Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
The Spin Quartet - In Circles
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
**** 4-STARS - 2014 has been a stellar year for jazz quartets working without chording instruments - two horns, bass drums, no piano, no guitar. Trumpeter Tom Harrell released the marvelous a very groove-based Trip (High Note Records); a somewhat old-timey sounding Riverside (Greenleaf Music), featuring trumpeter Dave Douglas; the smoldering and hypnotic The Lathe of Heaven (ECM Records) by the Mark Turner quartet.
Add to the list The... read more
Brad Wheeler - The Future Was Yesterday
by Neil Tesser, Chicago Reader
Chicago saxist Brad Wheeler plays with an infectious passion, but it's rooted as much in musical intellect as it is in his broad, swaggering tone on both tenor and soprano. Wheeler's name might ring a bell: he grew up in the Chicago suburbs and hit the local scene hard and fast in the 80's, but after he moved to Paris in 1990 his work all but vanished from these shores (though he did appear on a couple of Kurt Elling's Blue Note albums). Wheeler... read more
Jessica Williams - Freedom Trane
by John Frederick Moore, Jazziz
Is Jessica Williams capable of a false step?
The pianist continues to put out one stellar recording after another, though without the fanfare that accompanies some of her peers. Her latest, a tribute to John Coltrane, is as soulful as anything she's recorded and just as elegant.
The eight tracks are evenly split between Williams originals and Coltrane classics. The opener, Williams' "The Seeker," plays like a Coltrane tune. Williams'... read more
Thomas Marriott - Flexicon
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz.com
If Seattle, Washington-based Origin Records can be said to have a signature sound, trumpeter Thomas Marriott's Flexicon could be picked as an example. The music is mainstream, with two horns and a rhythm section, polished up and modernized with a nice edge, some luminous Fender Rhodes, a solid-yet-adventurous bassist, and a top notch, push-the-tradition-forward drummer. And everything small and large that the drummer does can be heard.... read more
Joe Locke / Geoffrey Keezer Group - Live In Seattle
by Ric Bang, the Davis Enterprise
*****
This CD presents the 2005 award-winning concert - and U.S. debut - of the Joe Locke and Geoffrey Keezer quartet. Until recently, this group toured only in Japan, although it made two recordings for the Sony "Eightly-Eight" series label.
But even a cursory look at the leaders' backgrounds and experience will reveal that we're dealing with a pair of Wunderkinds.
Locke plays vibes and has long been recognized as the heir apparent... read more
Mark Taylor with RadioAction - After Hours
by , JazzReview.com
Alto and soprano saxophonist Mark Taylor and labelmates RadioAction recorded this 8- track session in Brooklyn in January 2002. Opening with Monk's "Bye Ya," they serve notice that they are as entrenched in a modern style as they are reverential of the masters. Following a strong opening statement by Taylor, pianist Whitney Ashe delivers a muscular solo augmented by the powerful rhythm team of drummer Matt Jorgensen and bassist Gary Wang.... read more
Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra - The Endless Search
by George Fendel, Oregon Jazz Scene
Please don't refer to them as a big band. About five minutes with this recording, and you'll agree that this is a jazz orchestra. Boasting many of Seattle's top-flight jazz cats, the SRJO presents here the recorded debut of Jimmy Heath's remarkable new suite in three movements, "The Endless Search." Commissioned and first performed by the SRJO in 2006, sax legend Heath is on hand to personally provide vigorous solo work. These charts are... read more
Scenes - Rinnova
by Kyle O'Brien, Oregon Jazz Scene
John Stowell, Jeff Johnson and John Bishop have been playing together as Scenes for nearly a decade, and the group continues to evolve and develop as a trio rather than a collection of players. It's not about showcasing one instrument or even one sound. Their work is reminiscent of the fusion of the '70s and early '80s, like that done by Mike Stern or John Abercrombie, though it is definitely of the now. Stowell's guitar approach is softer... read more
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