Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
John Stowell - Solitary Tales
by Doug Ramsey, Rifftides
The CD's title suits the guitarist, a peripatetic performer who roams the world. I recently heard a musician say, "You never know where he'll show up." Although Stowell often plays with others, some of his most stunning work, as here, is unaccompanied. He alternates acoustic and electric guitars, but when he is plugged in he keeps his amplifier volume low and his attack subtle. The listener is more likely to be involved with the gentle... read more
Brent Jensen / Rob Walker Quintet - Art of the Groove
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
It seems fitting that Art of the Groove came out in mid-May, about a week before the late Miles Davis's birthday. The set spends some time -- and spends it well -- saluting the late trumpeter, most notably on the opener, with "Straight From Miles." Flugelhornist Rob Walker wrote the tune with phrases from the '58 recording of Davis's take on Thelonious Monk's "Straight, No Chaser." If this one doesn't have you thinking of Davis's '58 Milestones... read more
Maja Jaku - Blessed & Bewitched
by Editor, Jazz Journal (London)
Blessed & Bewitched is Maja Jaku's most personal and ambitious project, recorded at Bunker Studio, NYC. This all-original album fearlessly explores jazz emotional and spiritual depths raw, transcendent, and poetic. Leading a powerhouse ensemble featuring Johnathan Blake, Adrian Varady, Michael Rodriguez, Alan Bartus and Dezron Douglas, Maja brings her vision vividly to life. The album is a bold statement of authenticity, vulnerability, and... read more
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
Michael Waldrop - Native Son
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect
The inestimable drummer Michael Waldrop is aligned with some excellent company, as Vasil Hadžimanov and Martin Gjakonovski accompany him across 8 cultured tracks, where Brad Dutz, Jose Rossy and Chris Symer are also in attendance.
The title track leads with Waldrop's precise drumming amid Dutz's lively percussion and Hadžimanov's pretty key progressions that add much melody, and "Vasconcelos" follows with Gjakonovski's meticulous bass that... read more
Mattias Svensson - Embrace
by Editor, Modern Drummer
Bassist Mattias Svensson has assembled a very good international trio of pianist Bill Mays and drummer Morten Lund for an enchanting set of music. Mays is a veteran of the American jazz scene. Lund is a Danish drummer who is no newcomer to the jazz scene. Svensson is a Swedish bassist who has established a nice resume'. Together they create a nice blend of European and American jazz that doesn't lean in either direction too much, and this is... read more
Greg Yasinitsky - YAZZ Band: New Normal
by Jack Bowers, All About Jazz
4-STARS As one good album clearly deserves another, Greg Yasinitsky, who wears many hats—composer, arranger, woodwind specialist and educator among them—has released New Normal, the second impressive outing by his admirable Washington state-based ensemble, the YAZZ Band, which varies in size from septet to tentet. Unlike Yasinitsky's earlier album, YAZZ Band, which was recorded basically in one session with fixed personnel, the... read more
Mimi Fox - Standards
by Dave Nathan, All Music Guide
Making a solo guitar album work is not an easy task. It's not enough to be a technical wizard; veteran Mimi Fox is that and more. You also have to be able to blend a tasteful play list, sensitivity to the music, enough fresh ideas so as not to become dull, and a certain flamboyance (but not so much that it overwhelms the listener). Fox achieves all of that and more on her fourth album as a leader. The play list is made up of standards - not only... read more
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