Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Inbar Fridman - Time Quartet Project
by Esther Berlanga-Ryan, Something Else!
Beautiful things happen when the heart is fully invested in everything you do, and one of the best examples I can think of is that which we see happen in music and in Jazz time and again. A publicist I know out of Israel sent me an email one day about this female guitarist whom I had never heard of, asked me if I wanted for her to send me the CD, and I said yes; the rest pretty much happened without rhyme or reason, which is how anybody should... read more
Greta Matassa - All This And Heaven Too
by Chris DeLaurenti, The Stranger
Greta Matassa was dazzling at the recent Ballard Jazz Walk. She did what few singers dare to do--let the audience call the tunes. I walked in just as Matassa scatted with aplomb on "How High the Moon," raining serpentine ribbons of nonsense syllables that would have made the legendary Ella Fitzgerald proud. After a slow, succulent "Lush Life," Matassa plunged into Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Wave," faultlessly navigating the treacherous melodic... read more
Thomas Marriott - Flexicon
by Adam Greenburg, All Music Guide
Trumpeter Thomas Marriott spent time paying his dues in the New York scene, moving back to his native Northwest after a few years and becoming a darling of the local jazz scene. On Flexicon, he pulls out sounds and styles from both areas of influence. The album opens with Freddie Hubbard's "Take It to the Ozone," jumping directly into full-speed, full-power, high-energy, post-bop melodies and using the solos to explore every possible nuance of... read more
Doug Beavers 9 - Two Shades of Nude
by Ken Dryden, All Music Guide
Trombonist Doug Beavers delivers a mix of tasty originals and potent arrangements of familiar jazz works in his second Origin release. Rich horn charts and robust solos highlight his interpretation of Herbie Hancock's "Tell Me a Bedtime Story," with the use of electric piano and electric bass lightening the sound just a bit. He reharmonized Clare Fischer's Latin gem "Pensativa," putting much of the emphasis on the rich ensemble sections, though... read more
John McLean / Clark Sommers Band - Parts Unknown
by Friedrich Kunzmann, All About Jazz
This inventive Chicago Quartet finds Kurt Elling's long time backing team comprised of guitarist John McLean and bassist Clark Sommers pushing into original sonic adventures with fresh modern twists. The band's debut outing for Origin Records also features drummer Xavier Breaker and vibes veteran Joe Locke whose tone and style accompanies and interacts perfectly with John McLean's subtle but poignant Guitar lines.
Locke's modernistic "Blondie... read more
Laurie Antonioli - Songs of Shadow, Songs of Light
by Doug Boynton, Girl Singers.org
Subtitled "The Music of Joni Mitchell," right out of the box, you know it's going to be a little bit of a tightrope act. It's not like "The Music of Cole Porter," or "Johnny Mercer;" songs that have been done a bazillion times, and no one (in my demographic, anyway) can remember exactly who did the original.
On these, there's no doubt. Joni Mitchell did the original. And mostly (in my demographic, anyway), we remember how... read more
Sam Yahel - From Sun to Sun
by John Barron, The Jazz Word
Perhaps best known as a modern purveyor of the Hammond B3 organ, Sam Yahel is no slouch as a pianist. His latest release for Seattle's Origin Records, From Sun to Sun is a stunning example of a forward-thinking piano trio, emphasizing fresh, compositional nuances with deep-in-the-pocket grooves.
Bassist Matt Penman and drummer Jochen Rueckert create an infectious ruckus with tight interaction that at times comes across as nothing short of... read more
Rodney Whitaker - Common Ground: The Music of Gregg Hill
by Bruce Collier, Beachcomber / Pause & Play Record Roundup
Jazz bassist, educator and leader Rodney Whitaker has worked with guys like Wynton Marsalis, Jimmy Heath, Diana Krall and a long list of other stars. On Common Ground he has put together an eight-song program of tunes by composer and pianist Gregg Hill, a favorite of his. Among Whitaker's collaborators here are hard bop trumpet kingpin Terrell Stafford and Whitaker's daughter, vocalist Rockelle Fortin. As the cover photo shows, it's a labor of... read more
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