Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Dawn Clement - Break
by Andrew Hamlin, Seattle Sound Magazine
Seattle-based jazz pianist and singer Dawn Clement's back with a new album, Break. I just hope she doesn't wait another five years between albums. I reviewed Hush, her debut as a leader, back in 2003, remarking that she "eloquently shares space with her bandmates ? but her solo excursions show her capable of emulating a whole band, condensing, expanding, and rippling lines on her right side and mining new rhythms on her left." She's still all... read more
Geof Bradfield - Urban Nomad
by Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune
A noted Chicago tenor saxophonist, Bradfield has had a great deal to celebrate of late. He recently won a prestigious Chamber Music America grant to create a suite of pieces, inspired by a tour of Africa. And he has been performing prolifically in support of his second CD, "Urban Nomad" (Origin Records), and its repertoire is sure to be featured in his performances this... read more
John Moulder - Bifrost
by Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune
The Green Mill Jazz Club doesn't usually fall to a hush on a rowdy Friday night, but it did as midnight approached.
With guitarist John Moulder leading an inspired quintet, the music-making often achieved a quiet serenity, bringing a capacity audience to a whisper. There's simply no way to converse when music of such profundity and grace is unfolding.
Moulder has been a leading figure in Chicago jazz for a couple of decades, largely thanks... read more
Karrin Allyson - A Kiss for Brazil
by Scott Yanow, L.A. Jazz Scene
Karrin Allyson's annual visits to Catalina Bar & Grill are always well worth attending. While she recorded her debut album back in 1992, she is still very much in prime form 32 years later. At Catalina's she was joined by the very talented pianist Miro Sprague, bassist Karl McComas-Reichl, and drummer Dan Schnelle.
Since the singer's most recent album is A Kiss For Brazil, she included several Brazilian numbers that she sang in Portuguese and... read more
Nnenna Freelon - Time Traveler
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
After a decade away, the hands down award winner is back with a set that refashions old tunes through the lens of the grief and loss she's gone through while she's been away from us. You want a sample? Dionne Warwick never took Bacharach/David to church like this! Especially on a signature song. A strong statement throughout about loss that doesn't hit the listener as a downer, this is a certified solid artist come roaring back to the top and... read more
Mimi Fox - Standards, Old & New
by Ian MacGregor, Jazz Guitar Society of Western Australia
Recording a solo jazz guitar album is no mean feat and even many of the great players have declined to record a whole album solo. It takes a combination of all your technical skill, instant ideas and the bravery and confidence to execute it, and this being Mimi Fox?s third recording of solo guitar pieces it is evident she has mastered the art. Mimi impressed local audiences with her appearance at the Fremantle Jazz Festival in Jan 2002 and in... read more
Anthony Branker & Ascent - Dance Music
by Karl Ackerman, All About Jazz
Anthony Branker continues to experiment with the standards of large group musical tradition on Dance Music. Leading a revised version of his Ascent ensemble, the composer/musical director takes a different approach than the Latin influences on Blessings (Origin Records, 2009). Only on the last of ten tracks, "Depende," is there a composition in that vein, but that's all for the good, as Branker keeps searching for new ways to articulate a... read more
Michael Dease - City Life: Music of Gregg Hill
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect
The esteemed trombonist Michael Dease is joined by some first rate players for 2 discs of tunes that pay tribute to Gregg Hill's legacy.
The warm spirit of "Willow Walks In" opens, where Dease's strategic horn is met with Linda May Han Oh's frisky bass, and it isn't long until "Movie Theme" allows for Jeff 'Tain' Watts' unpredictable drums to complement Dease's soulful delivery.
Deeper into Disc 1, "Catalyst" is strong on atmosphere, as... read more
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