Really cutting edge, a very promising young pianist.
-Cassandra Wilson

Barsh is one of the most thoroughly original keyboardists I've heard in years; an incredibly brisk breath of fresh air.
-Nathaniel Friedman, contributor to The Philadelphia Enquirer, AllAboutJazz.com and Jazziz

One of the most freakishly talented, tasteful and fresh-sounding newcomers today."
-Philip DiPietro, allaboutjazz.com, in his list of Top Eight Sidemen of 2005

"Pianist with the gift of groove"
-Nate Chinen, New York Times

The Parker-penned "Mannerisms" and "Beanstalk" groove with the fluidity of the finest recipe from the George Benson cookbook, while a phenomenal rendition of Marvin Gaye's "When Did You Stop Loving Me, When Did I Stop Loving You" showcases the guitarist's interplay with the Fender Rhodes licks of new jam partner Barsh.
-Ron Hart, Billboard.com

Barsh's beautiful and at times commanding playing gives The Relatives a retro vibe, while still pushing an agenda of forward thinking jazz.
-popmatters.com

A pure pleasure is the slightly distorted Fender Rhodes playing of Sam Barsh, who ably follows the credo "make a Chick Corea noise here," while still bringing enough of his own musical personality to the dinner table to make his playing resound.
-Jeff Miers The Buffalo News

Jeff Parker -- a great guitarist who stays busy without ever wearing out his welcome, and in fact leaves us wishing for more straighter jazz-oriented records like this one! This set for Thrill Jockey improves on his solo debut Like-Coping, which he recorded for Delmark, most notably with the addition of Sam Barsh to the group on Rhodes and Wurlitzer.
-dustygroove.com

...while on the title track Barsh conjures up a shimmering, humid glaze from the keyboards in a manner that fondly recalls Herbie Hancock's Sextant.
-Matthew Murphy, Pitchforkmedia.com

WESTERN GAZETTE

Following the overwhelming success of last year's performance at the Bridport Arts Centre, renowned jazz musician Avishai Cohen, his amazing double bass, and his even more amazing young band, returned to wow the crowd with the world premier of his new album, At Home.

Avishai played every part of his instrumment, incorporating his intricate pickings, moody bowing and percussive slaps and taps.

His band - Mark Guiliana on drums and Sam Barsh on keys, both still in their early 20s - stolel the show with their fantastic talents.

And Barsh - the epitome of jazz - filling the room with Avishai's silky melodies and complex solos on piano and Fender Rhodes, before dancing around the room clicking his fingers and playing his melodica.


DOWNBEAT MAGAZINE November 2006

This is a superbly controlled record, balancing the booming ego in Avishai Cohen's bass lines with the diligent niceties of Sam Barsh's baroque-infused piano and Amos Hoffman's oud added for dramatic effect on half the tracks. The group is locked in that some may look in vain for seams, but the preplanning and immaculate playing doesn't choke the sense of risk. This is sustained by rhythmical tension built into the compositions and acute role-play. On 'One for Mark' Barsh introduces the off beat and has a distinct metronomic function that remains throughout his counterpoint release passages, allowing Hoffman and Cohen to attack their instruments with contrasting aggression.
The dramatic sleeve art depicts Cohen running in a desert landscape. Where from? To where? Clearly, however, he has found a musical heaven. Thus a track called 'Emotional storm' misfires as such, though it is an intriguing mixture of impeccable equilibrium and a gear-shifting groove. The Oud lines seem to have more connection with West Africa Kora lines than Arabic music.

The exciting 'Smash' boasts rock bottomed but unpredictable time, with Cohen flashing Jaco Pastorius chops on electric bass, Barsh mirroring acoustic piano with keyboard lines and drummer Mark Guiliana getting a chance to kick up some desert dust. Cohen wanted a programmatic feel redolent of classical music strategies with this album, and he has succeeded without snuffing the spark.

JAZZ TIMES

The dynamic “Feediop” opens the show, with Cohen pumping the tempo and Yosvany Terry shimmering on soprano sax. Sam Barsh plays a lush, flowing piano solo while drummer Mark Guiliana keeps the pulsing vibe going. “Madrid” expands the playing field for the first time, including newcomers Anne Drummond and Tomer Tzur on flute and hand drum, respectively, plus Diego Urcola on flugelhorn and Jeff Ballard on percussion. The ensemble continues on the African-influenced “Leh-Lah,” a splendidly arranged tune where Barsh augments his piano with a melodica and Terry plays chekere.

