Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Tom Collier - Alone in the Studio
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
One of the most eclectic multi-instrumentalists you are ever going to run across, Collier pulls the sum total of 50 years at this gig together with a set that has you rapt by things like vibe solos played with such an innocence and lack of guile you almost forget where you are. It's the chops---they're well done. Smart and sly jazz that takes you from classics to originals, he's been everywhere with everyone and it's easy to see why.... read more
Jessica Williams - With Love
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
Successful musicians play "the truth." If you want to hear some truth there are certain artists you can seek out. Thelonious Monk couldn't play anything but the truth, right from the beginning. Pianist Jessica Williams came upon the truth - a purer form of it, at least - after experiencing "the fix of Illness" that she has discussed on her website and in interviews. Her first "fix" came about via her struggle with hypothyroidism, and... read more
Benjamin Boone - The Poets Are Gathering
by Stephen Graham, Marlbank (UK)
Best so far in 2020... Intense and hard-hitting ... socially and politically conscious, often beautiful, work that will make you think and that never shirks from challenging and confronting societal wrongs in a way that transcends the polemics of the newspaper opinion writers and the power grab of politicians... Boone's vision surpasses all... read more
Kelly Sill / Jim McNeely / Joel Spencer - Boneyard
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
I'd take the bet that a good percentage of jazz fans�those of my generation, at least�got their start in jazz via Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Art Blakey and Dave Brubeck, mainly piano/bass/drum rhythm sections behind one or more horns. And I can remember wondering why Miles, Cannonball Adderley and John Coltrane sat out on "Billy Boy" on Miles' classic album, Milestones, (Columbia, 1958), letting pianist Red Garland, bassist Paul Chambers and... read more
Phil Kelly - Convergence Zone
by John Killoch, Mainly Big Bands
I seem to have tapped in to a rich vein of big band music recently.. One of the most spectacular recordings is the one subject of this post. I have been seeing Phil Kelly's name associated with great arrangements for some years. Not the least of these is the impudent reworking of Sweet Georgia Brown, a dream of a swing arrangement re titled SWEET GEORGIA UPSIDE DOWN. Reading the liner notes there is a distinct impression that Mr. Kelly has an... read more
Kim Richmond Concert Jazz Orchestra - Refractions
by John Killoch, Mainly Big Bands
I had heard comments to the effect that this particular compact disc was confirming Kim Richmond's place as the new Stan Kenton. With this thought in mind and remembering seeing and hearing the concert jazz orchestra in concert, and on the debut CD, I played the disc for the first time. I must admit that I wanted to hear the Kim Richmond I knew. This meant the music should be eloquent, cliche free, teasing me with gorgeous lyrical lines, complex... read more
Carlos Vega - Art of the Messenger
by Jack Bowers, All About Jazz
4-STARS In case you didn't quite catch the "message" subtly embedded in the title of Chicago-based tenor saxophonist Carlos Vega's new recording, Art of the Messenger, here is a brief reminder that it was drummer Art Blakey who formed the Jazz Messengers in the mid-1950s and led the celebrated hard-bop ensemble until his death in 1990. The Messengers' roster of alumni reads like a Who's Who of Jazz Hall of Fame members.
With that in... read more
Bobby Broom - The Way I Play: Live In Chicago
by Ben Franklin, Cashbox Magazine
Guitarist Bobby Broom has been recording since the late 1970s. As sideman, he recorded with such leaders as Sonny Rollins, Stanley Turrentine, Kenny Burrell, Dizzy Gillespie, and David Murray. He led sessions for Criss Cross, Delmark, and Premonition. He is one of the founders of the Deep Blue Organ Trio. Despite these associations, he is less well known than he should be.
His current trio, with bassist Dennis Carroll and drummer Kobie... read more
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