Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Rich Thompson - Less Is More
by Jeff Potter, Modern Drummer
Right out of the gate, this CD is poppin' on Kenny Dorham's "Lotus Blossom." Drummer Thompson's articulation is strikingly clean and precise. Even when he's stretching out on Ornette Coleman's "Invisible," his playing is a study in purposeful orchestration. But his pinpoint precision foremost serves a seamless, propulsive current; this band swings. Since 1996, the nimble, musical Thompson has served on the faculty of the Eastman School... read more
Hal Galper & the Youngbloods - Live at the Cota Jazz Festival
by Bob Bernotas, Just Jazz
Pianist Hal Galper calls his music "Rubato Style." It's free yet formal, lyrical yet rhythmic, soloist-centered yet collectively-based. But beyond all that, it's an intriguing and colorful concept that draws you in and carries you away. In this 2016 performance Galper and three protégés — alto saxophonist Nathan Bellott, bassist Dean Torrey, drummer David Frazier — dig deeply to mine musical riches from three originals and Gordon Jenkins'... read more
Jim Norton Collective - Time Remembered: Compositions of Bill Evans
by Ric Bang, Jazz Scan
All serious jazz fans worships pianist Bill Evans, but not everybody is aware of his prowess as a composer. This album, a labor of love by the Jim Norton Collective, presents 13 of Evans' best. As a quick aside, historical accuracy requires the record to be set straight regarding one tune - "Journey To Recife" - which, for years, was credited incorrectly to Evans rather than to its actual composer, Richard A. Evans. That error lingered for so... read more
Dan McCarthy - City Abstract
by Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz
4-STARS The concept of homecoming is inextricably linked to the music that Dan McCarthy presents on City Abstract. Recorded in May of 2019, shortly after he had returned to his native Toronto after fifteen years in New York, this date finds the vibraphonist bowing to two of his biggest influences: pianist Carla Bley and vibraphonist Gary Burton. Those lodestars provide solid inspiration and clear direction for McCarthy, who works his way... read more
Deep Blue Organ Trio - Wonderful!
by Brian Vincent Pace, The Pace Report
During the mid-1950's a musical innovator was making waves in jazz music by playing the organ. Jimmy Smith had sonically taken the Hammond B-3 and played with either a quartet or trio that changed and gave way for how blues, gospel, soul, and jazz music was played forever. Although the organ trio wasn't nothing new at the time, Jimmy took what heard from his influences like Wild Bill Davis, Count Basie, and Fats Waller and did some heavy... read more
Nick Finzer - The Chase
by Bruce Lindsay, All About Jazz
The trombone's gone through a few good times and a few bad times as a front-line jazz instrument. Thankfully, for all lovers of this particular horn, these times are good times. Nick Finzer is one of the players responsible, a trombonist and writer with flair and variety. The Chase, his second album, helps to ensure that the good times will stick around.
Finzer's a member of Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox, racking up a few million You... read more
David Friesen Circle 3 Trio - Where the Light Falls
by Lynn Darroch, Jazz Society of Oregon
Ever since the late 1960s, Portland bassist and composer David Friesen has been an important part of jazz in the Pacific Northwest. He cut his teeth in Seattle's avant-garde coffee house scene, a period he documented recently in another two disc set titled "..." In the 1970s, often in company with guitarist John Stowell, Friesen pioneered an approach that came to be called New Age music, as did another Friesen associate in those years,... read more
Scott Burns - Passages
by Phillip McNally, Cadence, Nov-Oct 2007
Scott Burns comes out of Dexter mainly, playing late bop and swinging fiercely on Passages. He's got a nice deep tone and some fleet fingers, but he is always melodic and telling a story, not just honking over some Blues riffs. The trio is very nice behind him, and in particular Ron Perrillo is accomplished, with a bit of Silver in his veins, but he always knows how to get out of the way and let Burns steal the show. The compositions, all of... read more
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