Origin Records Reviews

Hal Galper Quartet featuring Jerry Bergonzi - Cubist
by Andrzej Majak, Multikulti Project (Poland)

With musicians like Hal Galper, everything takes on different meanings . Associate of Chet Baker, Sam Rivers. Stan Getz, Lee Konitz, Joe Williams, Anita O'Day and Chris Connor, a few years old member of the famous Cannonball Adderley Quintet and permanent member Phil Woods Quintet have never known the fame of their appreciated colleagues. From the time I heard Sam Rivers' A New Conception (1966, Blue Note), I knew I was dealing with a... read more

Mamutrio - Primal Existence
by Tom Greenland, The New York City Jazz Record

Mamutrio was founded when 19-year-old drummer Jesse Dockx convinced his teachers, alto saxophonist Lieven Cambré and bassist Piet Verbist, to collaborate with him. Primal Existence is an hour-long exposé on how to make a traditional approach sound contemporary. Part of the group's success lies in its demarcated sound registers: Verbist holding down the bottom, Cambré in the upper-middle, Dockx' cymbals on top, his snare and toms filling in... read more

John Bishop - Antwerp
by George W Harris, Jazz Weekly

Drummer John Bishop forms a trio with Bram Weijters/p and Piet Verbist/b for a mix of originals and some jazz covers. The leader shows crisp sticks on boppers like "Ruchsichtslos" and the dramatic modal "Bull" which give Weijters plenty of room to move. Verbist digs in like a man with a pick ax on

'The Same Melody" and links arms with Bishop on a souped up "For Less Than Nothing". Bishops' brushes assuage the lyrical "Pointing At The Moon"... read more

Hood Smoke - Laid Up In Ordinary
by Tim Seisser, Bass Musician Magazine

Born in Milwaukee, Bryan started playing bass at the age of twelve. Now in his tenth year based in Chicago, Bryan can be heard playing everything from modern jazz to authentic Latin to funk-dripped soul. Bryan?s versatile bass skills and compositions have brought him national recognition and solidified his reputation as one of music?s brightest stars.

Tim: So tell the readers a bit about your background in music and how you came to play... read more

Alon Farber Hagiga - Dreams I Dream
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect

The saxophone extraordinaire Alon Farber celebrates 25 years together with his ensemble via these cultured 8 tracks that welcome swing, Moroccan, funk and Brazilian ideas.

"Cookies" opens with Farber's detailed sax amid Yonatan Rosen's lively drumming, and "Minor Trap" follows with Katia Toobool's frisky keys that guide the upbeat and melodic climate.

"Mingus Dream" occupies the middle spot and makes great use of Assaf Hakimi's... read more

Christopher Icasiano - Provinces
by Bryan Lineberry, Earshot Jazz

Chris Icasiano is a Seattle-based Filipino-American percussionist and composer of great presence in Seattle. One might know him as drummer of the iconic Bad Luck, as a social activist, music organizer and advocate, and/or around Café Racer for Racer Sessions.

Icasiano can find meaning and influence in just about any genre of music, and for his debut solo album, Provinces, a great many of those influences converge into a jaw-dropping personal... read more

Joachim Mencel - Brooklyn Eye
by Editors, JazzPress (Poland)

Record of the Week The idea to record an album in the USA with musicians recognized there is not something particularly original in the jazz world. However, few have enough courage and determination to make their dreams come true, and even fewer musicians manage to create a musically interesting album. Joachim Mencel, who not only invited excellent musicians to work with him, which in some cases is only dependent on having a sufficiently... 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

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