“Renouf’s Last Tooth” is a tour de force, with Cohen’s percolating bass, Barsh’s dazzling piano work, and Guiliana’s impassioned thrashing on the drums. Then there’s the delicate, symphonic brass/wind combo on “Gershon Beat,” where Cohen again plucks front and center. The lamenting, dolorous, slow trio piece “No Words” is followed up immediately by the uptempo “Punk (DJN),” which features more excellent piano by Barsh. On the funk excursion gem “Saba,” Cohen picks up the electric ax and Barsh plays the organ. This tune unfolds gradually from the deliberate theme and the tension builds up to a vibrant burst of colors. Cohen practically sings through his guitar, Barsh growls, Guiliana hammers the drums, and Terry plays more wicked soprano. Cohen wrote or co-wrote all of the songs here, and the excellent arrangements and wonderful playing make At Home a feast for the ears.

CHICAGO JEWISH NEWS February 2007

When young jazz musician Sam Barsh brings his band, the Sam Barsh Group, to play two shows at the Wilmette Theatre on Saturday, Feb. 10, he should feel right at home.

Barsh was born in Chicago, grew up in Wilmette and began his lasting love affair with jazz as a student at Wilmette Junior High and then at New Trier High School. In both schools he played in the jazz band, a taste of things to come.

Now, at just 25, Barsh has played with artists including Bobby McFerrin, Branford Marsalis and Debbie Friedman, is featured on CDs by Avishai Cohen and Zach Brock, has played all around the world, including a number of gigs in Israel, and now has put together his own four-piece band, which he calls "an experience as much as it is a band." He plays keyboards and melodica (an instrument he describes as "half like an accordion, half like a keyboard); the songs are all originals that he wrote.

While at New Trier High School he decided to make a career of music; that led to four years of study at William Patterson University in New Jersey, a school with a good jazz program, and, finally, a move to New York, where he began playing and touring with a number of artists before starting his own band earlier this year.

He describes his music as "a mix of jazz, R&B, and ambient electronic music with a lot of high-energy dynamic changes-very danceable." People "get engaged" with his music, he says, because "it's always different; we take people on a ride while performing. The live show is totally an experience."

Barsh's music today reflects such diverse early influences as Duke Ellington and Oscar Peterson as well as Chick Corea, Stevie Wonder, Steely Dan, Marvin Gaye, classic R&B and Motown sounds as well as ethnic music from around the world and particularly the Middle East.

"Jewish music has had an influence on me," he says, from listening to it at Evanston's Beth Emet Synagogue, where the family belonged, to the frequent trips to Israel he took with his parents.

"We always used to go there, and there were always music events," he says. "There's a sound, it's Ashkenazi, klezmer and also Israeli. Then you add Sephardic influences. Middle Eastern music, Arabic, Israeli, there's a different sound-quarter tones between the notes. It's a whole different sonic landscape that the music taps into, and it has influenced how I hear and how I write."

Over the last three years he has visited the Jewish state numerous times to play. "In Israel my music has been very well received," he says. "There is a lot of love for creativity there and a very good cultural awareness in a lot of people. The music I do with this band is instrumental, it has that mass appeal."

The Israeli music scene, he says, "is great. There are a lot of amazing musicians who come out of there. I never cease to be amazed at how good they are-it makes me proud." He recently attended a jam session for Israeli high school musicians and was pleased to discover that "they were all great. The bar is set high there, and they appreciate what (other musicians) do."

Although Barsh has played at a number of Chicago-area venues, from the Green Mill, a famous jazz club, to Millennium Park to Jazz Showcase to Northwestern University's Pick-Staiger Auditorium, the Feb. 10 concerts will be the first time he has brought his new band here. He's excited about it because finding the right musicians wasn't easy or quick.
"It took me about a year to put it together. I was looking for people on the same wavelength who could communicate musically," he says. The finished product consists of Tim Collins on vibraphone, bassist Ari Folman-Cohen and drummer Jaimeo Brown.

Now "everybody's totally connected musically. The music really takes shape in a different way every time, and our music is always a journey for us since it's changing all the time. And now we're bringing people along on the journey with us," he says.

The fact that he's now making the journey to Chicago is also significant for him, Barsh says. He notes that his mom has been "a big player" in the Jewish music scene in Chicago, and says, "It makes me feel good to be kind of continuing that, even though I'm no longer living in Chicago."