Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Roberta Brenza - It's My Turn to Color Now
by Paul Abella, WDCB, Chicago
A vocalist who grew up near Chicago, and now finds herself back here again, Roberta Brenza recently released her debut album on Origin Records, It's My Turn to Color Now. She's joined by Sheila Jordan (obviously a big influence) and a band assembled by Matt Wilson for a batch of originals like the charming title track and standards (she does a wonderful job on "Bye Bye Blackbird"). If this first album is an indication of what we can expect in... read more
Amit Friedman - Sunrise
by Dave Sumner, Bird Is The Worm Jazz Blog
Amit Friedman Sextet's Sunrise is one of those rare albums that I want to blast from the rooftops, convinced that if the whole damn world could just hear it, the planet would be a much happier place.
It's a majestic album that soars without forgetting to swing.
It's unlikely I'll be able to contain my enthusiasm in the words of this review. Pretty sure I'm not even gonna try.
It would be nice to give an objective review, even in... read more
Jessica Williams - Billy's Theme: A Tribute to Dr. Billy Taylor
by Ric Bang, The Davis Enterprise, September 14, 2006
Jessica Williams was 4 when she discovered her grandmother's piano.
By age 7, little Jessica was taking formal lessons; she soon was accepted at the prestigious Peabody Conservatory. While still in her teens, she was playing regularly with a jazz combo; by 20 she had moved to California and literally had her pick of the dozens of groups performing there.
She's a great pianist, and she also writes and arranges prolifically. Her discography... read more
Florian Hoefner - Luminosity
by Rick Anderson, CD Hotlist
Here is another very fine example of modern straight-ahead jazz from the young pianist and composer Florian Hoefner, now recording for the first time with acclaimed saxophonist Seamus Blake. This all-original program finds Hoefner doing what he does best: writing tunes that contain small surprises within familiar structures, that challenge the ear without defying it to stick around, and that bring out the best in his carefully-chosen... read more
Laurie Antonioli - Songs of Shadow, Songs of Light
by Marc Myers, JazzWax
Singer Laurie Antonioli avoids the mistake of trying to duplicate Joni's originals and instead gives the material a big jazz twist. Backed by a highly sensitive and carefully arranged quintet that includes jazz pianist Matt Clark, Antonioli delivers a fascinating Both Sides Now that turns the original inside out. All of the tracks here convert Joni's work into jazz standards. A coiled, innovative approach from a sensitive... read more
Geof Bradfield - African Flowers
by Don Lerman, Cadence
African Flowers from Chicago saxophonist Geof Bradfield is an evocative suite of music that expresses in Bradfield's musical terms the colorful spirit of another land and culture. Bradfield traveled to Africa in February 2008 with the Ryan Cohan Quartet, performing with the group in Rwanda, Congo, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. Bradfield had delved into the history and litera�ture of those countries prior to the trip, and afterwards explored... read more
Peter Erskine & the JAM Music Lab All-Stars - Bernstein in Vienna
by Felix Amador, Jazz Ese Ruido (Spain)
Leonard Bernstein's approach to jazz in works such as West Side Story has moved many musicians to play his songs and perpetuate them as standards. In the album we are listening to today, several of his best-known songs are reviewed with a Viennese line-up belonging to the JAM Music Lab University, directed by the pianist Danny Grissett and "starring" such a special guest as Peter Erskine, a drummer whose legend goes back a long way (in... read more
Xose Miguélez - Ontology
by Félix Amador, Jazz, Ese Ruido (Spain)
Risk is the title of the chapter that the Jazz series of Ken Burns dedicates to bebop and, although bebop has ceased to be a novelty, jazz continues to advance and good musicians continue to appear capable of risking, giving everything to find that (eternal) new path that is the risky essence of jazz. In the disc of saxophonist Xose Miguélez there is only one theme that could be classified as bebop, but his taste for risk is appreciated in the... read more
Looking for a specific review?
This is just a small collection of the Origin Records reviews. Click here to view all reviews or try to Search for your favorite CD title.
Search Reviews:
Recently Added Reviews:
Abate Berihun & The Addis Ken Project - Addis Ken
by Hanna Kay, Cult News (Paris)
Abate Berihun & The Addis Ken Project - Addis Ken
by Budapest, Rudolf Radnai
Abate Berihun & The Addis Ken Project - Addis Ken
by Editor, Bman's Blues Report
Jared Hall - Hometown
by Editor, Bman's Blues Report
Dawn Clement - Dear Ms. Dearie
by Editor, Bman's Blues Report
Jared Hall - Hometown
by Dee Dee McNeil, Making A Scene
Affinity Trio - New Outlook
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect
Michael Dease Big Band - Return Trajectory
by Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move
Brad Goode Quintet Feat. Ernie Watts - Live Your Dream: Live at North Street Cabaret
by Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move
Maja Jaku - Blessed & Bewitched
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect