're serious musicians. […] they create an alternate universe that roughs out a corner of the rock for jazz amidst progressive rock notions of tempo and phrasing, and postmodern Euro jazz, with its angular harmonics and strident attacks on dynamic and drama. The bottom line is that this group has the ideas and the ability, and if this record misses in places, it hits hard in others. - Thom Jurek, AllMusic.Com
Jeff Song is an extremely talented electric bass technician while also exploiting his acute sense of band leading and improvisational attributes. Creativity sparks excitement here. Jeff Song & Lowbrow seldom lapse into sequences of self-absorption. The Other Pocket sustains interest while the awareness level among the musicians seems uncanny, especially for “on the spot” improv situations. If you yearn for something different and desire a little brain candy to stimulate your spirits then check out Jeff Song & Lowbrow. Recommended. - Glenn Astarita, All About Jazz
[In Vivo] is dedicated to “everyone who plays by their own rules," says the inscription in the liners. It rings true, as this record is unique from start to finish. The record keeps its sensibilities on the outside, but this is not "difficult" music. As musicians, Turner and Song are difficult to rate -- what they do is so different it bears comparison to little else -- the usual standards just don't apply. This is another recording pushing the question of what qualifies as "jazz.” Everything happening sounds ancient; these instruments, or their not dissimilar ancestors, could all have been played a thousand years ago. One hears mud, rock, and wood in these notes, and thinks of the origins of music. As the album progresses, the tracks stay just as unpredictable in intention and execution. - Scot Hacker, Cadence