Best of Baltimore 2017 Baltimore Magazine (August 2017)
Lafayette Gilchrist--LOCAL LEGEND
“Jazz lovers are guaranteed to have run into this world-renowned icon playing the keys in his trademark chapeau. His feats as a composer are especially poignant and timely, like his piece “Blues for Freddie Gray,” which has brought ecstatic crowds to their feet.”
 
Baltimore City Paper (Sept 19, 2017)
Best Band: Lafayette Gilchrist and the New Volcanoes
“Lafayette Gilchrist and the New Volcanoes are one of those bands that get more love in Europe than they do at home. But they have been banging out their big band concoction of funk, go-go, jazz, blues, and soul for over a decade now. And they keep getting better and better—and there is nothing throw-back about this music. It is now. This year’s “Blues for Freddie Gray,” with vocals by Brooks Long, is one of the band’s best recordings and shows Gilchrist at the top of his writing game. It’s music that swings and thumps and bounces—with a heady dose of wailing avant-garde horns and a subterranean sorrow that sweeps along underneath it all. The New Volcanoes rock an existential groove that shouts out the pain and the glory of being alive. Now the band is set to reach new audiences as Gilchrist’s song ‘Assume the Position’ serves as the closing credit music on “The Deuce,” the new ‘70s New York porno drama made by David Simon and George Pelecanos. But before we die, we salute y’all as the last Best Band in this last best city, a hard town by the sea (sort of).”
 
Best Music of 2017 Baltimore Magazine (Dec 13, 2017)
“As for many of us, 2017 was a year of introspection and growth for the Baltimore music community. Familiar faces returned home, launched new ventures, or released seminal albums. New artists popped out of the woodwork and made their mark on the local scene. Collaboration was prolific, emotions were liberated, and a sort of homegrown catharsis ensued. A sense of change is in the air, and with the amount of talent we saw this year across all genres, we can’t wait to see what the future has in store for 2018. We couldn’t fit them all, but here are a handful of our favorite musical moments from the tumultuous past 12 months…” “Local jazz legend Lafayette Gilchrist released a new album this spring with a powerful single titled “Blues for Freddie Gray.” Riddled with Gilchrist’s pounding piano keys, a full brass section, and the soulful vocals of old-school virtuoso Brooks Long, the song is post-2015 Baltimore in a bottle. The lively, driving number is full of energy and emotion, with audio samples from actual television footage following the death of Freddie Gray and subsequent officer trials. But despite the opening police sirens and closing whirr of a Foxtrot helicopter that both speak to the lack of closure in Gray’s case, Gilchrist ends on a hopeful note. “I want to know that there’s a day that’s coming soon and fast,” howls the ever-talented Long. “I want a justice and a peace that’s made to last and last. Don’t ya tell me that we can’t all get it done.” 
By Lydia Woolever

Baltimore Sun (Dec 19, 2017)
"Baltimore music made its excellence known in 2017 through captivating music videos, fully conceptualized albums, free mixtapes, earworm singles and the myriad other ways the Internet has made music consumption feel like a never-ending pursuit. And when the songs are this good — embedding their nuances and most-obvious thrills into our heads long after they end — that’s a journey we’ll happily embrace, year after year. Once again, we chose 30 tracks from Baltimore artists that stood out most this year, presented below in no particular order... "Lafayette Gilchrist, “Blues for Freddie Gray” (Manta Ray Records): Mixing go-go rhythms with the jazz piano playing of Baltimore’s Lafayette Gilchrist, this lively, horns-filled track finds guest vocalist Brooks Long, another Baltimorean, singing, “I want a justice and a peace that’s made to last and last.”
By Wesley Case, Contact Reporter