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Reviews and press clips

"Crookedly straight-ahead..." San Diego Sidewalk

"Reith's quietly mischievous playing puts a twist on the jazz guitar tradition embodied by her classic, hollow-bodied electric tone. Melodic without ever quite feeling settled, her sparse, clean-toned lines are just the right match for the rhythm section's deviantly swinging Bop foundation."  Will York, Listen.com

Reviewer Mark Lewis called Reith a "unique and searching" guitarist. "Reith and her trio favor originals that concentrate on expanding jazz harmony..." Mark Lewis, Ice: Digital Dish, February 2001, issue 167, p. 19.

"She adheres to the classic, jazz guitar trio format, featuring a sympathetic rhythm section sans any notions of flash and dazzle. Reith's strengths reside within her Monk-like sense of rhythm, brimming with staggered flows, acute use of space, and an animated mode of execution. ...her warm-toned lines and inventive phraseology should win the hearts of more than just a few jazz aficionados." Glenn Astarita, AllAboutJazz.com 11/02

"'BAIL!' begins an intricate and subtle musical journey through dreamy and seldom traversed territory. The work features near-standard accompaniment (again, with a twist) that allows Kimi's guitar work to float away yet remain an organic part of the whole. On tracks like "Kindergarten" and "God with a Trombone", she evokes distant yet familiar emotions - drawing on something strange without being frightening or harsh." David "Skinny Devil" McClean, read the full review here TinfoilMusic.com 4/04

Skinny Devil also interviewed me in 4/04 for his other column, "Guitar Gods." Click here for the full interview.

One of the featured composers in the June '02 NewMusicBox special on women jazz composers - BAIL! reviewed same issue:

"Equally as organic in creation, hollow-body guitarist Kim Reith's compositions in combination with her trio's interpretations yield a sparse, post-bop musical landscape." Amanda MacBlane, "New Music Box: SoundTracks: Phenomenal Women," Issue 38, Vol.4, No. 2, June 2002

The review:

"Composer/guitarist Kimi Reith takes advantage of the delightfully bare sonorities of jazz-guitar trio through the combination of bold chord choices and an understated hollow-body guitar technique. By writing the melodies first and then creating the harmonic progression to support it, she often comes upon unique changes that encourage the players to explore uncharted sonic territories during their solos. Bassist Bruce Grafath and drummer Kevin Green act as the perfect complements to Reith's cool, post-bop style of composing and playing." "NewMusicBox: SoundTracks," Issue 38, Vol.4, No. 2, June 2002

NewMusicBox

One of the 10 featured guitarists in the June '02 issue of Guitar Nine: The Undiscovered:

"Kim Reith Trio: Melding Jazz Guitar With Experimental Sensibilities

Guitarist Kim Reith gets a great chance to display her fluent jazz chops on her trio's recent CD release BAIL!. Featuring Reith on hollow-body electric guitar, Kevin Green on drums and Bruce Grafrath on acoustic bass, the album offers nine original jazz numbers and an arrangement of Thelonius Monk's "Epistrophy". Built on a bebop foundation, tunes such as the opener "Gargantua" deliver melodic, jazzy flourishes set off by alternative streams of electric jazz guitar experimentation. Reith likes to push into new territory, as cuts such as "Kindergarten" and the title tune amply demonstrate. Never letting the listener settle into complacency, the trio reveals bass solos, harmonic twists and other surprises to keep things interesting. Bail! is a great find for fans of bebop jazz, and guitar fans who wish to expand their musical palates."

Read the entire review

Listener review by 42 year veteran jazz guitarist Robert Denman:

"Kim Reith's technique features a smooth, swinging single-note style punctuated by unusual chords. Her experimental musical concepts are modern and yet deeply rooted in bop. Thus her music appeals to the traditionalist as well as the modernist. Kim's use of long riffs featuring rapid-fire eighth note triplets are most compelling to the ear. Much of her improvised material draws upon unexpected modal centers and is executed with precision utilizing precise run connections, never leaving a phrase dangling or stranded. Kim's playing is a golden thread woven through the warp and weft of the musical tapestry of the recorded recital." 10/02, appears on Robert's Yahoo Guitar site and his Whole Note site

"Altadena jazz guitarist Kimi Reith approaches music from the perspective of someone for whom composition is an element of performance...(BAIL's) 11 tracks are thoughtful yet playful explorations..." Bliss, Pasadena Weekly interview, 11/15/01

Read entire Pasadena Weekly interview...

An excerpt from Dave Latchaw's e-interview with Reith, published February, 2001 on The Zine. Dave, a jazz pianist and MP3.com artist, focusses mainly on how Reith's involvement with internet music and specifically MP3.com affected her up to that point. The interview also touches on her early experience with the SF punk band, "The Well Babies," and her Paris experience.

DL: What was it like playing solo guitar on the streets of Paris?

KR: Cold! My boyfriend and I lived on the 7th floor of our building, literally in a garret, so I had to lug my guitar and Mouse amp up & down 108 stairs every time I played out. I was terrified of performing and had to work up courage to go out there. We were rationing these teeny cans of spaghetti. Had very little money. Everyone I met kept telling me the heyday for metro and street performance in Paris had ended 6 months before we arrived.

Read entire Dave Latch e-interview with Reith

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