4/5 A James Carter all-star show
  by Anthony Cooper (Louisville, KY United States)
"Heaven On Earth" is co-led by all five players, but it seems that James Carter is the reason for the disc. James Carter is the most virtuosic saxophone player today, and he's playing with John Medeski on organ (probably today's most prominent organist), Adam Rogers on guitar, Christian McBride on bass (one of the top contemporary bassists), and Joey Baron on drums (whose playing with Naked City marks him as one of the most virtuosic drummers around). The songs are loose soul-jazz, with plenty of time to jam. Though that might be a recipe for disaster, it is another recent all-star assembly where the players play well together. The overall mood is fun - for example, McBride's bass solo on "Diminishing" references a funky Sesame Street theme. I recommend "Heaven On Earth" most strongly to fans of James Carter or soul-jazz.


5/5 Fabulous Show
  by B. Nelson (Pacific NW, USA)
I was at the Blue Note for both sets the night this was recorded. I attend a lot of jazz shows and this was one of the best I've ever seen. Each musician in the band stands alone as a great artist; sometimes an All-Star cast doesn't necessarily guarantee that they will play well together. In this case, the combination is dazzlingly excellent. One of the best recordings of 2009.

5/5 Carter is amazing
  by Susan (California)
Heard reed expert James Carter play beautifully, ethereally,in Grace Cathedral, San Francisco with Roy Hargrove as a part of the San Francisco Jazz Festival, May 2009. Knew I had to have his cd's.
Live at Blue Note, a favorite place for jazz, recorded a couple weeks before Grace Cathedral, is more funky, but shows off Carter's love of the sax. Extraordinary talent.

5/5 All Star Band makes a great feel good record
  by Anthony R. Guarriello (Rutherfordton NC)
First off I must say as far as bands go this is like a Jazz All Star team. You've got players covering almost the entire spectrum of jazz music. Leading this group is James Carter who I feel is seriously underrated as far as sax players go. He plays tenor, soprano and baritone here & he plays them great with his original sound and his take on saxophone multiphonics in my opinion in an attempt to emulate guitar players like Jimi Hendrix and Jeff Beck who are masters of controlling feedback. On Hammond B3 is John Medeski who I feel needs no introduction he plays soulful organ more in the style of Larry Young rather then Jimmy Smith. Joey Baron at the drum set is killing, laying down greasy funk back beats and then swinging hard like Philly Joe he's awesome and this record wouldn't have come off as well without him. The incomparable Christian McBride is playing acoustic & electric bass. He is also killing throughout the entire album laying down james brown style electric grooves & swinging hard straight ahead style on upright while turning in some great solos as well. On guitar is Adam Rogers who in my opinion is becoming one of the best guitarists on the scene. I have to say that this is a live album and the band is not a regular working unit so there's a loose jam feeling to the tunes but these masters pull it off with grace. The music is a wide stylistic mixture of covers ranging from Django Reinhardt's "Diminishing" to Larry Young's "Heaven on Earth" also played is a Lucky Thompson tune Slap's Mistake and Street of Dreams. The songs are all extended with long solos and ensemble interplay which in my opinion makes the album. Bottom line is you get to hear five masters going to work at the Blue Note & having lots of fun enjoying each mans company.