Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Ben Patterson - Push the Limits
by George W Harris, Jazz Weekly
Trombonist and leader Ben Patterson slides on a variety of base paths with his team of Shawn Purcell/g, Chris Ziemba/key, Paul Henry/b and Todd Harrison/dr through a mix of originals. Dan Cortaza brings his nylon strings to the nimble gallop of "Road Trip", while for a handful of the tunes, you feel like you're taking in a modern take of the Jazz Messengers. Patterson digs in deep on the Blue Note-ish "Scoish" and the team shuffles hard on... read more
Various Artists - Modern Jazz: A Collection of Seattle's Finest Jazz
by C. Michael Bailey, All About Jazz
It only makes marketing sense to release sampler discs of music that a label has in its stables. Origin Arts has accumulated an impressive amount of impressive music. Collected on Modern Jazz are among the first releases from the OriginArts labels Origin Records and OA2. Originally commissioned by Microsoft as a musical melange for the unveiling of the Windows® XP Media Center, Modern Jazz now exists as the second installment of Origin Records... read more
Anthony Branker & Other Ways of Knowing - Manifestations of a Diasporic Groove & Spirit
by Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move
5-STARS To write about Anthony Branker is to risk superlatives. And yet restraint feels almost dishonest. He stands, more than likely, among the most important and influential American composers working today, not simply because of the sophistication of his craft, but because of the intellectual and moral architecture that sustains it. Once again, Branker delivers a work that is forceful, searching, at moments even unsettled, a score... read more
Giacomo Gates - Centerpiece
by Ray Hogan, Stamford Advocate
Given the strength of his husky voice, it seems appropriate that Gates spent more than a dozen years working on the Alaska Pipeline. It was a local arts festival and a chance encounter with Sarah Vaughn that encouraged him to pursue a music career in the late 1980's.
"In this kind of music, it's about intention, honesty and what comes through in your voice. The experience of life," he says. "Chet Baker didn't have a great range, but wow, when... read more
Michael Waldrop - Origin Suite
by David Cohen, Jazzenzo (Netherlands)
Composer, percussionist and vibraphonist Michael Waldrop defines music as follows: "a serious ordering of sound that strives to send messages to the listener, which can not be communicated by spoken or written language". From someone who has formed such clear thoughts about nature and the task of music one is inclined to expect a lot of good things.
The 'Origin Suite' amply satisfies these expectations. Waldrop guides the listener through a... read more
Kiki Valera - Vivencias en Clave Cubana
by Tom McCarter, KZSU - Stanford
Son Cubano is a genre of music and dance originating from the hill country of eastern Cuba during the 19th century. Its origins are a blend of African and Spanish influences. Son vocal style and meter are of Spanish tradition, while its identifiable clave rhythm, call and response, and percussive elements are of Bantu origin. This disc contains> twelve finely crafted original tunes played exquisitely throughout this recording. The innovative... read more
Benjamin Boone | Philip Levine - The Poetry of Jazz
by John Pietaro, New York City Jazz Record
The tendency of poets to break out of the twodimensional boundary is often seen as a post-War phenomenon, yet poetry was oral long before written language emerged. The African-American jazz tradition, begotten from a brutal melding of divergent cultures, cast a certain boundlessness. The music's central swing and bop allows the poet to emote and embellish with shifts in meter, stress, dynamic, repetition and surely through improvisation.
The... read more
Bobby Broom - Song And Dance
by D. Oscar Groomes, OsPlaceJazz.com
O's Notes: Bobby takes us for a trip down memory lane with Song and Dance. He starts off cooking on "Can't Buy Me Love" but also includes some warm tracks like "Where Is The Love" and Wichita Lineman". He jazzed up the tune from the Little Rascals and I was dreaming of Darla! But our favorites were the burners like "Smile" and his mysterious arrangement of "You And The Night And The... read more
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