Jack Anderson, The New York Times
{the dancers in Breakdown Tango moved} to a darkly dramatic score by John Mackey... Mr. Mackey filled his score with what sounded like Latin-American rhythms...
As the title {Strange Humors} promised, much that happened in it was strange, {although} the work as a whole was thematically coherent, even though it dealt with mysterious passions. In this male duet to a sultry score by Mr. Mackey, {the dancers} twisted and quivered, as they drew ever nearer. They acted as if they were possessed by the force of feelings beyond their control. But their sense of wonderment conveyed a sense that these feelings were good ones.
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Gramophone Magazine
Certainly one would be hard pressed to find a better piece than Breakdown Tango (2000) for bursting out of the starting gate.

Lawson Taitte, The Dallas Morning News :
The new score [for Twelfth Night] by John Mackey (of Parsons Dance Company fame) makes its almost constant music truly, as the text says, the food of love... [Jesse Lenat] settles down as soon as he gets to Mr. Mackey's first song [O Mistress Mine]. Twelfth Night is basically musical comedy, and Mr. Lenat -- a member of Rent's original Broadway cast -- sings all the numbers. You'll go home with his rendition of "The Rain It Raineth Every Day" ringing in your ears.
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Sarah Kaufman, The Washington Post
John Mackey's jazz-inspired music, which he conducted, was this work's [Annuals] brightest note.
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Newsday, New York :
In the ensuing series of short pieces for one or two dancers, and in Rush Hour, a world premiere for seven dancers, [Battle and Mackey] reveal a high-energy style and a sharp theatrical sense, as well as a funny streak. And the wonderful, percussive music of Mackey, with it's aromas of India and the Near East, provides the perfect frame for the choreography... Damn gives us Elizabeth Koeppen storming around the stage to the furious pounding of kettle drums -- it's simply sensational, with a final moment of immense power. And there's more! The churning, ferocious energy of these briefs appears again in Rush Hour... And the violent bursts of percussion in Mackey's score make you think of weapons fire, despite the work's everyday title.


Herald-Tribune, Sarasota, Florida
Composer John Mackey scored Battle's "Mood Indigo," as perfect a collaboration between music and movement as one could wish. In three separate duets, the dancers manipulated their bodies to match the jazzy chords, leaving the audience uncertain if the music provoked the moves, or vice-versa.


Percussive Notes
"Concerto for Percussion"...a strong-driving rhythmic setting... full of energy and power... enjoyed by conductors and audiences alike...
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Clive Barnes, Dance Magazine
... the world premiere of Rush Hour, an ironic but imaginative ensemble piece to original music by [John] Mackey. Other collaborations with Mackey were a duet for Jason McDole and Henry Jackson, almost self-explanatory, titled Strange Humors; an inventive Variation for Mia McSwain; and a brusque, brisk solo for [Elizabeth] Koeppen, Damn. There is a talent here, which Parsons is wise to encourage.


Donald Rosenberg, The Plain Dealer
... For good measure, [conductor Gareth] Morrell even slipped a commissioned work onto the program, John Mackey's Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night, to give his charges experience in music they couldn't have seen before. Mackey has devised a 9-minute fantasy that juxtaposes lyrical and dramatic gestures. The writing is concise and clear in intent, with some lovely thematic ideas that are transformed into dark statements evoking a menacing and chilly atmosphere. Mackey's harmonic language, rhythmic energy and textural sense show hints of noted models without spilling over into imitation. Do Not Go Gentle is an appealing first orchestral work from a composer whose touch is gentle and craftsmanship solid. The world-premiere performance revealed the piece's fine qualities.


Anna Kisselgoff, The New York Times
John Mackey, the company's music director, wrote the commissioned score {for Beach}, whose jagged fast rhythms, played by the Elm City Ensemble, suit the step-packed phrases. The communal frolic, with the dancers galumphing palm to palm in a circle, is full of head rotations, disco wiggles and arm swiping. The accent is upbeat, and the dancers, sometimes with the two pairs echoing each other, are admirable in their speed, stamina and good humor.
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The Oregonian, Portland, Oregon
[Portland Youth Philharmonic music director Huw Edwards'] programs are timely, challenging and rewarding. John Mackey's Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night, written in 1994, was a prime example. Recently appointed music director of the New York-based Parsons Dance Company, Mackey writes with movement and color in mind. Drums thundered, cymbals crashed, and the strings and winds slashed at rhythmic fragments. ...the effects were fun and the musicians were bangin'.


Interview with Robert Battle, The Brooklyn Papers
One of [Robert Battle's] dances, "Damn," was titled by his initial reaction to the music Mackey created for it. "Mackey has this intuitiveness about it. I define what I want, like a combination of funky and angry, and he comes back and he has it. He'll even push in that direction further than you expected to go," Battle explains. The piece begins with the woman rising in the morning in an almost mechanical way. Through the piece, she becomes more frenzied, until the end when, with a crash of the music, she crashes to the floor.


Susan Yung, DanceInsider.com
"Bitter Jig," an excerpt from "Mood Indigo," [danced] to a strident score by company composer John Mackey. The most satisfying work on the program was "Rush Hour," an ensemble piece to Mackey's percussion-heavy music.
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Chicago Sun Times
"Strange Humors"--a duet brilliantly danced by [Hubbard Street 2 dancers] Zivolich and Chase, and set to a fascinating crazy-quilt original score by John Mackey.
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Tom Patrick, DanceInsider.com
[Robert] Battle's "Mood Indigo" took it's title from John Mackey's music, and his inspiration therein is easy to understand. The pieces are off-kilter, asymmetric and headed forward hard, and Mr. Battle's three duets are three distinct portraits. "Sweet Boogie" is bouncy and hand-to-hand, a caper and a social dance, whereas "Sour Heart" is slow, precise and sculptural, filled with dramatic imagery. "Bitter Jig" is serious competition between equals, in a relentless dance-cathalon with a thrilling reprise. Battle's keenness to this music is key here, and it pays off in terms of these duets' architecture and tone.
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Rachel Leah Jablon, DanceInsider.com
While Parsons's choreography at times proved to be perceptive, the music, composed and conducted by John Mackey, contributed far more to my experience. The orchestra included a string quartet, as well as a bass drum and a sparkling brass section. The trumpets, French horns, and trombones were placed strategically on all sides of the theater. The result was... extraordinary.
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The obligatory first review from The New York Times :
[Robert] Battle's new "Rush Hour," danced to music composed by Robert Mackey and performed live by his ensemble, was the crisply surging jazz dance equivalent of a precision drill for seven militaristic-looking near-robots.
(ed. note : You're right, the name is John Mackey, not Robert Mackey. I was not a happy camper. This review ran in May, 1999; they've sense published a much nicer review.)

Other articles...
New York Times, Sunday Arts section feature about "Chamber Dance Project," which included a work set to one of my scores.