Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Kiki Valera - Vivencias en Clave Cubana
by Tom McCarter, KZSU - Stanford
Son Cubano is a genre of music and dance originating from the hill country of eastern Cuba during the 19th century. Its origins are a blend of African and Spanish influences. Son vocal style and meter are of Spanish tradition, while its identifiable clave rhythm, call and response, and percussive elements are of Bantu origin. This disc contains> twelve finely crafted original tunes played exquisitely throughout this recording. The innovative... read more
Greta Matassa - All This And Heaven Too
by Matt Collar, All Music Guide
Greta Matassa has a sexy voice. Something like June Christy or Carmen McRae waking up from a nap. It's this beckoning, warm approach that undoubtedly had much to do with her being voted the best jazz vocalist four times in Seattle's jazz magazine Earshot. Like many regional performers, Matassa has relied mostly on live performances to shape her career and has developed a growing fan base in her native Pacific Northwest. All This and Heaven Too,... read more
Dan McCarthy - City Abstract
by Robert Silverstein, Roots Music Report
5-STARS No sooner had Dan McCarthy released his early 2019 release Epoch, then he returned again in late 2019 with a follow up album on Origin called City Abstract. Where Epoch, recorded in NYC, was kind of a star studded affair, complete with appearances of guitarist Ben Monder and bass legend Steve Swallow, the May 2019 recording of City Abstract finds Dan back in his home turf of Toronto Canada recording with his own band. Backing... read more
Nnenna Freelon - Time Traveler
by Peter Quinn, Jazzwise (UK)
4-STARS Aside from a Christmas album that she released in 2013, Time Traveler is vocalist Nnenna Freelon's first studio recording in more than a decade and her first with Origin Records. In a similar way to her 2010 album, Homefree, the new collection brings together songs that have a particular resonance for the singer. But there's an extra poignancy here - the album represents a heartfelt love letter to her late husband and soulmate,... read more
Rodney Whitaker - All Too Soon: The Music of Duke Ellington
by Rick Anderson, CD Hotlist
Doing an album of Duke Ellington tunes isn't a tough decision, and any number of fine artists have made perfectly lovely Ellington tribute albums. But from the very first track, bassist and arranger Rodney Whitaker makes it clear that while he's operating in a mode of love and reverence for America's greatest jazz composer, he's not going to be a slavish imitator. Leading a crack sextet, he instead puts his personal imprint on every selection,... read more
Upper Left Trio - Cycling
by Roman St. James, Jazz Review
"Cycling", the debut release by the Upper Left Trio is an absolutely stunning CD. The piano trio is the most basic of the jazz group configurations, but its simplicity inherently increases the difficulty in producing music that is either particularly innovative or engaging, for all but the most casual jazz listener. However, with this recording the Upper Left Trio � consisting of Charlie Doggett on drums, Clay Giberson on piano and Jeff Leonard... read more
Chad McCullough & Bram Weijters - Abstract Quantities
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
4 1/2 STARS Trumpeter Chad McCullough debuted as a leader in 2009 with the superb Dark Wood, Dark, Water (Origin Records). He's stayed busy ever since, recording with The Kora Band - inspired by the sounds of Africa - Tunnel Six, and the two horn, chordless The Spin Quartet, along with two previous modern jazz sets on Origin Records on which he teamed as a co-leader with Belgian pianist Bram Weijters, Imaginary Sketches (2011) and Urban... read more
Corey Christiansen - Lone Prairie
by Ian MacGregor, Jazz Guitar Society of Western Australia
On this, his latest CD, Corey Christiansen interprets in a thoroughly modern jazz way, some of the old cowboy songs and melodies of the frontier.Tunes like "Streets of Laredo;" "Red River Valley" and "Sittin' on Top of the World" will be quite familiar to many of us and the latter title really swings. The other tunes which may not be as familiar are given an excellent jazz treatment and proves that any tune with a great melody can be... read more
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