Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Dawn Clement - Tandem
by Paul de Barros, Downbeat
Last fall, when Seattle's Earshot Jazz Festival invited pianist/vocalist Dawn Clement to serve as artist-in-residence, she knew immediately what she wanted to do.
"How about some duos?" she asked.
The result was a dazzling series of duets with vocalist (and fellow Cornish College of the Arts instructor) Johnaye Kendrick; saxophonist Mark Taylor, with whom Clement co-leads the expandable duo Lineup!; veteran trombonist Julian Priester; and... read more
Jessica Williams - Songs of Earth
by Bob Doerschuk, Downbeat, December 2012
It takes guts to walk out onstage with nothing but a piano, your imagination and trust that you can bring the two together in fruitful combination. On Songs Of Earth, Jessica Williams takes up this challenge, which was recorded live over several nights at the Triple Door in Seattle. The album overall cases a mood of somewhat sad reflection. Minor keys predominate. Certain technical devices crop up again and again--tremolo octaves in... read more
Dann Zinn - Day of Reckoning
by Anthony Dean-Harris, Downbeat
Day Of Reckoning is Dan Zinn's fifth album as a leader and lead it he certainly does. The reedist is very much at the forefront of this music, the band patter for his play. There's a buoyancy to the music here, floating along with ease, the players seemingly having a good time. Most performances, though, are just warm, never scalding hot.
"Continental Divide" gets enjoyably wild early on, until the tune shifts into a simpler gear, coasting... read more
Don Lanphere - Where Do You Start?
by Paul de Barros, Seattle Times, February 23, 2003
It takes a lifetime to be able to play the eight-bar solo that saxophonist Don Lanphere delivers on the title tune of this gently autumnal album. Lanphere, who hails originally from Wenatchee, came up as a wild and wailing bebopper, recording in New York with Fats Navarro and Max Roach before he was 20.
But Lanphere's swashbuckling lines, slurred attack, and achingly vulnerable, lowing tone always betrayed his swing roots. The romance of same... read more
New Stories - Hope is in the Air
by C. Michael Bailey, Grapevine Culture
The three archangels of bebop piano were close friends and inspirations to one another. They were Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell and Elmo Hope. Who is Elmo Hope? He was said to be Thelonious Monk's favorite jazz composer. Born St. Elmo Sylvester Hope in New York City, June 27, 1923, Hope emerged in the 1950s as a promising bop pianist and composer. Sadly, his life (and discography) was painfully brief because of heroin addiction.
Breaking to the... read more
Dave Slonaker Big Band - Convergency
by George W Harris, Jazz Weekly
Big band leader Dave Slonaker brings together a collection of some of the West Coast's top session studs to interpret his charts and tunes on this collection of mostly originals. The only cover is a velvety rendition of "I Had The Craziest Dream" that gives trumpeter Wayne Bergeron a chance to give a rich aria. Many of the tunes have an Aaron Copland type of majesty, with rich section work on the swinging "Convergency" or elegiac harmonies on "A... read more
Arthur Kell Speculation Quartet - Live at LunÀtico
by Editor, Archyde (Paris)
The project merges the different activities of Arthur Kell who played extensively at Bar LunÀtico in Brooklyn as a sideman for artists such as Kenny Wollesen, Roy Nathanson, Paul Bollenback, Matt Darriau and Avram Fefer. This generation contributed greatly to the flourishing and maintenance of a vibrant music scene in today's Brooklyn. Likewise, the involvement of Arthur Kell through this scene allowed him to develop his latest musical... read more
Ryan Cohan - Originations
by Hrayr Attarian, Chicago Jazz Magazine
Pianist and composer Ryan Cohan is a master of creating harmony from contrasts. Over the years his works have incorporated many diverse influences and have become progressively more impressionistic. His acclaimed 2013 release The River even inspired painter Ellen Priest to create an abstract canvas that was displayed at St Peter's Church in Manhattan. Cohan's sixth release as a leader, the sublime Originations, matches his previous oeuvre in... read more
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