Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Jeff Johnson - My Heart
by Paul Rauch, All About Jazz
4-STARS What could possibly be so interesting about a thirty-two-year old session of first takes, recorded live to 2-track DAT by a quartet led by a Seattle- based bassist who is not exactly a household name? A quick answer would include superlatives such as "masterful," or "historic." A brief history of bassist and composer Jeff Johnson creates a better sense of understanding. Johnson is perhaps best known as a pioneering member of... read more
David Friesen and Glen Moore - Bactrian
by Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz
Time and space can take nothing away from certain musical relationships. There are those on-and-off partnerships that flourish regardless of the frequency of encounters and years gone by, and this is clearly one of them.
The connection between bass masters David Friesen and Glen Moore goes back some five decades. It yielded two previous duo recordings - In Concert (Vanguard, 1977) and Returning (Burnside, 1993) - and it continues to bear... read more
Benny Powell - Nextep
by Adam Greenburg, All Music Guide
Taking his first steps with the Origin label, longtime trombone sideman Benny Powell takes his own band for a spin, focusing entirely on original compositions from himself and his comrades in arms. The album opens with a nice piece of New Orleans-infused composition that makes full use of Powell's trombone in a second-line form, showing off the horn in a traditionally leading manner, rather than relegating it to a place in a larger ensemble.... read more
Jack Mouse - Range of Motion
by John Lane, Percussive Notes
For decades, Jack Mouse has been a sideman for a long list of jazz greats, but Range of Motion represents his debut as a leader. Collaborating with several other Chicago-based musicians (Art Davis,trumpet; Scott Robinson, woodwinds; John McLean, guitar; Bob Bowman and Kelly Sill, bass), he has put together a terrific set of his original compositions.
Mouse?s high-energy and surehanded drumming is displayed front and center, but this is not... read more
John Stowell / Dave Glenn & The Hawčaptak Quartet - Violin Memory
by George W Harris, Jazz Weekly
RINGER OF THE WEEK
Usually, if something is "new" or original, it actually means cacophonic. Here is an album that is creative, original and wonderfully melodic.
John Stowell plays nylon string and fretless baritone guitars along with trombonist Dave Glenn. OK, a bit unorthodox, but then the mix of the Hawcaptak String Quartet comes in to really mix and match some wonderful ideas. Consisting of Maria Sampen/v1, Steve Miahky/v2,... read more
Bobby Broom - Bobby Broom Plays for Monk
by Jeff Krow, Audiophile Audition
For Bobby Broom's third CD for Origin Records, he has chosen to tackle the iconic Thelonious Monk, in a guitar trio setting. The CD song list is made up of eight Monk compositions and two standards - Lulu's Back in Town, and Smoke Gets in Your Eyes - that were an occasional part of Monk's repertoire.
Broom's simpatico with his trio has been built up from years of playing with Carroll and Watkins. Watkins can up the ante and inspire Bobby when... read more
Toby Koenigsberg - Sense
by Vanessa Salvia, Eugene Weekly
To really get a feel for Toby Koenigsberg's new CD, Sense, you have to hear it. It's smooth jazz
piano that, to my ears, is reminiscent of early Miles Davis transcribed for piano, bass and
drums. Koenigsberg is assistant professor of jazz piano at the UO, where he earned his
undergraduate degree in music before furthering his education at both Eastman and the Peabody
Conservatory.
He formed a new group in January, after the recording... read more
Alex Graham - The Good Life
by Tristan Smith, Jazz Review
In one word: Impressive. Alex Graham's The Good Life showcases not only his ability as a reedman but as an improviser, composer and arranger. Backed by a veteran New York rhythm section, Graham shows hints of Dexter Gordon and Horace Silver throughout the six compositions. Additionally, Graham's talents are furthered by the inclusion of two original tunes thrown in with four created by other artists.
While Graham is an alto saxophonist by... read more
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