On "Paraphrase" (Nicki Adams and Michael Eaton), Steeplechase Records:

"This is the artistic ethos that informs this impressive debut recital of chamber style music which fascinates from start to finish.

…Though the music is unashamedly cerebral it isn’t without spontaneity and dash and there is plenty in the way of unbridled improvisation which is particularly evident in the final number, an Eaton original inspired by the philosophy of Edmund Husserl and based on "All The Things You Are".

It has a flavour of Schoenberg’s serial music but also elements free-form jazz and brings to a close a truly intriguing set of music from two talented newcomers of whom we are sure to be hearing more before very long."

Euan Dixon, JazzViews.net, September 30, 2022

On "Ghost Tantras":

"All American [players], Ghost Tantras features four experienced and peripatetic players: trumpeter Kyle Quass, soprano/tenor saxophonist Michael Eaton, guitarist Seth Andrew Davis using laptop electronics and bassist Damon Smith...
Smith, who has contributed to creative music situations in many cities, is the steadying instrumental voice on Ghost Tantras’ eight selections since it’s often the bass pulse which maintains horizontal flow. He also factors in sequences of profound improvisation, including sul ponticello slices and other instances of bowed groove-making and pizzicato emphasis. His skill is most upfront on “Whahh”, which is the CD’s only all-acoustic track. With pressured strokes and picks, Smith’s pulses intersect with Davis’ subtle finger picking as Quass’ output moves from straight-ahead to half-valve emphasis in call-and-response with Eaton’s tongued slurs...
Otherwise laptop electronics add voltage bumps, oscillating wiggles and ring-modulator-like clangs to the narratives that encompass both horn players use of extended techniques. Despite a few melody snatches, many motifs recall John Coltrane’s or Sonny Rollins’ sessions with Don Cherry. Because of this, at points the saxophonist is upfront as on “Yahoo”, where his high-pitched smears and split tones dominate."
 
Ken Waxman, JazzWord, March 8, 2023

On Symbiotique:

"While the hometowns ranged widely, this lineup breathed together in a profound manner, raising memories of the legendary New York Eye and Ear Control soundtrack.  From the downbeat, Symbiotique claimed the room, a whisper-going-roar.  Eaton's wide, bottomy sound shouted praise and angst and with Quass's midrange longtones cutting through Davis's battery of effects pedals, the sum was faultless.  Minkoff, playing a Longhorn electric bass, pizzicato and plectrum, tangled with Cheli, a champion of dynamics, shading, and subtlety."

-John Pietaro, New York Jazz Record Review, June 2022

"These are musical conversations first and foremost, and one imagines what a fascinating spectacle seeing the duo perform live would be, but in more holistic terms the swirls of sound always seem to flow from a single source, as if a mysterious pressurized gas canister has sprung a leak or someone lifted the lid of the devil’s toybox for a bit too long. The sprawling “Plastic Capitalism” is a great example of this and a clear standout on the album; the momentum of the interplay that mounts in the first half is exhilarating, and even when the pair calms things down the music quietly but stubbornly persists, seeping under the doorway with a creeping hiss."

Jack Davidson, Noise Not Music, April 8, 2021 (reviewing The Maximal Effect)

"As a whole, Symbiotique is a riotous album, traveling through a variety of captivating sonic pairings and fiery melodies. It shines strongest in its moments of calm and its inherent intricacy; Davis and Eaton move in-sync throughout, creating a cohesion that’s necessary in enjoying music based on tearing structure apart. If Symbiotique is any indication, Mother Brain Records will continue to be a free improvisation and experimental music label to watch."

-Vanessa Ague, The Road to Sound, May 13, 2020 (reviewing Symbiotique)

Dialogical

"Serious play” may be a cliché by now, but it exemplifies the spirit that dances through this set."

-David Whiteis, JazzTimes  

"There is more than enough promising music on Dialogical to justify Eaton's status as a force to be reckoned with in today's jazz world."

-Troy Dostert, AllAboutJazz

"Dialogical is revelatory of Eaton’s compositional capacities. It comes full of appealing ideas, including a minimalistic chamber work and mind-bending structures and variations that confer it a triumphant, fresh spirit."

-Filipe Freitas, JazzTrail

"...The “Temporalities” suite sees the basic quartet complemented by an additional piano and prepared piano, vibes, flute, trumpet and marimba. The source is evidently early minimalism à la Philip Glass and Steve Reich, with the fourth and final movement bordering on atonality. It is an engaging and rewarding piece of music requiring undivided attention. There is so much music condensed into this CD that it needs to be savored through repeated listens to appreciate its richness fully. 

-Marco Cangiano, New York City Jazz Review

"The performances range from straight ahead to reaching for the outside boundaries, but this melange typically stays well within accessible melodic ranges. Captivating."

-Dave Rogers, WTJU 91.1FM, University of Virginia

"The complex interplay of wind and percussion instruments, the capricious use of chromatism within the dodecaphonic system, the inclusion of elements of ethnicity in music, especially apparent in [the] Oriental mood [of] "I and Thou" - Eaton's longest, twelve-minute composition, as well as an introduction to the sound palette of a number of exotic instruments - that's the main features of Eaton's music in this project. Each of them is not new, but together they give a completely new effect, which, in fact, Michael wanted."

-Leonard Auskern, JazzQuad.ru

"Dialogical" is one of the best releases I've reviewed this year. Incredibly gorgeous.

-Dr. Bradley Stone, SoulandJazz.com

On Cheryl Pyle's Beyond Quartet and Live at iBeam:

"Everyone on both dates is in fine form...I would say most definitely that [Cheryl Pyle and Beyond Group] is doing some of the most interesting New Jazz in and around New York these days. These two albums show us why she is a voice that must be heard. Check these out by all means!"

-Grego Applegate Edwards, gapplegate music review

Live review of Doyle Bramhall's Rich Man:

"Exclusive to the New York show was an inclusion of horn section on some of the songs, and what a joyous brass quartet it was! Michael Eaton (tenor sax), Cocheme Gastelum (alto sax), Dan Brantigan (trumpet), and Nate Sutton (trombone) definitely brought the extra energy and musicianship to the stage. “November” was perhaps my favorite moment of the show; a bittersweet tribute to Doyle Bramhall’s late father, influenced by the time they spent together listening to R&B records."
-Darek Solarski, The Sound Live