★★★★
“Full of precarious diversions that [go] beyond well-mapped terrain. The group approaches the unfamiliar with cleverness, misdirection, and at times, a full-frontal assault on the senses. …There’s been a tendency to describe Big Five Chord as if they were sometimes treading a line between something intangible and progressive jazz. But that underplays how the group distinguishes and supports the individualities of its members, maintaining unpredictability without losing concentration or musical playfulness. Whether Big Five Chord is executing a plaintive bluesy passage or scorching their eyebrows in a freefall, ‘Play All the Notes’ wastes nothing and gives in abundance.”
Avant-Jazz Guitar Etc