Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Emi Meyer - Monochrome
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
A Seattle native that has managed to tear it up in Asia comes home to hang out with the crème of the Seattle jazz scene to turn out a set that makes you wonder if she's an art chick that can do whatever she wants because Paul Allen gets the first special thanks in the liner notes or is she a millennial Chris Connor. Today's lounge lizards can only listen to so much Cole Porter and this is certainly a sterling alternative come cocktail... read more
Josh Nelson - The Sky Remains
by Dave Sumner, Bird is the Worm
Josh Nelson's Exploring Mars was one of the very best things to come out in 2015. The pianist's ode to the science and stories of the Red Planet was an imaginative network of wild magic and scientific precision. The music was light on its feet and given the space to wander freely, but each note was a concise step in a clear direction. That lyrical focus is missing from his 2017 release The Sky Remains, but Nelson still summons up plenty of... read more
David Friesen - A Light Shining Through
by Chris Lunn, Ancient Victorys
Recorded in 2021 in Kyiv Ukraine with the Kyiv Mozart String Quartet and later adding in some percussion and saxophone brings Friesen's work to yet another level. This is personal for him. Ukraine is his mother's ancestral home, and Friesen made many trips there before the pandemic then the war made returning impossible. Some of those past trips included John Stowell, and both have toured extensively throughout Europe. Friesen heads back to... read more
Marcos Varela - San Ygnacio
by Britt Robson, JazzTimes
Houston keeps churning out stellar jazz artists. One of the latest, and brightest, is bassist Marcos Varela, who is talented enough to have been mentored by Ron Carter and employed by Billy Hart and Clifton Anderson during his dozen years in New York, smart enough to enlist drummer Hart, trombonist Anderson and pianist George Cables to play on San Ygnacio, and confident enough to forge his own identity on this remarkable debut.
Hart and... read more
Oscar Hernández & Alma Libre - Love the Moment
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
The Latin jazz hydra presents yet another side of his skills with a second outing that flies under this particular flag. A solid serving of smoking Latin jazz that positions itself in an up market vibe, this classy set is a delightful fast ball right down the middle. Professional and well played while leaving the emotion and passion in tact, there isn't a lick on this set of originals that you won't like. A well done ear... read more
Scenes - Silent Photographer
by DS, Western Australian Guitar Player Society
Always great to hear John play in such an interactive trio! The CD features tunes written by jazz composers/players. "Black Eyes" is a Wayne Shorter tune. The guitar solo has nice triplets and chordal passages, nice electric bass solo follows before guitar and drum trades. "Three French Nuns" by Stowell shows a more angular and moody side to his playing. "Chan's Song" is by Herbie Hancock, it is a feature for bass with some lovely... read more
Les DeMerle - Hittin' the Blue Notes, Volume 2
by Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
Most of the music on this CD, which features drummer Les DeMerle and his straight-ahead sextet/septet, seems to have been recorded in 2000; no exact date is given. However since the late blues singer Jimmy Witherspoon is on "Goin' to Chicago" and "Money's Getting' Cheaper" (from a live date while backed by a trio with DeMerle) and he passed away in 1997, those two cuts date from a few years earlier. No one in DeMerle's group is famous, but they... read more
James Moody - 80 Years Young: Live at the Blue Note, March 26, 2005
by Editor, Modern Drummer
For the last part of his life, the legendary James Moody chose to include Adam Nussbaum in his working band. Nussbaum was featured on the outstanding Moody studio recording with Hank Jones called Our Delight. For this live recording, Nussbaum is let loose behind the tenor sax legend. Nussbaum, bassist Todd Coolman, and pianist David Hazeltine set the mood for this all-star celebration featuring legends like Slide Hampton, Paquito D' Rivera,... read more
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