A sweet reunion from the LA scene - and a great meeting of tenor talents Pete Christlieb and Hadley Caliman! Hadley's recent records have all been pretty darn great - filled with the soul and sensitivity of his classic 70s sides - and this time around, Pete's presence brings in a bit more of a hardbop feel - a tight, straight ahead groove based around tunes penned by both members, plus a few classic standards too! The group features Bill... read more
Friday was a big night for trumpeter Tito Carrillo.
Though he had played the Green Mill prolifically since 1996, when he moved to Chicago, and though he had commuted here regularly since joining the faculty of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2006, Carrillo never had led his own group at the Mill.
Moreover, his belated Green Mill debut as bandleader celebrated the release of his first recording under his own name, "Opening... read more
This is another release from the great musicians who have made the Pacific Northwest their home; only world-famous trumpeter Randy Brecker resides elsewhere. This Seattle-area congregation consists of more than a dozen musicians who perform in various quartets and quintets, depending on the track.
Brecker and Thomas Marriott handle the trumpet and flugelhorn; Richard Cole plays both tenor and soprano sax; and Bill Anschell and John Hansen... read more
When it came time for the SFJAZZ Collective to choose a composer to honor in their eighth season, they surprised a lot of people when they went with the one and only Stevie Wonder. While some likely view this decision as a statement that, after covering Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Wayne Shorter, McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock and Horace Silver, the revered jazz composer well had run dry, those with a keen ear and a strong pulse... read more
4-STARS The outstanding bassist Rodney Whitaker (*1968 in Detroit) presents "Mosaic," his fourth album, following "Common Ground" (2019), "Outrospection" (2021), and "Oasis" (2023), featuring compositions by Gregg Hill from Michigan. He performs with an illustrious quintet, as well as Rockelle Whitaker, the bassist's daughter, who contributes vocals to three tracks. Gregg Hill's compositions, all arranged by Rodney Whitaker, are... read more
The co-op quartet Big Neighborhood performs catchy originals that stretch the modern mainstream of jazz. A particularly tight unit that has each of the four musicians thinking in similar directions, Big Neighborhood features concise solos, a colorful group sound, some tricky time signatures, and distinctive voices in altoist Chris Fagan and guitarist David White (who also plays guitar synthesizer). All of the music on their two-CD release could... read more
Rare is the artist these days that plays only the flugelhorn, but for this album Dmitri Matheny makes it work and work elegantly with his team of Charles McNeal/ts-ss, Bill Anschell/p, Phil Sparks/b and Mark Ivester/dr on this collection of originals and covers. Of the former, Anschell is rich and easy with Matheny and McNeal's tenor on the pulsating read of the rarely interpreted "On A Misty Night" while Jimmy Webb's "Witchita Lineman"... read more
Armed with some arts council money, curiosity and a good attitude, Bradfield set about digging into the works of Melba Liston, an arranger from back in the day who has generally been overlooked because she was a girl despite her contributions to jazz, Motown and island music. Bradfield composed all the sitting down jazz on board here trying to serve as a tour guide into the spirit of her sounds. Clearly one of those records that demanded to be... read more
This is just a small collection of the Origin Records reviews. Click here to view all reviews or try to Search for your favorite CD title.
Dawn Clement - Delight
by Dee Dee McNeil, Musical Memoirs Blog
John Bishop - Antwerp
by John Bishop, Liner Notes
Dawn Clement - Delight
by Paul Rauch, All About Jazz
Brad Goode - Polytonal Big Band: The Snake Charmer
by Christof Thurnherr, Jazz'N'More (Switzerland)
Peter Erskine & The JAM Music Lab All-Stars - Vienna to Hollywood: Impressions of E.W. Korngold & Max Steiner
by Luca D'Alessandro, Jazz'N'More (Switzerland)
Rodney Whitaker - Mosaic: The Music of Gregg Hill
by Michael van Gee, Jazz'N'More (Switzerland)
Nanami Haruta - The Vibe
by Michael van Gee, Jazz'N'More (Switzerland)
Benjamin Boone - Confluence: The Ireland Sessions
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect
Ben Patterson Jazz Orchestra - Mad Scientist Music
by Eddy Determeyer, Draaiomjeoren (Belgium)
James Moody - 80 Years Young: Live at the Blue Note, March 26, 2005
by Jeroen de Valk, Jazzflits (The Netherlands)