Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Rich Thompson - Less Is More
by Grady Harp, amazon.com
It is not often that the lead man in a group is a drummer but that is most assuredly the case with drummer Rich Thompson who is the driving force behind this propulsive quartet recording that features a choice selection of tunes and exceptional soloists.
This is one of those albums that has it all - the transitional sound
for the 'old-timers' who have loved jazz forever as well as for the
avant garde who groove on new... read more
Michael Dease - City Life: Music of Gregg Hill
by Mark Griffith, Modern Drummer
A double CD set of Jeff Watts playing music can never be a bad thing. And trombonist Michael Dease has given us just that. The first CD of this two CD is a strange combination. Dease has given us a trio of trombone, bass, and drums. And while that might seem strange, trios of saxophone, bass, and drums are some of my favorites, so why not a trombone. "Sweet Georgia Gillespie" is a great track that lets Jeff Watts loose, and just listen to what... read more
Robby Ameen - Diluvio
by Raul Da Gama, Latin Jazz Network
5-STARS The drummer Robby Ameen's 3rd recording Diluvio explodes with atomic energy right off the blocks with the celebrated rhythmist striking a particularly pose with positively insolent virtuosity from the opening bars of "Fast Eye". The song not only celebrates the drummer's intuitive voice as a composer, but also speaks to a fairly telling characteristic of his musical personality - one that uses a kind of sports metaphor - to... read more
Anthony Branker & Imagine - What Place Can Be for Us?
by Richard Kamins, Step Tempest
Dr. Anthony Branker is quite an accomplished person with a list of achievements that would fill this page. I spoke to him in 2017 at the time Origin Records released "Beauty Within", his seventh album of original compositions (and six issued by the Seattle, WA-based label). At that time, he had recently stepped down as the head (and founder) of the Jazz Studies Program at Princeton--he currently is Adjunct Professor at the Mason Gross School... read more
Hadley Caliman | Pete Christlieb - Reunion
by Carlo Wolff, JazzTimes
This was Haley Caliman's last recording before his death of liver cancer in September. Recorded with his old friend and fellow tenor saxophonist Pete Christlieb in November 2009, it finds Caliman in high spirits and full of energy. It's a very good mainstream jazz album featuring that comforting stalwart, the tenor battle. The styles of the two, who hadn't recorded together since they worked in Los Angeles' Central Avenue jazz scene in the... read more
Matt Jorgensen +451 - Quiet Silence
by J. Nannen, Jazz Review
Funny thing about the Fender Rhodes electric piano, it's made the transition from being a sound that screamed "seventies!" to a more timeless one, like the Hammond B-3. Marc Searles shows why on the opening solo on "Fog," the opening track of "Quiet Silence" from Matt Jorgensen and 451. Searles' solo on the Rhodes is not only attractive, it shows how the chime-like keyboard can really anchor a group's sound. Mark Taylor complements the keyboard... read more
Doug Beavers Orchestra - Jazz, Baby!
by Jack Bowers, All About Jazz
Doug Beavers Rovira isn't the first bandleader to reach out to the "diminutive demographic," but he may be the first to do so without pretense or condescension. In other words, Rovira doesn't play "down" to toddlers and children, he raises them "up" by clothing nearly a dozen nursery rhymes and songs in clever orchestral arrangements that would please even the hippest adult listeners. Blend in charming vocals by Matt Catingub and Linda Harmon... read more
Hal Galper / Jeff Johnson / John Bishop - Furious Rubato
by Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
In the liner notes that he wrote for his 2006 session Furious Rubato, Hal Galper discusses the style of playing known as rubato and explains why it interests him so much. The veteran acoustic pianist has a lot to say on the subject of rubato (which, as the website Wikipedia points out, has been used by everyone from Frederic Chopin to Megadeth), but Galper (who turned 68 in 2006) really gets to the essence of this post-bop album when he speaks... read more
Looking for a specific review?
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.
Search Reviews:
Recently Added Reviews:
Abate Berihun & The Addis Ken Project - Addis Ken
by Hanna Kay, Cult News (Paris)
Abate Berihun & The Addis Ken Project - Addis Ken
by Budapest, Rudolf Radnai
Abate Berihun & The Addis Ken Project - Addis Ken
by Editor, Bman's Blues Report
Jared Hall - Hometown
by Editor, Bman's Blues Report
Dawn Clement - Dear Ms. Dearie
by Editor, Bman's Blues Report
Jared Hall - Hometown
by Dee Dee McNeil, Making A Scene
Affinity Trio - New Outlook
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect
Michael Dease Big Band - Return Trajectory
by Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move
Brad Goode Quintet Feat. Ernie Watts - Live Your Dream: Live at North Street Cabaret
by Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move
Maja Jaku - Blessed & Bewitched
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect