Press Reviews

Following are reviews of Susie’s 2010 release, Representante de la Salsa (CD release date: June 15, 2010).

  • icon_Ken_Franckling_7-20-10“I dare you not to move. The leader’s electric violin rides the band’s percussive cushion like a surfboard on a great wave.”
    –Ken Franckling Jazz Notes, July 2010, USA
  • icon_El_Mag_de_la_Salsa_7-13-10“One of the best productions of the year 2010.”
    –Orlando Lopez, El Magazine de la Salsa, July 2010, Venezuela
  • icon_JazzWax.com_7-18-10“If you dig Latin, this album will blow you away just as it did me.”
    –Marc Myers, JazzWax.com, July 2010, USA
  • icon_MidwestRecord_7-10“Without a false note anywhere, this just might be the perfect summer record.”
    –Chris Spector, MidwestRecord.com, July 2010, USA
  • icon_Latin_Beat_5-10“Queen of the Latin violin, Hansen and her band play hardcore Salsa. Representante de la Salsa is on fire.”
    –Rudy Mangual, Latin Beat Magazine, May 2010, USA
  • icon_Musica_Salsa.it_7-1-10“It’s an album of great quality with songs immediately accessible and rich.”
    –Roberto Rabbi, MusicaSalsa.it, July 2010, Italy
  • icon_Descarga_6-15-10“First rate stuff, highly recommended. Great job by singers Geroge Balmaseda, Kaspar Abbo and Hansen.”
    –Bruce Polin, Descarga.com, June 2010, USA
  • icon_Salsa_Central_6-28-10“For dancers, there are five fantastic Salsa tracks which should fill any dance floor. Miss Hansen plays excellent Salsa/jazz violin.”
    –Lubi Jovanovic, SalsaCentral.com, June 2010, UK
  • icon_Salsa-Forum.de_8-12-10In her first appearance on the Salsa Forum chart in Germany, Susie ranks Number One with ‘No Te Metas Conmigo’ from her new CD.
    –www.SalsaForum.de, August 2010, Germany
  • icon_DJ_El_Chino_6-22-10“What a pleasure, the famous virtuoso violinist Susie Hansen of Los Angeles creates a production that is flawless and serious.”
    –DJ El Chino, Solar Latin Club, June 2010, Colombia
  • icon_LA_Jazz_Scene_8-10_Scott_Yanow“Quite infectious and difficult to resist. Highly recommended.”
    –Scott Yanow, LA Jazz Scene, August 2010, USA
  • icon_LatinMusic_Switz_6-10“This album is beautiful! It’s an album that enchants me.”
    –Daniel Niedermann, LatinMusik.ch, June 2010, Switzerland

More Press Reviews

(Click on any press icon Press Clip Icon to view the entire article.)

Following are reviews of Susie’s band in performance, and reviews of her first CD, “Solo Flight,” and her second CD, “The Salsa Never Ends.”

