“NYT CRITICS' PICK: Musician feels radically fresh... shot and edited with the same inquisitive spirit that defined Studs Terkel's oral history Working. Those seeking a nutshell definition of what it means to be a committed artist need look no further.”
“Musician expands a deceptively simple premise into a nuanced drama that is one of the best films of the year. A succession of haunting realities, none more so than a map of the shattered line between so many of our personal and professional lives.”
“RECOMMENDED. Paints a vibrant but decidely unglamorous portrait. The end result is a strange duality between work and play: Vandermark loves what he does, but because resources for the improvising musician are so limited, he can never rest.”
- CHICAGO READER
“Musician is a precise and insightful cinema verite study of Ken Vandermark... Offers an unglamorized portrait of the artist as a purposeful drudge. Well-crafted and compelling.”
- VARIETY
“Musician never loses the momentum of its opening sequence... As with Sheriff, Kraus assembles Musician as a narration-free, talking-head-free cinema-verite piece, which is an obstacle Kraus sets for himself and works around neatly.”
“An unflinching look at the weary realities of a working musician.”
- BOOKLIST
“Musician’s beauty and importance lies in recording every gritty detail with understated lyricism.”
“9/10 STARS: As part two in his amazing documentary series, Daniel Kraus delivers yet another stunning celluloid portrait. Indeed, what is best about the Work Series, and Musician specifically, is that is asks us to drop our own preconceived notions of what a job entails to actually experience what it is.”“Avant-garde jazz musician Ken Vandermark does seem like an ordinary guy absorbed with arranging the logistics of his nonstop tours - until he picks up a saxophone, that is. [Vandermark] holds the screen with unassuming but undeniable star power.”
“There are no grand conclusions reached in Musician, no litany of colleagues offering their insight. It is one step removed from a photo essay, and that is its masterstroke.”
“A fascinating piece of documentary filmmaking. Rarely has the mundane been so enlightening.”
“FOUR STARS. Musician is an engaging bio-pic that ought to find an eager audience in all those aspiring artists struggling with the decision of whether to stick it out or to abandon their field for a more practical profession. A fascinating documentary.”
“Gets much closer to its subject than your usual documentary. Anyone wanting to preserve romantic notions of the glamour of an improvising musician's life should not watch this movie.”
- THE WIRE
“Fascinating, mesmerizing glimpse into one's man creative journey.”
“What makes this film so important is its unabashed and straightforward look at what it takes to bring meaningful music to an audience... Brilliant and essential.”
“The second installment in Kraus’s Frederick Wiseman-esque WORK Series is another matter-of-fact document of an American worker that shows, with subtle grace, the day-to-day realities of an individual trudging through their chosen vocation.”
“While there's a taste of stylization in the editing - split-screen, out-of-sequence reveals, superimposition - Musician is a fairly pure work.”
- VILLAGE VOICE
“RECOMMENDED: Kraus takes a cue from the early vérité maters such as John Marshall, the Maylses, etc., wisely choosing not to make Mr. Vandermark a larger-than-life figure.”
“Not your typical hagiography.”
- TIME OUT NEW YORK
“Anyone contemplating a career in the music business should see this... Kraus's commentary exposes the seldom-seen dark side of being a musician. Viewers can feel Ken's emotional pain when he has to hit the road.”
- EU JACKSONVILLE
“Kraus keeps an anthropological eye on his subject as Vandermark gently nudges out a composition, expounds on the virtues of atonal music, and performs his blistering music on stage.”
