Origin Suite

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 reside within these dozen compositions, from the blistering elation that blasts from the opening passages of "La Jungla" till "Still Life" gently takes its leave more than an hour later. With so much to savor, so many new delights saying hello with each new listen, Origin Suite is a truly sweet original. Additionally the audio engineering is crazy good..it's the kind of recording you want to use to test your audio equipment on.