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DOWNBEAT **** 4 STARS
“A single listen to Hurly-Burly reveals that pianist Joan Stiles possesses the chops, craft, imagination, wit and sophistication to be mentioned in a conversation with the most distinguished descendants of Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk and Mary Lou Williams. Composed of her own arrangements of tunes by the afore-mentioned, as well as by Fats Waller, Ray Charles, Jimmy Rowles and her own originals, the album has the sound of a unified, well-paced suite. Stiles convenes a unit of virtuosos with a point of view. She deploys them in duo, trio, quartet, quintet and sextet, and gives them a kaleidoscopic array of moods and tempos with which to work, allowing solos to emerge organically from the ensemble flow.

Stiles swings and has a formidable left hand, a penchant for intelligent reharmonizations and harmonic juxtaposition, and a knack for setting up deep grooves, working hand-in-glove with Peter Washington and Lewis Nash toward the latter aspiration. Joel Frahm, Jeremy Pelt and Steve Wilson tell their stories pithily and within the function. This is highbrow stuff, executed with a light touch and impeccable taste.
   -- Ted Panken, Downbeat

 “Each track is its own small event immaculately prepared by Stiles and masterfully played by all concerned—jazz playing of a very high order. Stiles writes and plays brilliantly with great respect for melody and clarity.  She is an authentic original who also happens to have great taste in music.”
     --Dave Frishberg

“Joan Stiles shines throughout her second CD as a leader. The pianist recruited a first-rate band and then treated them to her inspiring arrangements and originals. Stiles salutes Mary Lou Williams with her inventive original composition, “Hurly-Burly,” a challenging bop vehicle that is worthy of comparison to the late Williams’ work. She also revisits Williams’ unjustly obscure, “Knowledge,” along with a side-splitting vocal of the late pianist’s ‘In the Land of Oo-Bla-Dee.’ Highly recommended!
     --Ken Dryden,  Billboard.com, All Music Guide

“New York City pianist and composer, Joan Stiles mixes a deep knowledge of the jazz tradition with an ear for fresh sounds, giving her music a welcome authenticity that has contemporary heft.”
     -- Zan Stewart, The NJ Star Ledger

“This NY pianist mixes a wicked sense of humor with exemplary taste and a smoking horn section. It opens with a colorful collage of Monk and Johnny Hodges, and ends with a weird and wonderful vocal version of ‘In the Land of Oo-Bla-Dee.’”
     --Richard Gehr, Shopping List: The New and the Notable, AARP

“Pianist, Stiles comes up with one of this year’s finest releases. This one’s a must. 10 out of 10.”
     --Len Dobbin, The Montreal Mirror   

 “Adventure, daring, exuberance and wit complement the sense of history coursing through her music.  Stiles’ spiritual kinship with piano heroes from Fats Waller to Jimmy Rowles is evident throughout as she weaves into her modern piano style the blues, swing, stride and boogie that still inspire her. I can’t think of a new recording in years that has given me more enjoyment.”
      --Doug Ramsey

 “I love Joan Stiles’ Hurly-Burly. A lot. Stiles is not only the best female jazz musician since Joanne Brackeen and Jessica Williams but also a fresh wit rare in jazz at any time. On Rowles’ “The Peacocks,” you’re in a region of purity and beauty most jazz musicians couldn’t find, much less inhabit so easily for five minutes. It’s her 2nd disc and proves conclusively, that she’s a jazz treasure.”
     --Jeff Simon, The Buffalo News

  “Bet you never thought that Monk’s ‘Brilliant Corners’ and Duke’s ‘The Jeep is Jumpin’’ could ever be successfully combined. Wait until you hear it. It’s quite amazing…Along with this you’ll find the swinging piano and fresh arranging of Stiles. This is a very enjoyable deep in the shed jazz album. 5 stars *****
     --George Fendel, Jazz Society of Oregon JazzScene Newsletter

Pianist/vocalist Joan Stiles brings new ears to old tunes, and she offers originals that honor the past without solemnizing it. The smile begins with Stiles’ exuberant opening collage and continues to widen. She captures the pathos of “‘Round Midnight,” plays “Jitterbug Waltz’” as if she’d just got some tremendously good news and rejoices in the second line of the remade bop classic “In the Land of Oo-Bla-Dee.”
     --Mel Minter, New Mexico Alibi“

One of the most enjoyable recordings to come along so far this year.  Joan Stiles shows herself to be a remarkable arranger and bandleader, as well as one of the best and most interesting jazz pianists within the genre today. “
     --Brad Walseth, JazzChicago.net

“’The Brilliant Corners of Thelonious’ Jumpin’ Jeep’ is certainly the niftiest bit of arranging offered this year.  On the 2nd pivotal vocal selection, the bop classic “In the Land of Oo-Bla-Dee,” Stiles turns this nonsensical bebop vocal exercise into a delicious, sexually ambiguous romp.”
     --C. Michael Bailey, All About Jazz