Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Joonsam - A Door
by Travis Rogers, Jr., JazzTimes
It's hard to improve on a trio that features Aaron Parks on piano and Nate Woods on drums but, when bassist Joonsam Lee was ready to release his debut album as a leader, he beefed up an already formidable line-up by adding Ralph Alessi on trumpet, Yvonnick Prene on harmonica, Ben Monder on guitar, and the fascinating additions of Yeahwon Shin on vocals and Chungeun Han on the bamboo flute. The trio, however, remains the core.
Released on... read more
Bill Anschell | Brent Jensen - We Couldn't Agree More
by Chris Robinson, Earshot Jazz
Don't even bother reading the next 500 words - just go buy pianist Bill Anschell and soprano saxophonist Brent Jensen's new album "We Couldn't Agree More" right now. But if you must read on, or need convincing, here you go: Anschell, a Seattle native, and Jensen, who teaches at the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls, recently met up on Jensen's 2007 quartet album "One More Mile." Their latest collaboration is a pared down and intimate duo... read more
Grete Skarpeid - Beyond Other Stories
by George W Harris, Jazz Weekly
Folksy-voiced Grete Skarpeid mixes originals, poetry and a standard together on this album that has her backed by Aruan Ortiz/p, Rob Waring/vib-perc, Cameron Brown/b and Gerald Cleaver/dr. Her delivery and style is reminiscent of 70s singers, as she gets elliptical like Joni Mitchell on "Like A Bird" and "Holding" while is ethereal like Judy Collins during "Singing Again" and the ethereal "Adam and Eve". Cleaver lays down a military beat to set... read more
Steve Million - Remembering The Way Home
by Adam Greenberg, All Music Guide
After plenty of time spent in small-group formats (including the short-lived Monk's Dream trio with piano and organ together), Chicago pianist Steve Million took the opportunity to make his first solo piano recording. Interestingly, instead of his previous influences in Monk and others, Million makes use of a more recent foray into classical music as a seed for creation here. All the works are original compositions from Million (with the... read more
Piet Verbist - Flamenco Jazz Summit: El Mar Empieza Aqui
by George W Harris, Jazz Weekly
Exciting and enticing moments from Iberia and beyond take place on this album led by bassist Piet Verbist along with pianist Milan Verbist, saxist Tom Van Dyck, drummer Juan Sainz, Carlos Cortes on flamenco guitar and percussion and the inclusion of Carmelo Muriel playing the traditional flutelike bansuriney. The ideas range from a modal and Coltranish "Bull" featuring some searing soprano to Andalusian exoticism with glorious alto sax and flute... read more
Alex Graham - The Good Life
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
A quick trip to multiple reedman Alex Graham's web site finds his sound compared to Wayne Shorter, Dexter Gordon, and Horace Silver, but a couple of spins of The Good Life tells you that these reactions must be referring to the band's collective sound. Graham plays alto sax, flute, and clarinet -- the latter two reeds on the opener only-but he's an alto saxophonist first and foremost on this outing. His tone on that main horn sounds like Jackie... read more
Kim Richmond Concert Jazz Orchestra - Refractions
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
The twenty-four piece Kim Richmond Concert Jazz Orchestra boasts a full roster of instrumentation, including double reeds and French horns, for a sound that is somewhat rare in the professional jazz world, but familiar to anyone guiding a child through a high school music program with a "concert band." Lush and multi-layered, Refractions contains a full range of color and emotion.
The word "symphonic" comes to mind with so many deftly-woven... read more
Metropolitan Jazz Octet - The Bowie Project
by Cedric Hendrix, Cirdec Songs
If you're gonna take on a legend, tread lightly. Particularly when you put forth genre-changing arrangements to classic songs. While David Bowie did use a jazz band led by Donny McCaslin to record Blackstar, the Metropolitan Jazz Octet take on 11 Bowie classics in full jazz form, and do so successfully. Vocalist Paul Marinaro soars passionately over each song, without coming even close to trying to imitate Bowie. That freedom of expression is a... read more
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