Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Rodney Whitaker - Outrospection: The Music of Gregg Hill
by LAWRENCE COSENTINO, City Pulse (Lansing, MI)
Rodney Whitaker's "Outrospection" processes the pandemic A lone trombone casts a shard of song onto the waves, a bottle with a note inside: Is anybody out there? "Outrospection," the title track of bassist Rodney Whitaker's latest CD, bares the scars from the lonely year of 2020, along with hopes for a better future together.
Whitaker recalled the momentous day last August when he convened an all-star ensemble of musicians who... read more
Benjamin Boone | Philip Levine - The Poetry of Jazz
by Michael Jackson, Downbeat
4-STARS Like a whiskey aged in charred casks, not a gin - which Pulitzer-winning poet laureate Philip Levine at first taste thought was hair tonic - this collection of world-weary words framed by quick-witted saxophonist/composer Benjamin Boone should be taken neat and steep sampled. Levine grew up in Detroit, and as a teenager during the '50s worked in car manufacturing plants. His general cynicism about the workplace is at odds with... read more
Hans Teuber & Jeff Johnson - Deuce
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
An utterly elegant sax/bass duo that plays it straight without any outside embellishment and shows you how to deliver a proper recital that has feeling rather than just be pretty but just lay there. Playing together for over 25 years, this duo has the telepathy in place to lead you even if they haven't thought ahead to where they are going to take you. This is a fine example of the tasty sound of... read more
Michael Waldrop - Origin Suite
by Music Journalist, Jeff Tamarkin
Origin Suite accomplishes what so few contemporary big band albums are able to: It projects an intimacy, even as it opens vista upon vista and layer upon layer. So in sync are Michael Waldrop and his uniformly superb crew that - even at its most expansive, even as its soloists present their personalized statements and as its charts enter uncharted worlds - there's a singularity of vision throughout. A plethora of emotions, textures and languages... read more
Tim Davies Big Band - The Expensive Train Set
by Dave Rogers, WTJU - Richmond
Imagine being the leader of and composer/arranger for two big bands and you'll get the idea of this release. Both have identical instrumentation, though the only player common to both is Tim Davies (drums) himself. One band is in Melbourne and the other in Los Angeles and one song combines the two together. The sound is large and powerful and often "sharp" like the James Bond movie orchestras. All but two of the compositions are by Davies.... read more
John La Barbera Big Band - Grooveyard
by Marc Myers, Jazz Wax
Jazz has long been blessed by a sizable number of sibling musicians. Most notably, there are the Joneses (Hank, Elvin and Thad), the Montgomerys (Wes, Buddy and Monk), the Mangiones (Chuck and Gap), the Heaths (Jimmy, Percy and Albert "Tootie" Heath), the Turrentines (Stanley and Tommy), the Adderleys (Cannonball and Nat), the Youngs (Lester and Lee), the Candolis (Pete and Conte), the Breckers (Michael and Randy) and the Marsalises (Branford,... read more
Sam Yahel - From Sun to Sun
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
5-STARS Sam Yahel made his name in jazz as an organist, notably on the excellent Truth and Beauty (Origin Records, 2009). In addition to a handful of well-received CDs under his own name, Yahel has worked his B3 Hammond magic on recordings by vocalist Norah Jones and saxophonist Joshua Redman. So it was something of a risk to return to his "original instrument," the piano, for Hometown (Posi-Tone Records, 2009), a piano trio set that... read more
David Friesen Circle 3 Trio - Where the Light Falls
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
For my money, Friesen doesn't record enough solo/leader dates so this twofer shows that there isn't too much of a good thing where Friesen recordings are concerned. Culled form several live dates, Friesen's touring trio delivers the goods throughout with some great sitting down jazz listening that never eases up on the pedal. It doesn't have to be groundbreaking when it simply sounds this good. Discerning listeners will easily recognize this... read more
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