THE REVIEWS ARE JUST STARTING TO COME IN . . . ********** From Jack Bowers at allaboutjazz.com : "Except among fellow musicians, who appreciate his remarkable talent and look to him with admiration, Saunders has been a well-kept secret, but with albums as impressive as this one, the cat may be out of the bag. Splendid sound, superb playing time and a scintillating session that's sure to satisfy anyone who prizes sharply honed straightahead jazz." ********** From Vic Hall, retired after 37 years as the volunteer producer/host of "The Sound of Jazz" on NPR affiliate WUSF 89.7 Tampa : "Carl Saunders is recognized by his fellow artists as one of the true virtuosos of jazz trumpet, but his awesome talent has not been widely recognized by the public, perhaps due to the lack of opportunity to hear him play. This probably results from the fact that Carl's musical activity has mostly been confined to the Las Vegas and Southern California areas for many years, without wide representation in the way of recordings." "Two recent releases have changed that situation dramatically, and the word is now out...Carl Saunders is a monster player, both in the big band and small group contexts." "His most recent recording is a live session set in the ambiance of Charlie O's restaurant/jazz club in Van Nuys, CA., and is titled "Can You Dig Being Dug?". In addition to Carl on trumpet and flugelhorn it has Christian Jacob on piano, Dave Stone on bass, and Santo Savino, his old buddy from Vegas, on drums. It's on the itsusJazz label." "Carl is not only a fine musician, but also a talented composer-arranger who contributed seven original tunes to the date. Rounded out by three standards, the program has fine rhythmic, melodic and harmonic content and impeccable sound quality. With an obviously respectful, yet enthusiastic audience this live recording contains all the elements necessary for a superb jazz event, which it is!." "The music speaks for itself, and far more eloquently than I ever could. The program has a fine mix of tempos, and great solos from all hands. Suffice it to say that Carl is at the top of his form, both compositionally, and from a playing standpoint, and in my book the latter means as good as Fats Navarro!"