Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Don Lanphere with New Stories - Home At Last
by Harvey Siders, JazzTimes
No matter what Thomas Wolfe predicted: you can go home again.
Saxophonist Don Lanphere managed to get back there. From "the apple" to the Apple, and a final return to "the apple"-"the apple" being rural Wenatchee, aka "the apple capital of Washington." The moves correspond with the parameters of Lanphere's career: from a promising jazz launch in the 1950s, through a higher trajectory into the self-destructive orbit of bebop, to a safe,... read more
Tim Jensen - A Mind For The Scenery
by Tom Ineck, Berman Music Review
Like much of the bountiful fruit harvested at Origin Records in Portland, Ore., Tim Jensen's "A Mind for the Scenery" challenges the listener from the get-go.
Jensen is a composer and reed player of eclectic tastes, versatility, technique and audacious creativity. He also is an arranger and a bandleader who knows how to surround himself with like-minded musicians capable of equal audacity. Take for example the opener, "Sausage," a squiggly... read more
Joe Locke / Geoffrey Keezer Group - Live In Seattle
by Ken Dryden, All Music Guide
Vibraphonist Joe Locke and keyboardist Geoff Keezer's third collaboration (their previous two CDs were released in Japan under the New Sound Quartet moniker) is their first live recording as a team. Joining them are bassist Mike Pope and drummer Terreon Gully (the latter who also took part in their earlier studio recordings) for a stimulating set recorded during the 2005 Ballard Jazz Festival. Locke's turbulent "Van Gogh by Numbers" serves as a... read more
Q.E.D. - yet what is any ocean...
by Adam Greenberg, All Music
A collaboration between vibraphonist Ben Thomas (already an established artist with Origin Records), pianist Alex Chadsey, and trombonist Chris Stover, Q.E.D. is seemingly an effort at exploratory composition. The trio takes turns presenting compositions throughout Yet What Is Any Ocean..., showcasing different elements of the bandmembers' performance abilities as well as different elements of their musical inspirations. Thomas' "Put the Ball in... read more
Brent Jensen / Rob Walker Quintet - Art of the Groove
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
It seems fitting that Art of the Groove came out in mid-May, about a week before the late Miles Davis's birthday. The set spends some time -- and spends it well -- saluting the late trumpeter, most notably on the opener, with "Straight From Miles." Flugelhornist Rob Walker wrote the tune with phrases from the '58 recording of Davis's take on Thelonious Monk's "Straight, No Chaser." If this one doesn't have you thinking of Davis's '58 Milestones... read more
Josh Nelson - Exploring Mars
by Rotcod Zzaj, Improvijazzation Nation
If space travel involves great jazz music like Josh produces with his piano & trumpet (joined by a whole host of high-talent players), I've no doubt we would have a horde of folks signing up for the voyage. While it remains totally accessible, even for the traditional of jazz listeners, Josh makes it move in directions that you don't hear coming...songs like the wonderfully intriguing "Curiosity" weave through changes that many accomplished... read more
Randy Halberstadt - Flash Point
by Bill Milkowski, JazzTimes
Seattle-based pianist Randy Halberstadt leads a potent quintet date featuring Origin regulars Thomas Marriott on trumpet and Jeff Johnson on bass, as well as alto saxophonist Mark Taylor and drummer Mark Ivester. They deliver strikingly original interpretations of Miles Davis' "Solar," Sam River's "Beatrice," and "On Green Dolphin Street," in addition to six intelligent post-bop flavored Halberstadt originals. Marriott is prominent on the... read more
Hadley Caliman - Straight Ahead
by Bill Milkowski, JazzTimes
Veteran tenor saxophonist Hadley Caliman?he was on the Central Avenue scene in Los Angeles during the '50s?teams with golden-toned trumpeter Thomas Marriott on the frontline for this inspired outing. Flaunting a beautiful, burnished tone and remarkable fluidity on his horn, Caliman sails through his "Cigar Eddie," Harold Land's "Rapture" and Lee Morgan's Latin-flavored "Totem Pole" with confidence and old-school swagger. And he acquits himself... read more
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