PRESS
“Throughout this album, for my ears, Roy McGrath brings everything home in a way that is intensely personal, vivid, unique. No one who loves Puerto Rican music — or exquisite tenor saxophone-playing — will want to miss this.”
Raul da Gama, Latin Jazz Network
“His writing and playing on Remembranzas is phenomenal … ultra-vivid melodic and rhythmic beauty from start to finish.”
Raul da Gama, Latin Jazz Network
“For all of his talent, McGrath has been relatively unheralded, which should change after this recording gets around. His playing has a richness of tone that provides a sonic depth in the midst of the danceable ambiance.”
Jeff Cebulski, ChicagoJazz.com
“Honoring the group members’ home, ‘Windy City’ exudes a great up-tempo feel that’s sparked by McGrath’s tenor saxophone.”
The Arts Fuse
“The saxophone for Roy McGrath has taken him on a remarkable journey … Leading an inspiring quartet, he ventured into the studio to record Martha, his path in life portrayed through his horn.”
James Nadal, All About Jazz
“After their alluring pop-up concert… the new album Entre Amigos will certainly add to the luster of his rising status.”
Jeff Cebulski, ChicagoJazz.com
“The result is fascinating … arrangements that are as clever as they are joyous, sweeping through emotions that range from the most romantic to the most rhythmic.”
Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move
“This release from an ensemble of considerable promise … Roy McGrath, who plays tenor saxophone and leads on all the songs on Menjunje, has assembled the right combo …”
The Arts Fuse
MAGPIE: THE MUSIC OF JOE CLARK (2025)
“The album’s opening title track, ‘Magpie,’ is a revelation—a tender yet exuberant jazz waltz whose
sophisticated poise belies its emotional immediacy.”
Paris-Move
“Entre Amigos takes a more personal and concentrated look at Clark’s composing skills and translates them in a very succinct way.…
Roy McGrath is full of energy and excellence on his tenor sax.”
Dee Dee McNeil, Making A Scene!
“The quartet plays with a unified vision and remarkable sensitivity, balancing lyricism and precision throughout.”
Chicago Jazz Magazine
ENTRE AMIGOS (Self-Titled, 2024)
“The result is fascinating. One senses that the musicians brought a touch of inspiration from their travels … there’s a playful engagement … arrangements that are as clever as they are joyous, sweeping through emotions that range from the most romantic to the most rhythmic.”
Thierry De Clemensat, Paris-Move
“After their alluring pop-up concert… the new album Entre Amigos will certainly add to the luster of his rising status.”
Jeff Cebulski, Chicago Jazz Magazine
“Entre Amigos hangs together as a tight and expressive quartet … the players all hail from Chicago and have been playing together
in various combinations for a decade.”
Brooks Geiken, The Arts Fuse
MENJUNJE (2022)
“This is a sonic joy from top to bottom, an impressively smooth, cohesively well-rounded release from an ensemble of considerable promise.”
The Arts Fuse
“What makes this stand out is the percussion which swings the music in an Afro-Cuban style which is infectious and immediately inviting.”
House of Prog
“At its best, Afro-Caribbean jazz is emotionally resonant, tuneful in the extreme and musically adventurous.”
Dee Dee McNeil, Musoscribe
REMEMBRANZAS (2017)
“His writing and playing on Remembranzas is phenomenal … ultra-vivid melodic and rhythmic beauty from start to finish.”
Raul da Gama, Latin Jazz Network
“The entire repertoire … is graced by McGrath’s conjuring moments of ink-dark tone textures of often mesmerising stillness …
that find their way into this music among the virtuoso fireworks.”
Raul da Gama, Latin Jazz Network
“Tenor saxophonist Roy McGrath reaches into the past and brings back special memories in musical form …
offering an album of sure-to-be-memorable musical moments for the present.”
Edward Blanco, All About Jazz
MARTHA (2014)
“There is nothing hesitant in the playing of Roy McGrath. He is brilliant, forthright and plays with the
awesome finesse of a musician wise beyond his years.”
Jazz Da Gama
“This record is fundamentally an emotional farewell as well as a spiritual awakening—an auspicious debut for a formidable new saxophone voice.” James Nadal, All About Jazz
“The band has an Miles Davis ESP feel on the bluesy … Roy McGrath uses his rich tone to lead a post-bop sextet through a collection of originals.” JazzWeekly
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