“Making the trek to the Newport Jazz Festival worthwhile was Mary Halvorson’s quintet, especially its saxophonist, Jon Irabagon, whose solos embodied both stalwart technique and a deep understanding of avant-garde vocabulary.”

— Evan Haga, JazzTimes Newport Jazz Festival review

“Saxophonist Jon Irabagon never fails to bring the sound of surprise on his albums, no matter what the format.”

— Tim Niland, Jazz and Blues Blog

“Irabagonʼs first set ballad was an exquisite wrap, his duets with Kenny Wheeler sensuously voiced and his free-jazz fire undimmed.”

— Mike Hobart, Financial Times

“Saxophonist Jon Irabagon’s playing is a treat. His sax work is restrained and searching at times and scorching and scathing at others throughout this focused program. 5 stars.”

— Paul Acquaro, Free Jazz Blog

“Jon Irabagon has become one of the strongest, most flexible, and daring saxophonists at work today.”

— Peter Margasak

“His most sublime playing in 2012 may have been on the impossibly beautiful quintet album by Dave Douglas, Be Still. There, Irabagon is playing with a graceful elasticity that is unfailingly melodic without ever seeming to be simple or clichéd.”

— Will Layman, PopMatters

“The great thing about Jon is that when he encounters a new or unfamiliar situation he doesn’t retreat,” says trumpeter Douglas. “He plays a lot of different ways, searching for the tone that best suits that moment. And because he has such a broad vocabulary, he is able to come back to it with a new solution and a new feeling every time. Jon’s records may seem like they skitter crazily among styles and approaches. It seemed like that to me too. That’s why I hired him.”

— Dave Douglas

“His extraordinary eclecticism is meaningful only because of his exemplary execution. His saxophone sound is always clarion and clean, and his ideas are hard and clear and fresh within their respective genres.”

— Thomas Conrad, Jazztimes

“There’s a lot of willful unruliness in Jon Irabagon’s music, and more than a little cheek. A tenor and alto saxophonist of imposing and almost inexhaustible facility, Mr. Irabagon cuts a cavalier figure on the left-of-center New York jazz grid, often raising a cheerful ruckus as he stealthily hits his mark. He’s a musician of intense concentration who wants nothing more than to indulge a spirit of play, emphatic and unreserved.”

— Nate Chinen, New York Times

“Jon is one of New York Cityʼs most deadly hornmen.”

— Hank Shteamer, Time Out New York

“The alto saxophonist Jon Irabagon has a smart tone, a shrewd technique and a catholic grasp of the jazz tradition.”

— Nate Chinen, The New York Times