Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Hal Galper Trio - The Zone: Live at the Yardbird Suite
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
A geezer who could be forgiven for playing pretty as he thinks about checking out, label stalwart Galper is having none of that. Still a forward thinking piano man, he stands as one of the greats that could teach the young 'uns a thing or two about turning out great jazz. The recording is so in the moment that when he listened to it a few months later, Galper didn't even recognize himself playing. How bad ass is that? Solid stuff as far... read more
Bobby Broom - Bobby Broom Plays for Monk
by Jon Regen, Billboard
Veteran guitar ace Bobby Broom has worked with an illustrious list of jazz luminaries, from the late organist Charles Earland to the legendary saxophonist Sonny Rollins. On Broom's latest release as a leader, he tackles the nearly sacrosanct works of renowned pianist/composer Thelonious Monk with an artful mix of grit and grace. Backed by the sympathetic rhythm section of Dennis Carroll on bass and Kobie Watkins on drums, Broom bluesifies Monk's... read more
Abate Berihun & The Addis Ken Project - Addis Ken
by George Harris, Jazz Weekly
I'm sure you've heard of "Afro-Cuban" music, but here we've got Abate Berihun singing and playing the saxes bringing in "Afro-Levant" sounds, mixing Middle East tones with earthy ideas with Roy Mor/p, David Michaeli/b and Nitzan Brinbarum/dr-perc. Rudi Barinesay adds extra vocals for the modal chant of '"Behatitu Kaedus Kadus" and more traditional, folk toned "Adam (Human)". Berhihun mixes a cantoral chant with passionate tenor work on "Batti"... read more
Anthony Branker & Imagine - What Place Can Be for Us?
by Matt Collar, All Music Guide
Although he doesn't play any of the instruments on 2023's What Place Can Be for Us?, Anthony Branker's vibrant jazz sensibilities and identity as a first-generation Black American of Caribbean descent are at the core of the album's pulsing character. A longtime professor at Princeton and Rutgers, Branker started out playing trumpet, but health issues following two brain aneurysms in the late '90s forced him to refocus his attention on composing,... read more
Chris Walden & the LMR Jazz Orchestra feat. Tierney Sutton & Kurt Elling - Missa Iubileum Aureum: Golden Jubilee Jazz Mass
by Editor, Jazz Blues News
From his own Big Band albums, to his Grammy-nominated Symphony No. 1, or his hundreds of credits in film, TV, and writing for some of the world's biggest artists, composer/arranger Chris Walden has never shied away from monumental musical challenges. With Missa Iubileum Aurem, Walden was commissioned by trombonist & Napa Valley entrepreneur Ted Hall, in celebration of his 50th Wedding Anniversary, to find an original approach to melding jazz... read more
Chris Walden Big Band - No Bounds
by Jack Bowers, All About Jazz
Any way you slice it, it's not easy for a big band to earn a Grammy Award nomination. Composer/arranger Chris Walden's debut album, Home of My Heart, received not one but two, for Best Large Jazz Ensemble and Best Instrumental Arrangement. One year later, Walden returns with another strong contender, No Bounds, showcasing eleven of his exemplary charts performed by an all-star ensemble of Los Angeles-area studio/big band musicians.
Walden,... read more
Mimi Fox - Standards, Old & New
by Jason Bivens, Cadence
This terrific, unpretentious solo recording bears some comparison with fellow guitarist Eric Hofbauer's recent solo reading of Americana. But Fox's bright, uncluttered, unvarnished archtop playing is more clearly in the lineage of Jim Hall and Joe Pass. She marries this approach with a number of familiar and unexpected pieces, brought together by her assured and impassioned playing in a concise and rewarding set. The Guthrie tune starts out... read more
Geof Bradfield - Urban Nomad
by Thomas R. Erdmann, Jazz Review.com
Chicago based saxophonist and composer Geof Bradfield was originally born in Houston, Texas. Following high school, he moved to Chicago to attend DePaul University's famous jazz program before moving on to earning a master's degree at CalArts. From there, it was on to New York where he lived from 1994 to 1997. After teaching at Washington State University for three years, it was back to Chicago where he works as one of the areas more... read more
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