Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Mimi Fox - This Bird Still Flies
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
A solo guitar tour de force by one of the pre-eminent practitioners of our age, Fox gets back to her acoustic roots and takes you back to the 70s when solo guitar records like this that made your jaw drop came along a lot more frequently than once in a blue moon. A master class and great music all at once, this is a sterling example of why so many of us have guitars in the basement in their cases gathering dust. We can't give it up but we're too... read more
Christopher Icasiano - Provinces
by Gregg Daniel Miller, Free Jazz Blog
4 1/2 STARS I had to listen to this record for months before I could write about it. It's that different. Percussion solo records are an interesting breed, and this one doesn't remind me of anything.
Icasiano's percussiveness is all about the pacing and grouping of the beats. Clusters, clusters, driving and then receding, with crisscross patterns emerging from the maelstrom. Psychedelic. Disorienting. There is no "one," and while... read more
Geof Bradfield - Urban Nomad
by John Barron, All About Jazz.com
On Urban Nomad, Chicago saxophonist Geof Bradfield and his powerhouse quartet perform with tremendous spirit, maintaining a momentum that is vibrant and infectious. Bradfield's inventive, yet tightly-focused tenor and soprano playing is propelled by pianist Ron Perrillo, drummer George Fludas and bassist Clark Sommers, soaring through a mostly original set of charged-up progressive jazz.
Bradfield's compositions are full of shifting time... read more
Dawn Clement - Tandem
by James Rozzi, Jazziz
On her fifth CD as leader, Seattle-based pianist and vocalist Dawn Clement gives credence to the notion that good music often defies categorization. Ten songs, nine of which are duets, cover a broad range of musical genres, oft conveying several within a single tune.
Clement's vocals are as rural folksy as her piano playing is urban jazzy. The ballad standard "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning," occurs during Clement's "mornin'" (she... read more
Doug Beavers Orchestra - Jazz, Baby!
by Harvey Siders, JazzTimes
How young is too young when it comes to exposing your youngsters to jazz? According to the producers of this album, a Bay Area couple with a one-year-old daughter, and the arranger, Doug Beavers Rovira, apparently if you can play or sing nursery rhymes to your toddler, you can begin the jazz indoctrination. Enter Matt Catingub and Linda Harmon to sing and swing them, accompanied by a 21-piece band filled with L.A. and San Francisco players, and... read more
Affinity Trio - Hindsight
by Paul Abella, WDCB (Chicago)
It should come as no surprise that the Affinity Trio sounds as good as they do, considering their regular gig at The Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee. The tightness and telepathic interplay heard throughout their debut album, Hindsight, only comes through playing together on a consistent basis. Trumpeter Eric Jacobson, bassist Clay Schaub and pianist Pamela York make some excellent music in this seemingly sparse trio. What's really interesting is that... read more
David Friesen - Day of Rest
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect Reviews
David Friesen is most known for his esteemed work on bass, where he's occasionally sprinkled piano into the equation. Here, though, his bass is absent, as he brings us his first recording with the piano front and center for the entire journey.
"Backward Glance" starts the listen with elegant, flowing key work that's quite warm and cozy, as Friesen settles in like an old friend coming for a visit, and "Day Dream" continues the grace with... read more
Carlos Vega - Art of the Messenger
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
Tenor saxophonist Carlos Vega is a steeped-in-the-tradition fan of early bebop, displaying his passion for the genre with his nods to alto saxophonist Charlie Parker on Bird's Ticket (2016) and Bird's Up (2017), both on Origin Records. With Art Of The Messenger he shifts his focus to Art Blakey, the drummer who led the Jazz Messengers from 1955 onward for thirty-five years, helping define—in the early years—the hard bop Blue Note Records... read more
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