Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Anthony Branker and Word Play - The Forward (Towards Equality) Suite
by Britt Robson, JazzTimes
Anthony Branker has released an album on the Origin label every year since 2009, honing a hybrid of freewheeling postbop and social commentary, abetted by judicious dollops of funk, fusion, spoken word, clave and polyrhythmic percussion. That's a heady stew, but the effect is not jumbled, as composer-director Branker often incorporates these elements in broad, bold strokes, like a muralist. He has yet to make a bad record, and "Forward," a... read more
Dave Slonaker Big Band - Shifty Paradigms
by George W Harris, Jazz Weekly
Classy modern big band charts are delivered by composer/arranger Dave Slonaker and his tgeam of LA All Stars. The sections are rich and wondrous throughout, hip as all get out around Tom Luer's tenor sax on "Dash Cam" while a "All Blues"y tilt on "Bye Bye Blues" goes 6/8 around Ron Stouts' Milesy trumpet. The brass goes into a rich fanfare on the declaratory "3rd and Four" while drummer Peter Erskine builds up the groove under Brian Scanlon's... read more
The Spin Quartet - In Circles
by Don Lerman, Cadence
The Spin Quartet consists of top-notch musicians who carve out an interesting group identity on In Circles. The absence of a piano or guitar from the instrumentation of two horns, bass, and drums gives clarity and an open quality to the music, aided by the fine writing from mostly band members. Trumpeter/flugelhornist Chad McCullough wrote five of the pieces, with the subdued "Oranges Are Supposed to be Orange" and bright-eyed "Haberdasher"... read more
Peter Erskine & the JAM Music Lab All-Stars - Bernstein in Vienna
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect
The inimitable drummer Peter Erskine and his excellent company celebrate the work of Leonard Bernstein, where his fondness for Vienna is front and center across these 8 in depth songs.
The frisky "Somewhere" starts the set started with Erskine's fluid drums amid Danny Grissett's glowing keys and Andreas Varady's warm guitar, and "I Feel Pretty" follows with a playful spirit via Bertl Mayer's upbeat harmonica and Robert Unterkofler's lively... read more
Matt Jorgensen - Tattooed by Passion: Music inspired by the paintings of Dale Chisman
by Phillip McNally, Cadence Magazine
Finally drummer Matt Jorgensen leads a stellar 5tet on (4), and they work through an impressive series of compositions devoted to the painting of the late Dale Chisman. The nicely handled package displays several of the Chisman paintings which directly inspired Jorgensen, and makes listening to this set a programmatic experience. Trumpeter Thomas Marriott nearly steals the date, for he has a burnished perfect tone and a gentle lyric way with his... read more
New York Voices - Reminiscing in Tempo
by C. Michael Bailey, All About jazz
What the quartet New York Voices achieves with their performance of Dave Brubeck's "Blue Rondo Á La Turk" disguised as "Round, Round, Round" by lyricist Lauren Kinhan is nothing short of a schizophrenic jazz "Carmina Burana." Lithe, muscular, and smart, the performance is dense and thought-provoking, deftly navigating between its disparate 9/8 and 4/4 sections.
The 9/8 sections are presented in almost astringent counterpoint, the vocals... read more
Dawn Clement - Break
by Ric Bang, The Davis Enterprise
Seattle-based Dawn Clement is an outstanding composer, arranger, pianist and vocalist. I make that assessment based on just this album.
She has played and recorded with several groups, including a previous release under her leadership, but this is my first exposure to her. My bad, in the words of today's youth.
Let's begin with her talen as a pianist: She's the most inventive, lyrical and swinging artist I've heard in years. Her covers of... read more
Maja Jaku - Blessed & Bewitched
by Editor, Skope Magazine
European jazz icon Maja Jaku steps confidently onto the American jazz stage with her fifth studio album, "Blessed and Bewitched." Recorded in Brooklyn and released on Origin Records, this album is a carefully curated statement; balancing a range of emotional themes across originals and standards.
Intimate and assured in its delivery, Blessed and Bewitched It is not a radical reinvention of the jazz vocal tradition, but rather a deeply felt... read more
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