Ken Aldcroft Trio +1 From Our Time, Mike Doherty, Eye Magazine, October 9/2003.

Guitarist Ken Aldcroft has studied on the East Coast and lived on the West, but he's recently settled here in the middle; this reconciling of opposites can also be found in his jazz. His trio/quartet swings melodically and grooves in the pocket before peering out with some energetic skronk. Aldcroft occasionally fills out his bass-less combo's sound by looping his dark, dry tone. Several influences come to mind: Ornette Coleman, Bill Frisell, Ronald Shannon Jackson, Captain Beefheart - but to its credit, the Trio + 1 show enough character not to let us dwell on them. Check out Gordon Allen's humorous trumpet blatts, Evan Shaw's cheeky sax lines, Joe Sorbara's genially rumbling rhythms and Aldcroft's own whammy-bar weirdness. The only missteps here are two over-long South Indian/klezmer pastiches, but the rest of this set is a strikingly original work that goes nowhere near the middle of the road. 3 1/2 stars