Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Jordan VanHemert - Nomad
by Jack Bowers, All About Jazz
Although his name offers no clue, saxophonist Jordan VanHemert's heritage is Korean. He salutes that legacy on Nomad, his second album as leader, with a pair of Korean folk songs and half a dozen comparatively modern themes written by Koreans or Korean Americans. Most are performed by VanHemert's trio: (Rodney Whitaker, bass; David Alvarez III, drums). Pianist Lisa Sung, guitarist Nathan Borton, bassist John Webber, drummer Max Colley III and... read more
Peter Erskine & The JAM Music Lab All-Stars - Vienna to Hollywood: Impressions of E.W. Korngold & Max Steiner
by Luca D'Alessandro, Jazz'N'More (Switzerland)
4-STARS The film music composers Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Max Steiner left their hometown of Vienna in the early 1930s to seek their fortunes in California. Many years later, in the late 1970s, Weather Report drummer Peter Erskine encountered Korngold's work for the first time when Joe Zawinul suddenly played a Korngold melody on tour. This sparked a fascination in Erskine that continues to this day. Peter Erskine, with the all-star... read more
Shawn Purcell - Oblivity
by Martin Johnson, DownBeat
Guitarist and composer Shawn Purcell has found an unusual avenue of ascent for jazz professionals. He honed his craft playing in military bands for 15 years, most notably serving as guitarist in the Air Force's premier ensemble, The Airmen of Note, which toured internationally. Amongst civilians, he's played or recorded with Chris Potter, Nicholas Payton, Terell Stafford, Chip McNeill and many others. Oblivity is his third recording as... read more
Xose Miguélez - Contradictio
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect
The Spain native Xose Miguélez brings his inimitable saxophone playing to this worldly listen, where Jean-Michel Pilc, Marcos Cavaleiro and Carlos Barretto are along for the occasion.
"Meniña" starts the listen with a traditional Galician song, where Barretto's precisely plucked double bass and Miguélez's soulful sax help cultivate a very cultured jazz setting, and "You And The Night And The Music" follows with frisky drumming from... read more
Brent Jensen w/ Bill Anschell, Jeff Johnson, John Bishop - One More Mile
by John Barron, All About Jazz
Idaho-based saxophonist Brent Jensen seems to have found his musical soul-mates in the Pacific Northwest. For One More Mile, the College of Southern Idaho professor teams up with three of Seattle, Washington's finest?pianist Bill Anschell, bassist Jeff Johnson and drummer John Bishop?for an intriguing straight-ahead set of standards and originals.
Jensen is a well-rounded improviser who can get things cooking in a variety of styles and... read more
Grete Skarpeid - Beyond Other Stories
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
When a foreign born jazz singer doesn't fall under the spell of the tortured artist effect, the record is already off to a good start. A Norwegian singer and writer that takes her time between releases teams up with a Cuban piano man and they find a sweet spot where they can turn jazz into art (as it) freely and easily it colors outside the lines. A jazz vocal date with a Joni Mitchell in jazz edge, this is a bar raiser for sitting... read more
William Thomas - Notes From A Drummer
by Adam Greenburg, All Music Guide
As with many of the artists on Seattle's Origin label, William Thomas is an excellent jazz drummer. Here on his debut as a leader, the Portland native spends an hour of quality time with his set, but more important to the album is the time he spent with his score sheets. The feature here is the quality of composition that he's been able to put together a number of times, culminating in a series of quite worthwhile numbers. As is not necessarily... read more
Giacomo Gates - Centerpiece
by Tom Ineck, Kansas City Jazz
Giacomo Gates didn't decide to make a career of music until 1990, at age 40, and his debut recording appeared five years later. Since then he has established himself as a member in good standing of the ever-so-exclusive club of male jazz singers.
With "Centerpiece," Gates takes another leap forward, with a wide ranging repertoire demonstrating his many vocal skills and the natural appeal of his deeply resonant baritone instrument.
On... read more
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