Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Cuong Vu - Leaps of Faith
by Dave Sumner, Bird Is The Worm Jazz Blog
Trumpeter Cuong Vu has established a sound quite unlike anyone else on the scene. With lighthouse moans soaring above a wash of dissonance and electronics, he?s created a post-bop ambient style of avant-garde. Or said differently, it?s the metaphorical equivalent of a straight-ahead jazz melody dropped onto a tiny desert island in a sea of chaotic noise. The end result is that it?s pretty damn hard to find a Cuong Vu album that isn?t compelling... read more
Sean Michael Giddings - Red Willow
by Robert Rusch, Papatamus / Cadence
RED WILLOW is the first recording from North Texas State One O'clock Band alumni SEAN MICHAEL GIDDINGS [p]. Recorded in 2021, the dozen original compositions feature Sam Pankey [b] and Daniel Dufour [drm]. There are many deviations in Giddings' playing and composing. Perhaps the most consistent influence is Vince Guaraldi and Johnny Costa [piano man for Mr. Rogers' TV show]. Some of the tracks add coloring from clavier, harmonium, and orchestral... read more
Brittany Anjou - Enamigo Reciprokataj
by Debra Jan Bibel, Amazon
A Sophisticated Debut: New Terrority for Jazz Invention The title of this album, Enamigo Reciprokoataj, seems to be a gimisch of languages and in a way it is, being Esperanto. To my knowledge, it is second Esperanto-related musical recording; Lou Harrison's La Koro Sutro is the other. Brittany Anjou, pianist and trio leader, is the composer and arranger of the ten-track 58-minute instrumental debut. The title, roughly Reciprocal Love, is... read more
Tim Jensen - A Mind For The Scenery
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
Red flags flare up when a disc comes in with the tag "eclectic" lurking in the press material. The New Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the word as "selecting or made up of what seems best of varied sources." But the word sometimes serves as a shorthand for�in the world of music assessment�unfocused or lacking continuity of vision. Fortunately, multiple reedman Tim Jensen's A Mind for the Scenery holds to the true definition.
The Portland,... read more
Jared Hall - Influences
by Stephen Graham, Marlbank (UK)
A 2022 Seattle studio recording quartet album recorded in a single day from Jared Hall. It features 8 of the trumpeter's originals including tributes to Roy Hargrove, Brian Lynch - led off by bassist Michael Glynn - Woody Shaw, Wallace Roney and Tom Harrell plus an interpretation of Gigi Gryce's 'Minority' that has a very fine a cappella introduction by Hall. He hails from Spokane, Washington where he is director of jazz studies at the city's... read more
Dan Heck - Compositionality
by Bill Milkowski, JazzTimes
Florida-based guitarist composer Dan Heck takes his time entering the first track of his Origin debut, deferring to trumpeter Thomas Marriott on the funky boogaloo "One for Flo" and laying out entirely. By the time he finally makes his move at the 2:30 mark, his warm, flowing lines and clear articulation immedately reveal the influence of Pat Metheny, whom he pays tribute to on the lyrical ballad "Stand Pat." And that isn't the only homage... read more
Bobby Broom - Bobby Broom Plays for Monk
by Jeff Simon, The Buffalo News
Bobby Broom, "Plays for Monk" (Origin). Broom is Sonny Rollins' guitarist. Considering that Rollins was one of the greatest performers ever to play on Monk classics ("Brilliant Corners" and "Friday the 13th," to name two), he had as direct a pipeline to Monk's compositional genius as any guitarist these days is likely to have. The result on this trio disc of Monk tunes is close to spectacular. Not only does it bid fair to be Broom's best record,... read more
Nick Finzer - The Chase
by Dave Rogers, WTJU - Richmond
This is apparently trombonist Finzer's first release as a leader and it includes eleven originals from the man himself. He earned a Masters degree from the Julliard Jazz program two years ago. While there he was mentored by Steve Turre. on this release, Finzer leads a tight group of musicians, including Lucas Pino (sax), Alex Wintz (guitar), Glenn Zaleski (piano), Dave Baron (bass), and Jimmy MacBride (drums). It's mostly post-bop headiness jazz... read more
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