“Battle Hymns and Gardens have found a nuance and precision to their sound that’s wholly their own. Yet this still pretty “out there” jazz we’re talking about. Just listen closely to that sense of freedom in the wild timbres of Reed Wallsmith and Joe Cunningham’s interlocking sax lines and the freight train rhythm section of Jon Shaw and Tim DuRoche” —Scott Goodwin, PDX Pop Now
“Battle Hymns and Gardens put on one of the gutsiest performances of the [PDX POP NOW] festival” —SSG Music
“…An experimental jazz show that captivated the [PDX POP NOW] audience” —BePortland.com
From The Willamette Week (Portland):
“ The former Better Homes and Gardens have tweaked only their name, but fortunately not the sterling lineup of Blue Cranes’ Joe Cunningham and Reed Wallsmith, bassist Jon Shaw and percussion adventurer Tim DuRoche. Their recent Portland Jazz Festival set showed the quartet persuasively combining some ‘60s-style free-jazz possibilities with a more structured framework to create some of the city’s most intriguing improvisation.
(April 4, 2012 – Brett Campbell, Willamette Week)