  • icon_press_la-times“The music will display the band’s appealing mix of salsa and Latin Jazz…for both listening and dancing.”– Don Heckman, Los Angeles Times, 2003
  • press-review “Her impeccable technique…and swinging, lyrical style makes her violin speak the language of Latin jazz with total fluency. Hansen and her L.A.-based group achieve a rhythmic groove that’s nothing less than hypnotizing.”– Mark Holston, JAZZIZ Magazine, 1994
  • icon_press_sf-examinerNewspaper Thumbnail “I’ve heard my share of sizzling salsa bands over the years but I don’t recall, until Friday night, ever listening to a sizzling, swinging salsa band….Hansen can solo as if her bow was afire….The whole room was jumpin’ for joy.”– Phil Elwood, San Francisco Examiner, 2000
  • press-review“The Village Gate in New York was treated to a great show with Tito Puente, but one of the best parts of the evening was the guest appearance of Susie Hansen from L.A., who received a standing ovation when she surprised everyone with her violin riffs.”– Nelson Rodriguez, Latin Beat Magazine, 1998
  • icon_press_city-news“Impeccable improvisations, professional experience, and respect for both the music and her colleagues have allowed her to find success in a male-dominated jazz genre.”– Imani Tate, City News, Pomona CA, 2003
  • icon_press_la-times-96“It’s hard not to be moved by violinist Susie Hansen’s vibrant Latin-based sound. There’s a compelling energy, a winsome sense of melody that grabs hold of a listener.”– Zan Stewart, Los Angeles Times, 1996
  • icon_press_sabor“A sensational band,… a terrific violinist… Salsa meets jazz with a hot violin leading the way.”– Walberto Escobar, Sabor Magazine, 2002
  • press-review“Ella encabeza una de las agrupaciones ms destacadas de jazz latino en Los Angeles.”– Raymundo Reynoso, La Opinion, Los Angeles
  • press-review“A marvelous performer she is, with a host of heavyweights. Latin jazz at its best!”– James Janisse, KKJZ-FM, Long Beach CA
  • press-review“She has developed her own combustible approach….Considering the career obstacles for a woman in jazz and one who plays the electric violin and an ethnic outsider to Afro-Cuban music, her success is even more impressive.”– Lloyd Sachs, Chicago Sun Times
  • press-review“The very talented violinist, Susie Hansen…conjures up some solid Latin jazz that will really get you going.”– Jose Rizo, “Jazz on the Latin Side,” KKJZ-FM, Long Beach CA
  • press-review“Hansen was a ball of energy–knocking out energetic solo lines, creating an atmosphere of high voltage excitement. She creates a brand of music that is as physically moving as it is intellectually stimulating.”– Don Heckman, Los Angeles Times
  • press-review“It is difficult not to be impressed by Susie Hansen’s debut CD.”– Scott Yanow, LA Jazz Scene
  • press-review“One need look no further than Susie Hansen for proof positive that the Renaissance Man is alive and well in the 90’s–only she’s a woman….A fiery violinist with a kinetic performance.”– Steve Libowitz, Santa Barbara News Press, 1995
  • press-review“Susie Hansen…would be an asset to any of our area’s orchestras. From complicated double stops and glissandos to the extreme, full sounding high notes, Hansen made it all seem like child’s play.”– Ralph Andrews, San Bernardino Sun, 1995
  • press-review“She’s a confident ball of fire. Her repertoire is colorfully seasoned with originals. Hansen has a product that fits in the groove and yet stands out from the rest.”– Debbie Beyers, Pasadena Weekly, 1993
  • press-review“Hansen harnesses the sensual prowess of a Jean Luc Ponty and displays it with such an overwhelming tipico Cuban feel… Susie, Solo Flight has earned you a noble rank in the world of Afro-Cuban jazz.”– Max Salazar, Latin Beat Magazine, 1994
  • press-review“Susie Hansen is a real find. …She stands out as a unique commodity in the music world today.”– Joey Alkes, LA Express
  • icon_press_calendar“Some of the Southland’s most energetically swinging Latin music.”– Don Heckman, Los Angeles Times, 2003
  • icon_press_el-diario“Susie Hansen: una estrella inslita en el jazz latino.”– Juan Fernando Merino, El Diario de la Prensa, New York City, 2003
  • press-review“Susie Hansen [is] the greatest Salsa violinist in America.”– Oscar Abadia, “Sabado Bailables,” KLVE-FM (K-love), Los Angeles, 2004
  • press-review“Her band just gets better and better and better.”– Cathy Diaz, “Canto Tropical”, KPFK-FM, Los Angeles, 2005
  • press-review“Susie Hansen’s violin, her style, her energy and charm make you feel good. She never fails to get an audience dancing and smiling.”– Alfredo Cruz, KLON, America’s Jazz Radio, 1998
  • press-review“Susie Hansen…is turning into one of the major interpreters of Salsa in Los Angeles.” [translated from Spanish]– Miguel Angel Rodriquez, La Opinion, Los Angeles, 1994
  • press-review“Hansen…knows how to make it cook. She twists her electric fiddle with personality, drawing out fluid runs and melodies. Hansen and the fellas sizzle.”– Jac Zinder, LA Weekly, 1993
  • press-review“…a talented, vibrant pioneer.”– Susan Wilson, Boston Globe, 1993
  • press-review“…a tremendous talent on the violin.”– Jesse “Chuy” Varela, KJAZ-FM, San Francisco
  • press-review“Susie is a strong fiddler with a penchant for building extended solos to exciting climaxes.”– Dan Weinstein, Mambo Express Magazine
  • press-review“…a topnotch jazz violinist.”– Jan Herman, Chicago Sun Times
  • press-review“With tenacity and talent, Susie Hansen has been able to break down some formidable barriers to establish the Susie Hansen Band as one of the hardest working, most popular bands on the Latin scene in L.A.”– Myrna Daniels, LA Jazz Scene
  • press-review“Find yourself enveloped by the addictive sounds of one of the best Latin jazz dance groups in the area. With both the humility and intelligence to surround herself with a high-energy rhythm section, Susie Hansen is class personified.”– Joe Jennison, Pasadena Weekly
  • press-review“Find yourself enveloped by the addictive sounds of one of the best Latin jazz dance groups in the area. With both the humility and intelligence to surround herself with a high-energy rhythm section, Susie Hansen is class personified.”– Joe Jennison, Pasadena Weekly
  • press-review“This young lady is rocking the house everywhere she plays.”– Rafael Sanchez, Salseros Magazine, San Diego, 1993
  • press-review“…a nimble fingered violinist with an ear for Latin rhythms.”– Bill Kohlhasse, Chicago Sun Times
  • press-review“She’s a wonderful musician and plays her heart out.”– Nina Lenart, “Alma del Barrio”, KXLU-FM, Los Angeles
  • press-review“What violinist Susie Hansen delivers can be summed up in a single word: energy. Hansen…is becoming one of Southern California’s most popular Latin Jazz artists.”– Zan Stewart, Los Angeles Times, 1994