Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Jeff Johnson - The Art of Falling
by , Cadance Magazine, September 2001
I've listened to this CD five or six times, enjoying the music more & more each time, but finding it difficult to say just what makes this a special album. It could be the intriguing combination of Billy Mintz' economical style on the drum kit coupled with Jeff Johnson's animated bass parts. Then there's the ease with which pianist Randy Porter anticipates and feeds the solos by throaty tenor saxophonist Hans Teuber. Or maybe it's the way every... read more
Greta Matassa - Portrait
by Paul Rauch, Earshot Jazz
It has been nearly a decade since vocal artist Greta Matassa has spoken to us via a new recording. With Portrait, Matassa covers the best of the songs she has performed with her working band of the past 10 years. The result is a solid, swinging collection of tunes steeped in intimacy.
Whether diving into Michel LeGrand's "Pieces of Dreams," or reimagining Bob Dylan's late 90's jewel, "To Make You Feel My Love," Matassa takes on each piece... read more
Scenes - Along the Way
by Tad Hendrickson, JAZZWEEK Magazine - 11/20/06
THE NAME OF a working trio that includes guitarist John Stowell, bassist Jeff Johnson and drummer John Bishop, the Seattle-based Scenes has a nice chemistry that has evolved since the band first appeared as a quartet in 2001. This combo plays like a band and acts like a band: all 10 tunes here come from the pen of either Stowell or Johnson is one example, that all three get plenty of solo time is another. The cool thing is that Scenes starts... read more
Mimi Fox - Standards, Old & New
by Jason Bivens, Cadence
This terrific, unpretentious solo recording bears some comparison with fellow guitarist Eric Hofbauer's recent solo reading of Americana. But Fox's bright, uncluttered, unvarnished archtop playing is more clearly in the lineage of Jim Hall and Joe Pass. She marries this approach with a number of familiar and unexpected pieces, brought together by her assured and impassioned playing in a concise and rewarding set. The Guthrie tune starts out... read more
Bobby Broom - My Shining Hour
by Preston Frazier, Something Else
If you've showed up for Steely Dan's continuing Jamalot Ever After tour on time, then you are already familiar with the great tone and texture of opening act Bobby Broom, the Chicago-based guitarist. Curious to hear more? Here's your chance.
With his largest release, My Shining Hour, Broom forgoes expressive original compositions like those on his most recent album, 2012's Upper West Side Story - focusing instead on jazz... read more
Tom Rizzo - Imaginary Numbers
by Corey Hall, Jazzreview.com
Remember how bassist Oscar Pettiford would take huge breaths between notes while soloing? This bad brother seemingly envisioned his instrument, his-self, as a horn, so you could hear him inhale before his fingers would pluck out a low-end exhale-ation.
Pettiford came to mind while listening to guitarist Tom Rizzo's debut album, Imaginary Numbers (Origin). With active accompaniment from a five-piece horn section and full rhythm section, Rizzo's... read more
Anthony Branker & Ascent - Blessings
by JazzTimes, JazzTimes Education
Anthony Branker is a music professor and the head of the jazz program at Princeton University. Although a trumpeter, Branker is best known as an educator, conductor and composer. On "Blessings," his second recording as a leader, Branker is the non-playing leader of a very impressive septet that interprets nine of his compositions.
Branker wrote these pieces a few years ago when he was serving on the faculty of the Estonian Academy of Music... read more
Matt Jorgensen - Tattooed by Passion: Music inspired by the paintings of Dale Chisman
by Bill Milkowski, JazzTimes
Drummer-composer Matt Jorgensen presents pieces inspired by the abstract paintings of Denver artist Dale Chisman. With a potent quintet featuring saxophonist Mark Taylor, trumpeter Thomas Marriott, guitarist Corey Christiansen and bassist Dave Captein--expressive improvisers all--Jorgensen's crew shifts nimbly from the rhythmically charged "Space, Plane and Line," to the swinging title track, to the urgent groover "Big Chief With a Golden... read more
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