Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Hal Galper - E Pluribus Unum - Live in Seattle
by Bret Saunders, The Denver Post
I hadn't thought of Hal Galper in a long time.
There were a couple of records showcasing his flawless piano technique that I had discovered at my college radio station in the '80s. I remembered that he was touring with saxophonist Phil Woods for a while. But for whatever reasons, I hadn't heard his music, other than an occasional cut on the radio, for a couple of decades.
It turns out that Galper, a Bostonian and respected educator,... read more
Les DeMerle - Feelin' Good
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
A while back, we met a couple that played jazz on cruise ships and it changed our opinion, moving our head away from the usual Sammy Joey jive ass bulls*** you all too often find in those situations. This cruise ship jazz crew kicks it off with a snazzy version of "Speak Low" that not only sends you off into a good time mood, it'll also change your opinion about who will be entertaining you in captive situations. Hell, even George Wein got... read more
Brad Wheeler - The Future Was Yesterday
by Rev, The Kurt Elling Forum
Wanting to stock up on as much of Laurence's playing as I could get before his move out to NY, I asked him at the last Mill show if his Catch 35 gig was still going. He recommended that I hit Klas Restaurant in Cicero that Saturday afternoon, as Brad Wheeler had set up a gig there. This was quite the unique experience. Wheeler, as most of you remember, is often on the Tenor for Elling shows and recordings, and has that memorable melody and solo... read more
BOX - Ten Variations On An Unknown Theme
by Adam Greenburg, All Music Guide
A trio of Swiss jazzers here combine for a series of entirely improvisatory jazz built in theory around a theme. That said, the theme is also unknown. The goal is to make improvisatory music while creating a theme by way of its variations. By circling in from the outside, the core form will eventually become clear. The players all perform well on their respective instruments, in a basic piano trio (with an occasional outburst of bugle). The... read more
Les DeMerle - Gypsy Rendezvous, Vol. 2
by Adam Greenberg, All Music Guide
Les DeMerle and his wife, vocalist Bonnie Eisele, released a previous album of Gypsy jazz-inspired pieces back in 2009 that showed some hints of greatness when DeMerle and Eisele were able to combine effectively with their Gypsy jazz counterparts, and a bit of musical confusion when they weren't able to meet in the middle. Here, the two factions work together much more cleanly. Where DeMerle and Eisele had a tendency toward power in the past,... read more
Clarence Penn - Behind the Voice
by Stephen Graham, Marlbank (UK)
We're not really fans of albums with more than one or two singers present so approached Behind The Voice, which has 5 featured singers plus vocodered effects from the leader the fine ex-Betty Carter drummer Clarence Penn, with a certain amount of caution. Recorded over a period of two years at a Brooklyn studio we expected the best vocal choice to come from Kurt Elling who is on a cover of Peter Gabriel's 'Come Talk to Me.'
Of... read more
Corey Christiansen - Factory Girl
by , JAZZIZ
While it's not exactly a new concept, jazz artists have been increasingly mining traditional blues and Americana for raw material. Following his 2013 release Lone Prairie, guitarist Corey Christiansen returns to this fertile soil for Factory Girl (Origin), updating songs that set the template for modern American pop and rock, as well as contributing original compositions that play with these conventions. Christiansen... read more
Greg Yasinitsky - YAZZ Band: New Normal
by George W Harris, Jazz Weekly
Greg Yasinitsky wrote and arranged all the music here, as well as plays every type of sax along with his rotating 10 piece band of hard swingers. The Tunes are all upbeat and muscular, with everyone getting a chance in the spotlight. The leader's tenor teams with Vern Sielert's trumpet on the pumping opener "GP" while a more romantic "Song For Laura" includes Teo Ciaverella's rich piano. David Jarvis supplies the backbeat for the bopping "Blues... read more
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