Los Angeles Times, 2005 Don Heckmen
"TOP 5 Jazz CDs" on Don Heckmans "Best Of" list for 2005.

Billboard, 2005 Dan Ouellette
"Excellence in jazz is all about the freedom to musically explore with an open mind and heart to ultimately find one's voice. On "La Espada de la Noche," his second Palmetto album and fourth overall, reeds player Ted Nash achieves that plateau of performance."

Jazz Rreview.Com, 2005 Peter Westbrook
"Composer and multi-instrumentalist Ted Nash...is similarly equipped when it comes to technique, but has a larger vision, as is reflected in his own projects. Wisely, in my view, Nash expands his tonal palette to include saxophones, clarinets and flutes, and sets them in contexts that draw on multiple genres both within and on the fringes of jazz."

Downbeat, 2005 Paul de Barros
"Cultural fusions can sound forced, but La Espada De La Noche sounds as natural as neighbors chatting over the fence, though their "fences" may run between continents."

Village Voice, 2005 Francis Davis
"Every record collection should include at least one version of "Tico Tico," and have I got a goodie for you--ripping, dramatic, and only slightly ironic, which also describes everything else on saxophonist Ted Nash's new tango album."

All About Jazz, 2005 Chris May
"We like smiles, and La Espada De La Noche, Odeon's second album after '01's Sidewalk Meeting, is a delight from start to finish, thoughtfully and gorgeously arranged and infectiously performed, as much fun to listen to as it must have been to conceive."

Philadelphia Inquirer, 2005 Staff Writer
"Jazz was born in a cradle of many cultures, and the music's future is likely to be full of cultural excursions to new realms. Ted Nash pulls off such a fusion. He uses a primarily tango vibe to create a kind of film-noir jazz that's engaging and probably even better live than on disc."

All About Jazz, 2005 Budd Kopman
"La Espada de la Noche (The Sword of the Night) is full of such surprises and is as delightful as it is unpretentious. La Espada De La Noche is a success just about any way you approach it, whether through its unique instrumentation, outstanding playing, or original arranging. "

L.A. Jazz Scene, 2005 Scott Yanow
"Each of the musicians is a virtuoso and the colorful arrangements utilize their instruments in unexpected ways, with any of the players being potentially in the lead at any time. La Espada De La Noche is an especially memorable and unique set, one of the more inspired jazz recordings of 2005."

San Diego Union-Tribune, 2005 George Varga
"Like few others in contemporary music, Ted Nash thrives on combining disparate styles into an enticing whole that is never quite what it seems. Just how well he does it is demonstrated on his fourth album, the splendid "La Espada de la Noche."

Jazz Improv Magazine, 2005 Joshua Musselwhite
"In the most original, most inventive, most extraordinary album, Ted Nash's group, Odeon.....presents an album of sheer creativity."

Jazz Society of Oregon, 2005 Kyle O'Brien
"One applauds Nash's true eclecticism and the fact that the music travels all over the map and still manages to sound cohesive, interesting and lively."

All About Jazz, 2005 Paula Edelstein
"This is an impressive recording that exceeds the lofty standards set by Nash's previous recording Still Evolved."

Hartford Courant, 2005 Owen McNally
"Nash is a composer and one-man horn section on tenor and alto saxophones, clarinet, bass clarinet and alto flute. Mix all this with his talented bandmates, who play everything from accordion to tuba, and you've got a rich palette of tonal colors."

Commuter Week, 2005 Miriam Allenson
"This is an amazingly accessible and dare it be said, fun recording. There's not one bad track on the whole CD, a miraculous occurrence these days. La Espada de la Noche, with Ted Nash and Odeon will get into your blood.....and onto your keeper shelf. "

All Music Guide, 2005 Troy Collins
"Although NashÍs tone throughout the album is one of knowing cool, he never plays up the ethnic melodies and structures for mere ironic coloration. This is a truly heartfelt musical fusion, albeit with a playfulness that dares you not to take it too seriously."

Raleigh News & Observer, 2005 Owen Cordle
"Jazz fans looking for a fresh ensemble sound, plus drama and humor, should check out "La Espada de la Noche" (Palmetto) by Ted Nash and Odeon."

Austin Chronicle, 2005 Jay Trachtenberg
"Nash and his chamber ensemble, Odeon, infuse their new project, La Espada de la Noche (Palmetto), with the romantic, dramatic, and passionate elements of tango, klezmer, and Crescent City second line for an unusually delightful sound."

Jazzitude, 2005 Staff Writer
"The results are often swinging as can be (listen to Nash's solo on the less-frequently heard Allegro section of "Concierto de Aranjuez"), but can also resonate deeply with the musical influences of other genres and nationalities."

LA Times, 2005 Don Heckman
"The saxophonist's Odeon ensemble, with its unusual instrumentation of woodwinds, violin, accordion, drums, tuba and trombone, is an imaginative leap forward."

Jazzmatazz, 2005 Alan Lankin
"The album is a fascinating set of music that maintains a fine balance between seriousness and humor, composition and improvisation, classical and cabaret, European and American jazz."

Pop Matters, 2005 William Layman
"Reed player and composer Ted Nash is a great example of the new mainstream in jazz. Its central trait -- it's not so mainstream anymore....The drama isn't self-conscious, as if this was really an Argentine band rather than a gang of cleverer-than-thou jazz musicians."

Santa Fe New Mexican, 2005 Paul Weideman
"Sometimes this sounds like Gypsy polka music, which doesn't exist, to my knowledge. It's all very quirky, but the musicianship of all concerned makes this a fulfilling CD."

Record Online, 2005 Staff Writer
"Here's a guarantee: You won't turn this gorgeous album off in midsong. That's because each tune is so compelling and so complete that you just have to listen."

Seattle Times, 2005 Paul de Barros
"The arrangements have a light touch, with lots of air between the parts, the accent being on the accordion's reedy highs. Soloist Nash struts on alto, tenor, clarinet and flute."

Turbula, 2005 Dan McClenaghan
"With his band Odeon on "La Espada de la Noche," he moves out of the mainstream, blending the sounds of the tango, Eastern European street music, New Orleans and modern jazz, creating a music that flirts with humor and fun and joyous energy."

The Week, 2005 Staff Writer
"From his wonderfully unhinged take on Tico Tico to the seductive swagger of Tunisia, Nash makes it clear he is a "master genre-bender."

All About Jazz, 2005 Joel Roberts
"LCJO saxophonist Ted Nash takes a much different approach to the jazz tradition on his new album, with his decidedly untraditional quartet, Odeon."

Mirror, 2005 Len Dobbin
"They do "Tico Tico," two movements from Rodrigo's famed "Aranjuez" and a Tango version of Gillespie's "Night In Tunisia" that's worth the price of admission."