The album opens with the hip, up-tempo “Nakia,” on which Allen quickly shines through with a clean-breaking trumpet solo,… “Whispers in The Dark” and “Eve Deceived,” not surprisingly, again feature crisp trumpet solos, the first of which finds Allen making his instrument scream…
“The leader himself is a colorful improviser, owning a mostly pure but slightly affected tone that’s often been compared favorably with Lee Morgan.”
“Trumpet Eddie has perfect, powerful high notes. The strong tone thick even on the ballad,”
“Eddie’s trumpet will prod you on to new jazz heights, I can guarantee that”
“Trumpeter Eddie Allen makes musical choices that immediately draw you to his sphere: his compositions are loaded with what the London Observer calls “crackle.” Hearing him for the first time, one immediately knows he has a command of his instrument that empowers him to explore places with a direct sense that takes the listener for quite a ride… Allen squeezing out just the right phrasing to make the whispers here speak directly to you.”
“A discerning friend heard this album and pronounced it as being ‘typically New York’ in its energy and feel. Rightly so for leader Eddie Allen plays trumpet with the kind of emotional directness and cracking vigour that seems quintessentially New Yorkish.”
“Allen himself has that iconic trumpet tone that rears up over every track, whether in the elegance of his “Caress” or swinging out in the opener, “Nakia.”