Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Maja Jaku - Blessed & Bewitched
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect
The Austrian vocalist Maja Jaku brings her distinct voice to these 7 personal tracks that comprise this rich 5th album.
"The Witch" starts the listen with Dezron Douglas' emotive bass and Alan Bartus' intimate keys that suit Jaku's striking voice, and "I'm A Queen" follows with Johnathan Blake's strategic drums amid the expressive singing.
"Blessings Will Come" and "Never Let Me Go" land in the middle. The former has Jaku singing with a... read more
Phil Kelly - Convergence Zone
by Bill Barton, Earshot
Composer/arranger Phil Kelly's new big band CD is truly a convergence zone between "tight" and "loose." Combining a stellar array of first-call studio players and smokin' jazz soloists from the Pacific Northwest with a few of his old friends from the Los Angeles, New York and Nashville scenes, Kelly has come up with a recording that combines consummate craftsmanship with flat-out fun in a most engaging fashion.
Kelly retired to the... read more
Ben Thomas Tango Project - The Hat with the Grin and the Chuckle
by Geoffrey Himes, Hard Rain & Pink Cadillacs
When the musician of one country tackles the music of another country, it's always not quite right. Often that results in the embarrassingly ersatz, but sometimes—as when the Beatles adapted Chuck Berry or Emmylou Harris adapted the Beatles—that "not quite right" results in something wonderfully new. That's the case when American Ben Thomas revises Argentinian tango music on this and previous albums. Playing the traditional, accordion-like... read more
Tad Britton - Cicada
by Dave Rogers, WTJU - Richmond
The title of this disc is concretely meaningful: Britton describes the life cycle of cicadas in his liner notes, emphasizing the wonder and mystery of the appearance and disappearance of these creatures and after acknowledging that no new really understands the functionality of this cycle, explains that these recordings having been dormant (missing, in fact) since 1992-93 have now emerged to share their impact and mystery with of the message... read more
Kim Richmond Concert Jazz Orchestra - Refractions
by John Killoch, Mainly Big Bands
I had heard comments to the effect that this particular compact disc was confirming Kim Richmond's place as the new Stan Kenton. With this thought in mind and remembering seeing and hearing the concert jazz orchestra in concert, and on the debut CD, I played the disc for the first time. I must admit that I wanted to hear the Kim Richmond I knew. This meant the music should be eloquent, cliche free, teasing me with gorgeous lyrical lines, complex... read more
Piet Verbist - Suite Réunion
by Editor, France Musique - Jazz Trotter
Present on the European jazz scene for 25 years, Belgian bassist Piet Verbist is best known in recent years for his participation in Jef Neve triode. He has previously recorded and shot with his own bands such as Zygomatik or the Mamutrio collective.
Having many compositions that did not meet the needs of these groups, Piet Verbist created an acoustic quartet to explore other musical concepts, with plenty of room for improvisation. " Suite... read more
Joonsam - A Door
by Chris Spector, Midwest Review
The young, South Korean bass players that's been parked in NYC when not globe trotting or over achieving, takes it downtown for a trio date that wholly original. With augmentation from other well known downtowners, this is typical of the kind of muscular, angular jazz that New York is known for, but in essence, there's nothing typical about it. Hard charging stuff that lets everyone have some like this is a long time working band, it's fresh... read more
Benjamin Boone | Philip Levine - The Poetry of Jazz
by Michael Ullman, The Arts Fuse
In the early eighties, when we were both teaching in the English department of Tufts University, Detroit-born poet Philip Levine and I became friends. We shared some things: basic literacy, a Michigan background (I had lived in Ann Arbor for four years and he was raised in Detroit), and a love of jazz. I would make tapes for him. (He particularly appreciated the ninety minutes of Clifford Brown I assembled for him.) He would give me signed... read more
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