Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Bruce Williamson - Standard Transmission
by Ken Dryden, All Music
One of the benefits of the Origin label is they give exposure to talents deserving of greater recognition, whether they are new up-and-coming artists or veterans like Bruce Williamson. In spite of his contributions as a sideman over several decades with Jack McDuff, Fred Hersch, Randy Brecker, Tom Harrell, and Toshiko Akiyoshi (in addition to many others), plus leading his own groups, nearly two decades lapsed before the appearance of this... read more
Kiki Valera - Vivencias en Clave Cubana
by Tom Ehrlich, Timba
Kiki Valera, a member of a well known Cuban son family, Familia Valera Miranda, was born, raised, and attended conservatory in the eastern part of Cuba. He currently resides in Seattle, Washington, USA. He has just released his first recording as a leader, "Vivencias en clave cubana", an outstanding project with wonderful music, exquisite mastering, and great packaging.
Among the standout features of this project are Valera's skillfully... read more
Aaron Germain - Chance
by Hrayr Attarian, Chicago Jazz Magazine
Ten intriguing pieces in an intimate ambience comprise guitarist Scott Hesse's Stillness of Motion. The vibrantly organic music brims with spontaneity within its intricately constructed framework, occupying a space between a free blowing session and a rigidly adhered interpretation. This delightful and seamless blend of the improvised and the composed is one of the major distinguishing features of the album. The easy flow of ideas among... read more
Hal Galper & the Youngbloods - Live at the Cota Jazz Festival
by Dick Metcalf, Improvijazzation
I've reviewed Hal's excellent jazz piano work here quite often over the many years I've been writing reviews... this July, 2017 release shows his total dedication to the art of jazz... he's joined by Nathan Bellott on alto saxophone, Dean Torrey playing bass and David Frazier doing drums, in one of the best "live" jazz recordings of 2017... as you listen to the opener, "Speak with a Single Voice", you'll hear what "professional" really means...... read more
Emi Meyer - Monochrome
by Bobby Reed, Downbeat
With her U.S. debut, Monochrome, singer-songwriter Emi Meyer has crafted a gem that will greatly expand her international fan base. Born in Kyoto to a Japanese mother and an American father, the Tokyo-based Meyer has released several albums in Japan, and her music has appeared on the soundtrack to Japanese director Nobuhiro Doi's film Flying Colors and in the States on the TV shows Awkward and Younger. Though Meyer has often sung... read more
Jessica Williams - Songs For A New Century
by Robert Doerschuk, Downbeat, December 2008
On Songs For A New Century (****) Jessica Williams proves that she excels in the solo format. These pieces may owe something to her decision to remove the music stand and fall-board, unfold the front part of the lid and lower the level of her seat. What matters more is the results of this tinkering, and while outside effects do crop up, such as the sparking string plucks on "Toshiko," the effect is one of consonance and elegance, more... read more
Benjamin Boone - Caught in the Rhythm
by Dr. Debra Jan Bibel, Amazon
Benjamin Boone continues his lauded project of uniting poetry with jazz. After the two volumes of The Poetry of Jazz, featuring the poems and narration of Laureate Philip Levine, followed by A Gathering of Poets, 11 narrating their own often dark and angry social commentary, he presents his most interesting, expansive, and musical combinations that Boone himself regards as his best. Again, no text of the poems are provided, forcing the listener... read more
Joel Miller Sienna Dahlen - Dream Cassette
by Raul da Gama, The Whole Note
On Dream Cassette, Dahlen teams up with an extraordinarily gifted multi-instrumentalist and songwriter, Joel Miller who, in each of 12 original songs here, has tempered his arsenal of sophisticated compositional resources with fond and haunting reminiscences reflecting the contours of New Brunswick's rich and yet starkly dramatic cultural landscape. The mostly unfamiliar tunes serve as unifying devices, which in the hands of Miller and Dahlen,... read more
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