Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
John Stowell | Michael Zilber - Live Beauty
by Hobart Taylor, KUCI, Irvine, CA
Saxes (Zilber), guitars (Stowell) and a rhythm section play airy melodic mainstream jazz with spacey elements in this live recording from the Bay Area. Traditional improvisational moves and sequential solos abound. Always interesting (says I damning with faint praise), the performances really take off during "Quantum Theory", "Stowell What", a deconstructed "My Funny Valentine", and a John Scofield tune "Wabash... read more
Matt Otto - Umbra
by Ed Sapiega, Jazz Views (UK)
Matt Otto, saxophonist and leader, is an Associate Professor of Jazz Studies at Kansas University and an Adjunct Professor at Rutgers. Otto's website mattotto.org contains articles and lessons for and about music. Otto has spent over thirty years becoming a master improviser.
For this CD Otto uses Kansas City and St. Louis musicians. Some, like the bassist and the drummer, have played with Otto for sixteen years. Otto and the keyboardist... read more
Scenes - Along the Way
by Ric Bang, The Davis Enterprise
Scenes, another Pacific Northwest group, began as a quartet: guitarist Johhn Stowell, bassist Jeff Johnson, drummer John Bishop and tenor saxman Rick Mandyck. When a health problem forced Mandyck to depart, the group continued as a trio.
"Along The Way" is the new group's first release.
Each musician is well-known in the jazz fraternity, and all have played and recorded with numerous "name" groups.
All the tracks on the CD are originals... read more
Michael Zilber - Originals for the Originals
by Ric Bang, Jazz Scan
Instrumentalist/composer Michael Zilber is better known by fellow musicians than by jazz fans. Born in Vancouver, B.C., he moved to Boston in his late teens, then to New York City about five years later. It didn't take long for his talents to be recognized by artists who frequented that area. Zilber performed or recorded with giants such as Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Stitt, the Brecker brothers and Dave Liebman.
Zilber's second album as a... read more
Marcos Varela - San Ygnacio
by George W. Harris, Jazz Weekly
Houston raised and NYC based, Marcos Varela brings his bass to lead a team of adroit all stars on this rich collection of material. The core rhythm team of himself with George Cables/p and Billy Hart/dr are a force unto themselves, creating sparks on a trio track "Picturesque" while horn players Logan Richardson/as, Clifton Anderson/tb, Dayna Stephens/ts and Arnold Lee/as fill in the blanks on the other tracks. The team does a modal take of... read more
Ben Thomas - The Mystagogue
by Adam Greenburg, All Music Guide
On his sophomore album as a group leader, Ben Thomas uses a solid quartet format with an additional rotating sax or clarinet. On The Mystagogue, the vibist makes good on the promise of the title � he introduces new listeners into the religious rites of jazz, showing the relics and holding the ceremonies. In a less metaphorical sense, Thomas and his band power their way through a fine mix of post-bop, hard-bop, and modern jazz, all Thomas... read more
Laurie Antonioli - Songs of Shadow, Songs of Light
by Paul Freeman, San Jose Mercury News
Effectively interpreting the songs of Joni Mitchell is a great challenge. Bay Area native Laurie Antonioli is more than up to the task. After starting out in the singer-songwriter-vein, she became an accomplished jazz singer. Now Antonioli triumphantly returns to her roots for this gorgeous exploration of Mitchell's fascinatingly complex songs. Antonioli displays a tremendous range. She can use her vocal power, but also knows how to rely on... read more
Dominic J. Marshall - Spirit Speech
by Lance Liddle, Bebop Spoken Here (UK)
Gestating in the Womb.
a blind future which would destroy us.
a precocious potentiality
to elevate us toward the golden city walls of Ancient Egyptian demigods.
but it is the vibrations coming from outside.
celestial sound waves impinging on that foetal conciousness
that will make or break us.
and before we know if we want to be made or broken
time will pass us by like a shooting star,
leaving us alone again on this spherical blue... read more
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