Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Charlie Ballantine - East by Midwest
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
4 STARS
A bracing guitar/bass/drums trio outing from guitarist Charlie Ballantine, East by Midwest, sounds as if it was recorded in a large, high-ceilinged warehouse with a cement floor, that floor buffed into the next dimension to a high polish, this giving the music a beautiful resonance. Retro? Think Link Wray or Dick Dale and The Deltones. Modernistic? Think John Abercrombie on some of his early ECM Records efforts. Or... read more
May Okita - Art of Life
by Scott Yanow, Downbeat
Tokyo-born May Okita spent several years living in Los Angeles, where she studied clinical psychiatry at UCLA and sang in area jazz clubs. Shortly before she returned to Tokyo, Okita recorded Art Of Life in a trio with pianist
Josh Nelson and guitarist Larry Koonse.
She has a pleasant voice, obviously loves the material here and takes most of the melodies pretty straightahead, other than scatting a bit during the closing vamp of "Let's Face... read more
Hugo Fernandez - Cosmogram
by Jack Bowers, All About Jazz
Of all the instruments in a group or orchestra, none has a broader or more variable sonic profile than the guitar. When it is played properly, with earnestness and sincerity, a guitar can move the listener to tears; when it is used, however, is to elicit sounds that are best described as disquieting and cacophonous, that is another matter entirely. Luckily, Mexican-born guitarist Hugo Fernandez treats the instrument with respect, showing its... read more
Jessica Williams - Songs For A New Century
by Joseph Blake, The Times Colonist
Like Oliver Jones, pianist Jessica Williams owes a large debt to Oscar Peterson. She acknowledges it with the gorgeous original, Dear Oscar, just one of the beautiful solo works on this collection.
Williams unleashes all of her playful, adventurous power on a wide-ranging repertoire of originals and Sonny Rollins' seldom-played gem, Blessing In Disguise. Without the aid of overdubs, Williams conjures up the Japanese koto an... read more
Sam Yahel - Truth And Beauty
by Pico, Dablog by DaSLOB
Joey deFrancesco. Tony Monaco. Larry Goldings. Barbara Dennerlein. All at the forefront of the current generation of jazz organists and heirs to the mantle of Jimmy Smith, Charles Earland and Jack McDuff.
Oh yeah, there's one more notable: Sam Yahel. But with the release this week of his fourth effort Truth And Beauty, Yahel is making the case that there is still room for another distinctive voice in the well-established world of the Hammond... read more
John Stowell / Michael Zilber - Basement Blues
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
With a sound reminiscent of how it was with Oregon when they were transitioning from Elektra to ECM, this crew has the modern sweet spot well in hand where many things merge into a sound at once familiar but thoroughly it's own. A real treat for those that still remember how it was when you could make music in the marketplace that wasn't required to swing for the fences under a pile of notes. Hey, we know there's always been meddling executive... read more
Chris Walden Big Band - No Bounds
by Jim Santella, All About Jazz
For his sophomore release, trumpeter Chris Walden has written big band arrangements for several old chestnuts, several fresh originals and a few rare gems. His program sparkles with an accessible ambience. The combination of several vocal selections, a balance of orchestral instruments and big band sounds, and stellar soloing from this lineup of Los Angeles all-stars ensures that No Bounds will compare favorably with Walden's highly successful... read more
Bobby Broom - My Shining Hour
by Jerome Wilson, Cadence
Broom is one of the best mainstream jazz guitarists out today, sporting a lively, fluid sound. The loose and freewheeling treatments he gives to "Sweet Georgia Brown", "Jitterbug Waltz" and "Sweet And Lovely" are very impressive and the rhythm section of Dennis Carroll and Makaya McCraven give him strutting, bubbling support. "Heather On The Hill" gets a pretty ballad treatment and "Tennessee Waltz" is done in a measured bluesy... read more
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