Browse some recent OA2 Reviews.
Phil Parisot - Inventions
by Jean-Michel Schlosser, Couleurs Jazz (France)
When a drummer signs a record with his name, it is often a role of stooge that he takes on. Here, none of that, the drummer is really the master of the ceremony. First of all by the compositions that he writes entirely but also by his well marked presence behind the skins and cymbals.
The third album from this young drummer from Seattle, well surrounded by musicians who regularly collaborate on his recordings, Phil Parisot has, as he says... read more
Kristen Strom - Moving Day: The Music of John Shifflett
by Jack Bowers, All About Jazz
The esteemed bassist John Shifflett was for roughly thirty years a mainstay in countless San Francisco Bay Area sessions and recordings until his untimely passing in April 2017. Gone, that's true, but far from forgotten. Shifflett, as it turns out, had another largely hidden talent as a composer of bright and accessible jazz tunes, seven of which are performed by a number of his friends and colleagues on Moving Day, a warm-hearted tribute whose... read more
Ben Paterson - Breathing Space
by George Fendel, Jazz Society of Oregon
Hey, Origin Records ? don?t stop with just one CD by Ben Paterson and his trio. Origin gives us no indication where Ben Paterson comes from, but I can tell you that musically, he comes from the long and honored tradition of piano cats with great chops. Paterson, who looks like a youngster from the photo, plays with authority; understands the piano bop tradition from note one; leaves space intelligently (notice the album title) and swings like a... read more
Mark Buselli - Untold Stories
by Ric Bang, Jazz Scan
For several years now, "jazz" has become an increasingly misused term. If you look it up in a dictionary, or Google it, you'll note that every definition includes words like improvisation, syncopation, rhythm, beat and other terms that describe an American art form dating back to the early 20th century. There are, many genres of jazz: Dixieland, straight-ahead, bop, modern and fusion, to name but a few, and they all have one thing in common:... read more
Daria - Strawberry Fields Forever
by Raul DaGama, Jazz DaGama
Beatles repertoire, you might think, at the very outset, has been done to death by vocalists from every spectrum of the musical rainbow: Beatle-sy, jazzy, orchestral, Afro-Cuban, Brazilian and more... How differently could anyone hack the songs out once more? Well perish that thought. You haven't heard Daria yet. You'll 'blow your mind out', as the Fab Four, once sang in 'A Day in the Life' - not in a car, this time, but in your seat. So... read more
Daniel Barry - Walk All Ways
by Bill Barton, CODA Jan / Feb 2008
Well-known in the Seattle area, Barry is a man of many talents. He is the musical director of the Seattle Womens Jazz Orchestra and has also contributed charts to The Jazz Police big band (Origin 82395 is an all-Berry program) and The Jim Cutler Jazz Orchestra. Four self-released CDs of his music are available (http://www.barrymusic.com/index.htm). His publishing company (http://www.marinamusic.com/) produces combo and big band jazz charts,... read more
Andrew Oliver Sextet - 82% Chance of Rain
by Kyle O'Brien, Oregon Jazz Scene
Rain is an Oregon theme that was started on Oliver's 2007 release, ?Otis Stomp? which was named for the tiny, rainy town near Lincoln City, and continues here in his latest sextet recording's title. The Portland pianist/composer and his group have recorded a lengthy disc of original compositions that are at times dense and intricate. The opener, ?Inattentive Attendent,? has a busy undercurrent, but it's floating hythm makes for a pleasing... read more
Andrew Oliver Sextet - 82% Chance of Rain
by Brett Campbell, Willamette Week
With his Kora Band and Portland Jazz Composers Orchestra, hard-working young keyboardist Andrew Oliver has become a mainstay of this city's jazz scene. His high-energy second sextet release gets the precipitation percentage wrong, but just about everything else right.
82% Chance of Rain is an eclectic collection, but a year of honing these 10 tracks has allowed them to benefit from the variety of the composers? well-integrated yet distinctive... read more
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