allaboutjazz.com Saxophonist Kenny Shanker was eight years post-graduation before recording his debut album, Steppin’ Up, which took another two years to get its 2011 release on Posi-tone records. So admirers of the New York based musician could be forgiven for not expecting album number two quite so soon. But here it is,Action City: released just 17 months afte ...Read More

somethingelsereviews.com           It’s fairly uncommon for a mainstream jazz record to contain nothing but originals, especially since playing standards seem nearly as important to jazz as being able to swing. Perhaps it’s because so few jazz musicians are strong enough composers to fill an entire album of their songs. That may or may not be the case, but it’s defi ...Read More

        lucidculture.com Saxophonist Kenny Shanker Nails an Edgy NYC Vibe Lots of vivid, frequently edgy, tuneful straight-up New York portraiture on alto saxophonist Kenny Shanker‘s new Posi-Tone album Action City – streaming at Spotify – with Mike Eckroth on piano, Daisuke Abe on guitar, Yoshi Waki on bass and Brian Fishler on drums. They’re playing the albu ...Read More

        criticaljazz.com Kenny Shanker’s Action City is ridiculously good! Shanker’s sophomore release on the acclaimed Posi-Tone label shows an exponential growth for an artist whose musical stock should be an arrow pointing straight up! This quintet can swing like a beast and given the fact that Action City boasts all original compositions, Kenny Shanker is indee ...Read More