Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Maja Jaku - Blessed & Bewitched
by Tim Larsen, JazzViews (UK)
For many American listeners, Blessed & Bewitched will be an introduction to Maja Jaku, a Kosovo-born singer who has already built a strong reputation in Europe. She brings a voice that can be powerful and direct, yet she's just as comfortable pulling it back to a hushed intensity, shaping phrases carefully and letting the meaning of the lyrics come through. That sense of control traces back to a musical household — her father was a trumpet... read more
Milan Verbist Trio - Time Change
by Dee Dee McNeil, Making A Scene
This lovely album opens with a rubato piano introduction to the title tune. There is a tenderness to the touch of Milan Verbist on the piano keys. The title song is soothing to the ear and to the heart. It's an original composition by Verbist, reflecting a period of time around the transition from winter to summer. It also pinpoints when this album was recorded. After a while, Toon Rumen enters with an improvised double bass solo, while Jens... read more
EEA - The Dark
by Thomas R. Erdmann, Jazz Review
EEA is constructed of three members from the Program for Improvisational Music at the University of Nevada-Reno. Saxophonist Peter Epstein earned his Bachelor's degree at the California Institute of the Arts and his Master's degree was earned where he currently teaches. During his professional career he has worked with artists like Bobby Previte, Brad Shepik, Ralph Alessi, Michael Cain, Ravi Coltrane, Mike Stern and Jim Black, to name a few.... read more
Josh Nelson - The Sky Remains
by Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz
4 1/2 STARS Josh Nelson has seen quite a bit in recent times, diving deep into the human psyche with singer Sara Gazarek, moving through inner spaces with vibraphonist Tyler Blanton, exploring retrofuturistic realms inspired by the writings of H.G. Wells and Jules Verne, and touching down on Mars for a thorough musical exploration of the Red Planet. So where could he possibly want to go after traveling so far and wide with his pen and... read more
Jared Hall - Hometown
by Thierry de Clemensat, Paris-Move
5 STARS
Hometown - Jared Hall's Intimate Cartography of Sound
A monochrome album cover sets the tone: understated, almost austere, yet quietly evocative. From the very first notes, the trumpet enters not as a declaration but as an invitation, its sound warm, deliberate, and imbued with a sense of modernity that feels rooted as much in ideas as in tone. It is the kind of opening that lends itself perfectly to the... read more
Dave Liebman | John Stowell - Petite Fleur: The Music of Sidney Bechet
by Dan Bilawsky, JazzEd
Sidney Bechet is rightly hailed as one of the seminal figures of this music, putting his stamp on the NOLA clarinet tradition shortly after its dawn, codifying and expanding the soloist's language through his early recordings, and blazing a trail on soprano saxophone. But he was also a fine melodist, a fact which is often overlooked when his accomplishments are considered, weighed, and packaged for historical use. With this engaging duo date,... read more
Scott Reeves Jazz Orchestra - Without a Trace
by Mike Greenblatt, Aquarian Weekly
Like the legendary Gil Evans [1912-1988] who more than anybody helped Miles Davis become a super-duper star by outfitting the trumpeter with his celestial arrangements, the music of Scott Reeves goes through the kind of changes wherein it starts off as one animal buts ends up another. Without A Trace (Origin Records) by The Scott Reeves Jazz Orchestra, a 17-piece post-swing post-bop monster band, is filled with the syncopated alacrity of... read more
Shawn Purcell - Oblivity
by Editor, The Jazz Page
On Oblivity, guitarist-composer Shawn Purcell presents a picture of maturity and refined ambition, creating an album that balances intricate writing with expressive freedom. He is joined by tenor saxophonist Walt Weiskopf, pianist Chris Ziemba (who also contributes Fender Rhodes colors), bassist Jeff Reed, drummer Steve Fidyk, and trombonist Ben Patterson, with wordless vocals from Darden Purcell adding occasional emotional and textural weight.... read more
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