Reviews

The Sunday Tribune 2002

"Mike Nielsen has invented his own microtonal guitar, and as we all know there can be no growth without innovation. Don't miss him when he debuts his new band, Don't Fret. "

"Leading them with his new microtonal guitar, Nielsen proved he is the most innovative and hard-working musician in Dublin . Together, the group at times recalled the superb Paul Motian band featuring Joe Lovano, Bill Frisell and Mark Johnson. At others, particularly during the leader's quarter-tone forays, the sound was entirely unique. "

"Wheeler's trumpet outing again preceded a remarkable guitar solo with Mike Nielsen."

"They opened with WOW - a cool Lennie Tristano tune that quickly grew to epic proportions. Mike Nielsen (guitar) and Dave Liebman (soprano saxophone) engaged in an extended dialogue, which built rapidly in intensity. Liebman led, and Nielsen followed with dazzling guitar imitations of whatever effects the saxophonist could produce. "

 

The Jazz Bulletin

"The messenger entreats all you sensitive types to check out some of these forthcoming gigs. In a jazz scene that has an embarrassment of riches as far as guitarists are concerned, Mike Nielsen , stands out as a true innovator. One of the very first Irish musicians to study at The Berklee College of Music in Boston, a probing, searching commitment to finding his own voice has brought him far beyond the orthodox language of jazz guitar and his effusive, forceful playing has a harmonic depth that few can match. It's rare enough to hear a player whose music doesn't represent a pastiche of all too familiar territory, as you'll see what I mean when Nielsen and his quartet play The Pendulum @ the Norseman, Temple Bar on Sunday 14 th June. "

The Irish Times

"The final set produced some of the best music - Mike Nielsen's difficult but rewarding For All Time, slow and very exposed, contained some of the loveliest writing of the night. "

 

The Sunday Tribune 2002

"In a country that has produced some fine guitarists, Sligo-born Mike Nielsen stands out as the most original voice of the younger generation. But don't my word for it. Dave Liebman, the ex-Miles Davis saxophonist, comments in the sleeve notes: "I have always loved Mike's unusual approach both to the guitar and to music in general. A truly unique, one of a kind. "And Liebman should know. Whenever he comes to Europe , it is Nielsen's furious intensity on the electric guitar that he wants behind him."

" Guitarist Mike Nielsen, probably the most original voice on the instrument here, confirms his status with this virtuoso display of solo acoustic guitar. Declining to hide behind abundant technique in this exposed setting, he uses it to create a series of orchestral miniatures, full of contrast and invention, expressed with impressive immediacy and, at times, an almost flamenco-like attack. Despite a couple of abruptly concluded performances, the album's highlights include brilliantly conceived explorations of Summertime , Stella By Starlight, his own aptly-named India Vibe and the tender, melancholic Innocence, as well as the deceptive simplicity of God Bless The Child and Some Other Time, the last imaginatively introduced by an obliquely rendered On Green Dolphin Street. "

ESB Dublin Jazz Week...

"Mike Nielsen celebrates the release of his new CD 'Solo at Garden City' with this Jazz Week performance. The Sligo-born guitarist is the most individual voice on the Irish jazz scene, with a rugged intensity that few musicians can match. Whether deconstructing a standard like Stella by Starlight or performing an original like July Blues, he creates music that is refreshingly devoid of clichés. Melody, harmony and rhythm all become one under his gifted hands and probing spirit, and his musical point of view always makes for a captivating aural experience."

DAVE LIEBMAN

Solo CD Sleeve note(2000)

"I have always loved Mike's unusual approach both to guitar and music in general. A true, unique, one of a kind voice, the music here burns with creativity and passion."  

ESB DUBLIN JAZZ WEEK

"Guitarist Mike Nielsen was brilliant in solo performance on Tuesday, especially on his Innocence, inspired by Yeats's The Stolen Child , which offered a lovely response to the emotional climate of the poem."