Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Mark Zaleski - OUR TIME: REIMAGINING DAVE BRUBECK
by Paul Simpson, The Answer Is In The Beat
Boston's Mark Zaleski pays tribute to his biggest influence with a set of Brubeck interpretations. While the compositions are recognizable, he does add new elements to them and avoids being too faithful, because you can just listen to the originals if you want to hear them the way Brubeck arranged them. "Blue Rondo a la Turk" opens the set, and it sounds like he added a shot of caffeine to the song, as it sounds even more tightly wound than the... read more
Geoff Stradling & The StradBand - Nimble Digits
by George W Harris, Jazz Weekly
Pianist and keyboardist Geoff Stradling puts together a big band for his crisp and warm arrangements of mostly originals, almost all with an alluring Latin feel. The rhythm section of drums, congas, bongos, shakers and you name it create a percolating undercurrent for the whole affair. Joe DeLeon's timbales sizzle on the festive "Habanero" and a read of "Poinciana" hums to Tom Luer's alto. The sax section wails with soprano saxist Kirsten Edkins... read more
Joachim Mencel - Brooklyn Eye
by Piotr SACHA, Gość Niedzielny (Poland)
Lyrically
How to make big dreams come true? Joachim Mencel found the answer. An outstanding jazz pianist, also known on the scene of Christians from the New Life formation, thought about recording his own material in a New York studio in the company of eminent American instrumentalists. Later he moved to words, and from words to deeds, that is, sounds that are beautiful and original in beauty. The originality of the "Brooklyn Eye"... read more
Roxy Coss - Restless Idealism
by Rick Anderson, CD Hotlist
Of course, when it comes to joyful and powerful swing, it's hard to beat composer and saxophonist Roxy Coss, whose second album is an all-original sextet session and a pleasure from start to finish. She blows out of the starting gate with the straight-ahead bop number "Don't Cross the Coss" (a wry reference to the way in which people tend to get her last name wrong), then settles into midtempo with the harmonically craggy "Waiting," then gets... read more
Joe Locke / Geoffrey Keezer Group - Live In Seattle
by Tony Augarde, MusicWeb International
Put together two experienced virtuosi at the head of a jazz quartet and you can hardly fail. Vibraphonist Joe Locke has displayed his expertise with Mingus Dynasty and bands led by such luminaries as Eddie Henderson and Tim Garland. Pianist Geoffrey Keezer joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers when he was only 17 and later became a vital part of Ray Brown's groups. Bassist Mike Pope and drummer Terreon Gully are less well-known, although Gully's... read more
Matt Jorgensen - Tattooed by Passion: Music inspired by the paintings of Dale Chisman
by Jeff Krow, Audiophile Audition
Matt Jorgensen has created a profound moving work on Tattooed by Passion, his CD honoring his father-in-law, Dale Chisman, who was considered Colorado's most significant abstract painter for thirty years until his untimely death on August 29, 2008. Matt includes several photos of Dale's work in the liner notes, which give a clear indication of Chisman's talent.
What drew me into this CD was the wide variety of musical palettes that Jorgensen... read more
Chicago Jazz Orchestra with Cyrille Aimee - Burstin' Out!
by Matt Marshall, All About Jazz
Covering the Great American Songbook can be tricky, thankless work for a singer. The options for handling the material just aren't as numerous (i.e., nigh infinite) as they are for instrumentalists. Severely warping a melody, chopping it up or getting rid of it altogether work perfectly well if you're blowing through a horn. But such abstractions of voice can seem forced or simply too weird within a straight-ahead format. There's scatting, of... read more
Ray Vega & Thomas Marriott - East-West Trumpet Summit
by John Barron, All About Jazz
East-West Trumpet Summit is a rollicking showcase for longtime friends Ray Vega and Thomas Marriott. Vega, a New York native and the elder of the two, has served for many years as a mentor to Seattle's Marriott. The two first met when Marriott was a student at the University of Washington in Seattle, and Vega was in town touring with the late Tito Puente. Friends ever since, the two trumpeters share an affinity for hard-blowing,... read more
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