Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Phil Kelly & The SW Santa Ana Winds - My Museum
by John Tapscott, amazon.com
A certain strain of modern big band jazz writing has emerged over the past quarter century which is incredibly detailed, complex and sometimes awe-inspiring. Yet it often lacks warmth and memorable melodies, and nearly creates a barrier between the music and the average jazz listener. Thankfully, composer/arranger Phil Kelly, while not simplifying his music at all, has chosen another route. His music, as evidenced by the 2006 recording "My... read more
David Friesen - A Light Shining Through
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect
The multi-instrumentalist David Friesen is joined by some excellent players for nods to the '70s thanks to these 16 organic and emotive songs.
"Little Ella Bella" starts the listen with Friesen's Hemage bass alongside Joe Manis' tenor sax and Alex Fantaev's percussion for the uniquely rhythmic opener, and "Time Through Light" follows with Friesen handling percussion alongside the sax from Manis that emits much warmth.
Further along,... read more
Bobby Rozario - Healer
by George W Harris, Jazz Weekly
Guitarist/vocalist Bobby Rozario comes across like a musical metaphysician on this album of sonic spiritual themes. The music would be described as "world", but the message is "spirit" as Rozario seems to have imbibed the guitar style and passion of Carlos Santana and melded it with his own street preaching. He brings in a roster of vocalists to convey his message, including Carlton Jumel Smith, Keith Fluitt, John James with a rotating team of... read more
Richard Sussman - Live at Sweet Rhythm
by Thomas Conrad, JazzTimes
Much of the jazz art form in contained in obscure artifacts preserved, against all odds, from the clutches of oblivion. That is the story behind this album, well told in Neil Tesser's liner notes. It goes something like this: In 1978, pianist-composer Richard Sussman made an LP called 'Free Fall' on Inner City. It had an afterlife as a kind of underground classic. Susman's intriguing compositions clearly provoked and inspired trumpeter Tom... read more
Bobby Broom - The Way I Play: Live In Chicago
by Mark F. Turner, All About Jazz.com
Guitarist Bobby Broom could have easily taken a different musical direction when he released the popular contemporary/funk jazz album, Clean Sweep (GRP) in 1981. But with his early influences, guitarists Wes Montgomery, early George Benson and mentor/saxophonist Sonny Rollins, he has developed his own unique style on recordings such as Song and Dance (Origin, 2007). This voice is heard in a live setting on The Way I Play , an uncut, as it went... read more
Hal Galper Trio - Airegin Revisited
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
Hal Galper's Airgen Revisited is exhilarating. The pianist has been working at his artistry for more than a half century, and he is moving surely into the "elder statesman of jazz" category, riding the furious wave of several distinctive and idiosyncratic trio recordings. Galper, like alto saxophonist Lee Konitz and pianist Martial Solal, has gone deeper into the music than seems possible, taking a great many standards and unleashing them,... read more
David Friesen Circle 3 Trio - Where the Light Falls
by Martin Z. Kasdan Jr., Louisville Music News
David Friesen's working trio, with pianist Greg Goebel and drummer Charlie Doggett, has released a 2-disc live set, with guest guitarist Larry Koonse on nine of the nineteen tracks. The trio tracks are from a 2013 set in Germany and a 2014 set in Portland, OR, with Koonse added for a 2013 date in Tempe, AZ. On disc, the songs switch back and forth between trio and quartet; all are composed by the leader. Opening the first disc is the bright and... read more
Piet Verbist - Zygomatik
by Dave Sumner, All About Jazz
Zygomatik has the fiery groove of classic hard bop, but it's not that simple. There is a rock attitude to this album, and it's got a Motown sway. This is the kind of album that can be pointed to as a celebration of jazz and an album that will be liked by people for whom jazz really ain't their thing. It's an album with complex elements and modulating sounds, but which hits the ears with a seamless cohesion.
These are the characteristics... read more
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