Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Florian Hoefner - Luminosity
by John McBeath, The Australian
Although German pianist - now Canada-based - Florian Hoefner has played at festivals throughout Europe, appeared on 10 previous recordings and toured extensively in the US and Canada, he's not as well known in Australia. This new album by his quartet, recorded in New York, features Australian bassist Sam Anning, with drummer Peter Kronreif and saxophonist Seamus Blake. These eight tracks display Hoefner's composing ability and his stunning... read more
Metropolitan Jazz Octet - The Bowie Project
by Paul Reynolds, All About Jazz
A tribute to a pop artist by jazz musicians—as with the new David Bowie album by Chicago's Metropolitan Jazz Octet—has to tread a careful line. It obviously won't—can't—be a rote reproduction of the originals, a flaw that sinks many pop-to-pop tributes. Yet it needs to translate the songs into jazz—its harmonic sophistication, especially—in a way that retains the essence of the artist being celebrated.
The MJO effort deftly rises... read more
Dave Slonaker Big Band - Convergency
by Richard J Salvucci, All About Jazz
In December 1910, Virginia Woolf once observed, human character changed and, along with it, so did everything else. Politics, society, religion, sex, all of it, she thought, would leave the ancien regime behind. And, to a point, she was correct. Within a few years, the old world was gone, swept away by war and revolution. It was not coming back. Ever.
Somehow, listening to the marvelous musical products of modern big bands, Woolf seems oddly... read more
Laurie Antonioli - The Constant Passage of time
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
She might be switching it up this time around, but one thing is certain, she still has that Joni Mitchell discovering jazz vibe to her sound. Working this time out with a band and contributing some originals as she also widens her set list to more than one composer, this is a set that gathers the things that make the jazz vocalist what she is---and that's interesting on all counts. Solid stuff for adult listeners looking for some solid adult... read more
Tom Collier - Mallet Jazz
by John Dworkin, Jazz Review
The list of jazz vibraphonists that are household names (in jazz households, that is) is not very long. Not as long as, say, that same list made up of tenor saxophonists. Lionel Hampton, Milt Jackson, Bobby Hutcherson, Gary Burton, Roy Ayers - probably a few others. The fact that you're likely to hear less of this particular instrument in a jazz context than a piano or a drum set is one of its charms. Since its use is comparatively rare, in the... read more
Tom Collier - Mallet Jazz
by Adam Greenburg, All Music Guide
Longtime jazz session percussionist Tom Collier is put in the limelight with a handful of other session musicians (and more) from the course of his career. The set is comprised entirely of Collier originals, passing from relaxed grooves to tests of the various percussive chops on the part of the band. Collier spends the bulk of his time on the vibes with good effect, but occasionally crosses over to the marimba, adding to the sound from Emil... read more
Affinity Trio - Hindsight
by Icrom Bigrad, Jazz Sensibilities
Trios are intimate, and magic will happen when you have one that is as in tune as the Affinity Trio. So, with that in mind, I invite you to sit back and pour yourself something sophisticated as we delve into the sonic tapestry of Affinity Trio's debut album Hindsight, released on October 20, 2023, under the illustrious Origin Records. The air is thick with anticipation and curiosity as we unspool an album born from the depths of a pandemic and... read more
Chris Walden Big Band - Home Of My Heart
by George Fendel, Jazz Scene
Although one has to deal with smog, jammed freeways and 16 jillion people, LA's okay if you're a big band leader. That's because you can find monsters like Bobby Shew, Pete Christlieb and Carl Saunders to play in your band. And if you know your turf pretty well, there are tons of additional first rate players to fill those band chairs. This is what leader Chris Walden has done. His is music with swagger; arranged to showcase both the... read more
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