Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Rodney Whitaker with the Christ Church Cranbrook Choir - Cranbrook Christmas Jazz
by Troy Dostert, All About Jazz
4-STARS Bassist Rodney Whitaker has been a huge presence in Michigan jazz for decades, with his leadership of the Michigan State University jazz program complementing his many other projects and giving him the opportunity to mentor upcoming generations of jazz talent. He has become a crucial ambassador for the music as well, with community outreach being a critical aspect of his mission. One of his most essential endeavors has been his... read more
Bobby Rozario - Spellbound
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect
The guitar wizard Bobby Rozario heads right into Latin and Afro Latin ideas here, where plenty of esteemed players are on hand for the 11 cultured tracks.
"Peace Pilgrim" opens the listen with Gary Grainger's warm bass and Dennis Chambers' fluid drumming alongside the meticulous guitar playing for the rock focused climate, and "Spellbound" follows with Mauricio Herrera's playful congas and Ismael Kouyaté's expressive voice for the busy,... read more
Peter Erskine & the JAM Music Lab All-Stars - Bernstein in Vienna
by Mark Griffith, Modern Drummer
l asked the question while Peter and I were writing his Legends book, and I'll ask it again... Has Peter Erskine ever made a bad recording? Recently Peter has been talking in his Modern Drummer Jazz Insights column about playing big rooms (and studios) that might present a difficulty for other drummers; so when I saw that Bernstein in Vienna was done in a large concert hall and on (of all things) a Schagerl Brass drum set, I was very intrigued.... read more
Kobie Watkins Grouptet - Movement
by Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune
BEST OF 2018 Former Chicago drummer Watkins shows his deepening maturity with this release, a collection of vividly stated, often hard-charging originals featuring his muscular Grouptet. There's unstoppable rhythmic energy here at all tempos and unmistakable cohesion among its five players. As for the compositions, the lyric poetry of Watkins' "Six Moods" is counterbalanced by the tuneful charm and vigor of "Catch This" and the... read more
Ben Patterson Jazz Orchestra - Mad Scientist Music
by Jack Bowers, All About Jazz
4 STARS
Trombonist Ben Patterson's high-powered Jazz Orchestra from the Washington, D.C. area returns virtually intact from 2024's well-received Groove Junkies (Origin Records) with another bold and hard-hitting session that is all but guaranteed to please anyone whose musical antenna leans toward fresh and exciting big-band jazz. Its title, Mad Scientist Music, coined by Harry Schnipper, owner of the D.C. jazz club Blues... read more
Kobie Watkins - Involved
by Brian Gilmore, JazzTimes
Drummers as leaders often have a difficult time putting
their imprint on recordings. Chico Hamilton, the L.A. legend and
giant, is the model for today's drummers. Chicago's Kobie Watkins on his album, "Involved" takes the leadership idea seriously. He plays, composes, and has assembled a group of very talented players to speak to the masses. Most of all, like Hamilton, Watkins does not fade into the background. His imprint on this recording is... read more
Marc Seales - People & Places
by Stephen Graham, Marlbank (UK)
There are few saxophonists who can melt the hardest of hearts as reliably as Quartet West player Ernie Watts. Eighty this autumn, Watts replicates that feat yet again on Seattle pianist Marc Seales' engaging opener 'Rue Cler.'
A quartet album, the line-up is completed by bassist Bruce Lett and by drummer Moyes Lucas Jr. There's an energetic version of Wayne Shorter 1977 Weather Report Heavy Weather classic 'Palladium' among the main... read more
John Stowell & Dan Dean - Rain Painting
by Florian Biss, Jazz N More (Switzerland)
When guitarist John Stowell discovered that Dan Dean, who had taken on the audio mastering of one of his recordings, was also an experimental vocalist and bassist, he asked him to work together with a very open outcome. Over a year ago, new soundtracks were recorded and mixed together in Dean's studio. Once Stowell recorded the themes of his compositions on the guitar, Dean put his layered "Vocalese" or a bass line above it, and so on. In... read more
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