Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Triocity - I Believe In You
by Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz
4-STARS Here's a formula we've all seen before: take three musicians and let them loose on a program of standards and Great American Songbook chestnuts. It sounds all too simple and pedestrian, right? Guess again. When you're talking about the combined creative forces of multi-reedist Charles Pillow, bassist Jeff Campbell, and drummer Rich Thompson, the potential of said endeavor changes drastically. The whole is most certainly greater... read more
Jim Knapp Orchestra - Secular Breathing
by , Mainly Big Bands
Mark this web-site well as it not only includes some outstanding big bands now, but future releases look promising too. It seems that the Seattle area is rich in talent, a fact that has encouraged ORIGIN RECORDS to allow their label to be the shop window for the local area talent.
I must admit that I was not too familiar with the work of Jim Knapp. Recently I have become aware of the awe and respect he commands among the higher echelons of... read more
Anthony Branker - Beauty Within
by Asher Wolf, JAZZIZ
Anthony Branker must know how to craft a catchy tune - an idea that is concise, simple and lyrical - because the compositions on Beauty Within realize the polar opposite of that formula. Each piece challenges the listener with an aural jigsaw of stubborn intensity, an entropic whirlwind sensitively parsed by his star-studded ensemble.
Composing for a small combo can be daunting, lest the performers' personalities drown out the... read more
Jonas Tauber with William Thomas, Doug Haning - Prime Numbers
by Michael Casano, Jazz Review
Prime Numbers, a trio featuring bassist Jonas Tauber, has captured the perfect blend of live jazz, exploratory meanderings, and a cohesive structure that makes this CD a must for all lovers of free jazz. This is definitely not amateur hour, but an inspired document of brilliant music shining like a brooding star in space/time. This is one of those CDs that you listen to and smile because you cannot believe how right these guys got it.... read more
New Stories - Hope is in the Air
by Larry Nai, Cadence
The New Stories trio - pianist Marc Seales, bassist Doug Miller, and drummer John Bishop - flies both alone and special-guest-augmented on this bracingly fine tribute to pianist Elmo Hope. One of the most tragically fascinating figures of the Bop family, Hope's highly percussive, nervous keyboard style is less imitated than intimated here by Seales, who shows an obvious kinship with the 14 compelling Hope compositions performed. His exciting... read more
Nnenna Freelon - Beneath the Skin
by Editor, Modern Drummer
Drummer Steve Hass hit the scene hard playing with Ravi Coltrane and John Scofield, but we haven't heard from him in a while. Lo and behold, he appears on a beautiful record by vocalist and composer Nnenna Freelon, playing alongside pianist-accompanist extraordinaire Alan Pasqua. Freelon first recorded in the early 90s, and has released 15 records. She has a wonderful heartfelt, dark, and sultry voice, and has a magnificent knack for picking... read more
Ben Thomas Tango Project - Eternal Aporia
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect
The multi-instrumentalist and composer Ben Thomas has a lengthy and esteemed career in jazz sounds, and here he offers us another interest of his, tango music, where Eric Likkel, Steve Schermer, Gretchen Yanover, Brandon Vance and Jonathan Geer accompany him.
"Tangent 7" opens the listen with playful Thomas' vibraphone alongside Yanover's warm cello and Geer's strategic keys in the upbeat climate, and "Safeguards" follows with a calmer... read more
BOX - Ten Variations On An Unknown Theme
by Adam Greenburg, All Music Guide
A trio of Swiss jazzers here combine for a series of entirely improvisatory jazz built in theory around a theme. That said, the theme is also unknown. The goal is to make improvisatory music while creating a theme by way of its variations. By circling in from the outside, the core form will eventually become clear. The players all perform well on their respective instruments, in a basic piano trio (with an occasional outburst of bugle). The... read more
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