Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Tito Carrillo - Urbanessence
by Nolan DeBuke, The Jazz Word
Tito Carrillo is back with his second Origin Records release called Urbanessence. The trumpeter and composer says of the album, "I love the energy of the city, always have. Having been born in Austin, TX, and raised musically in Chicago, I've always been drawn to the melting pot, the high-energy pace, the festivals, the food, the diversity of cultures, and, of course, the music. As my career as a performer morphed into a career as a... read more
Cuong Vu - Leaps of Faith
by Adam Greenberg, All Music Guide
Trumpeter Cuong Vu built a reputation out of his original compositions and their high levels of ambience and envelopment of the listener. With Leaps of Faith, he moves into the territory of jazz standards. Applying sonic methods to constantly recognizable songs until they just break into unrecognizability. With a pair of electric basses, drums, and his own trumpet, Vu and his quartet start the album out by reworking songbook standards "Body and... read more
Hal Galper - Live at the Berlin Philharmonic, 1977
by Herb Boyd, Downbeat
5-STARS "Live" is the operative word of Hal Galper Quintet's Live At The Berlin Philharmonic, 1977. No matter what track you choose, the results are the same—exhilarating. Pianist Galper's dazzling runs are often complemented by his punchy pointillism, and this is particularly engrossing on "I'll Never Stop Loving You." Galper alone is stunning enough, but add Michael and Randy Brecker and you have the coup de grace; the... read more
Anthony Branker & Imagine - What Place Can Be for Us?
by Ron Schepper, Textura
As the composer, arranger, and musical director for the ten-movement suite What Place Can Be for Us?, Anthony Branker is the visionary force behind the project and, as importantly, the one responsible with recruiting the top-tier musicians that perform it. The latest edition of his group Imagine draws on the considerable talents of tenor saxophonist Walter Smith III, trumpeter Philip Dizack, alto saxophonist Remy Le Boeuf, guitarist Pete McCann,... read more
David Sills - Green
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz.com
With tenor saxophonist David Sills, three big "s" words come to mind: Swinging, soulful, and...surfing?"
Check out the cover photo on his Green CD. You might think it a re-release of a forgotten Chantays?of "Pipeline" fame?album from 1963. The guy on the surfboard?David Sills himself?is cutting into a bottom turn on a clean, overhead steel blue wave, with, it appears, a tube in his immediate future.
Surfing aside, Sills proves himself a... read more
The Spin Quartet - In Circles
by Carol Banks Weber, AXS
Take a classically inclined, modern jazz technician in Seattle and put him together with some visiting superstar guest artists - his Chicago heroes. Makes for a can't-miss series of Western Washington concerts this month, especially if the heroes in question are Kobie Watkins, Clark Sommers, and Geof Bradfield, the best in the business.
Drummer Watkins can double-down with finesse and groove. He'd better. He's Sonny Rollins' main guy.... read more
Hadley Caliman - Gratitude
by Jeff Krow, Audiophile Audition
Welcome back Hadley... ****1/2
Hadley Caliman's hiatus as a recording leader has been for way too long -approaching three decades. He has not been in hiding - he simply left the craziness of our few jazz Meccas and settled in Seattle, where he has kept busy playing gigs in the Emerald City jazz clubs and also serving as a senior member of the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra.
Caliman's main period of recording was in the 70s, when he... read more
Chris Walden Big Band - Full-On!
by Ric Bang, Jazz Scan
If Chris Walden is unfamiliar, you've some catching up to do. He mostly creates musical settings for major stars such as Stevie Wonder, Michael Buble, Diana Krall and Neil Young - as he puts it, "That's where the money is" - but his real joy is big band jazz. This is his newest release in that genre.
Walden was born in Hamburg, Germany, apparently emerging from the womb as a fully formed musician. He was playing the recorder at age 5, the... read more
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