Browse some recent OA2 Reviews.
JazzVox - Jazzvox Presents: In Your Own Backyard
by C. Michael Bailey, All About Jazz.com
Nich Anderson is a Northwest coast jazz vocalist and jazz vocals champion who has been bringing jazz vocal talent to his "house concerts" in Washington State for the past 10 years. Anderson and Origin Records' house presence Bill Anschell have produced a recording documenting some of this talent. The result is a collection of duets and trios, intimate in presentation, overt in the sheer ability of its participants, that well highlight the state... read more
Hans Luchs - Time Never Pauses
by Paul Abella, WDCB
Hans Luchs is a fantastic Chicago guitarist with a new disc out titled Time Never Pauses. With his stellar band - Stu Mindeman on piano, Clark Sommers on bass, George Fludas on drums, and Shaun Johnson on trumpet - they work their way through a program of mostly Luchs's originals. "Hello Janssen" is the most exciting tune here, with a drum solo for the ages at the tail end. "Der Lumenmeister" and "30 Rue des Martyrs" both grabbed my... read more
Libby York - DreamLand
by Brian Morton, DownBeat
4 1/2 STARS Is it damning with faint praise to say that this is grown-up jazz? Too much female jazz singing seems to slide from Betty Boop pyrotechnics straight into "Gloomy Sunday" croaking with out much happening in between.
The lovely thing about Libby York is that she seems like an adult artist without letting responsibilities weigh down joyousness and pleasure in the song. York knows that her responsibility is to the song, and on... read more
Medler Sextet - River Paths
by George W Harris, Jazz Weekly
Rich post bop tones are delivered by tenor saxist Michelle Medler and her flavorful team of Paul Mazzio/tp, John Moak/tb, Clay Giberson/p, Ben Medler/b and Todd Bishop/dr. Medler has a rich and mellow melodicism, hinting at vintage Hank Mobley, and it works well on the collection of compositions by Michelle and Ben Medler, such as the Horace Silver-inspired "River Paths". She blows some blue smoke rings on "Subway Jam ("Evening)" and bops with... read more
Daria - Strawberry Fields Forever
by Paula Edelstein, AXS
Jazz vocalist Daria has released Strawberry Fields Forever, Songs By The Beatles on Origin/OA2 Records as the culmination of her own extensive solo touring and performance schedule. The 11-track recording features many of The Beatles' most popular compositions that Daria and her 16-member ensemble play with different rhythms and melodic structures while keeping the essences of each song intact.
The opening track, "When I'm 64," is a... read more
Gail Pettis - Here in the Moment
by Marc Myers, Jazz Wax
Gail Pettis' new CD, Here in the Moment, is a throwback to the 1950s, when singers crawled inside a song and moved it around a bit while delivering a straight-up rendition. To do this requires enormous knowledge and courage. If what you try on the fly doesn't cut it, you have to be skilled enough to craft an instant solution. Sarah Vaughan was famous for hop-scotching out of painted corners.
On this CD, Pettis, who spent nearly 20 years as an... read more
Doug Hamilton - Jazz Band
by Ric Bang, The Davis Enterprise
If you've never heard of Doug Hamilton, there's a good reason; by day he's Dr. Doug Hamilton, head of surgery at two hospitals.
Hamilton didn't seriously pursue jazz until he was 40, when he picked up a trombone and began lessons - and studied arranging - at night. After 10 years, in the 1980's, he founded The Brass Connection: a Juno Award-winning group consisting of five trombones and a five-man rhythm section.
He released a CD in 1986... read more
Kelsey Mines - Everything Sacred, Nothing Serious
by Paul Rauch, Seattle Jazz Beat
There is a familiar tale in the Pacific Northwest that has been told many times over-a young, talented musician born and raised on the region's music scene, educated in area programs, who leaves to pursue their musical dreams in cities abroad. In jazz, that usually means a pilgrimage to New York and institutions such as Juilliard or the Manhattan School of Music. In some cases, it's just a matter of getting to Gotham to somehow gain... read more
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