Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Michael Bisio & Timothy Hill - Inside Voice / Outside Voice
by Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery, NYC
Featuring Michael Bisio on contrabass and Timothy Hill on voice & guitar. This disc came in the mail last month and I was intrigued since Michael Bisio is one the best contrabassists of the ongoing Downtown Scene. No doubt that you should know his work with Matt Shipp, Joe McPhee and Kirk Knuffke. Guitarist and vocalist Timothy Hill is someone I don't know much about Timothy Hill although he has recorded with Pauline Oliveros and Iva Bittova.... read more
Peter Erskine & The JAM Music Lab All-Stars - Vienna to Hollywood: Impressions of E.W. Korngold & Max Steiner
by Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move
When one receives an album from a jazz titan such as Peter Erskine, one cannot help but rejoice, knowing that Peter Erskine, like so many others of his caliber, has shaped the history of contemporary jazz through his collaborations with the best of the best: Maynard Ferguson, followed by his groundbreaking work with Jaco Pastorius in Weather Report, a group with which he recorded five albums. Later came collaborations with luminaries such as... read more
Richard Sussman - Continuum
by David Orthmann, All About Jazz
Unlike the performance of certain forms of popular music, in which musicians dutifully strive to reproduce perfect versions of tracks from a record, a jazz CD release party proceeds from entirely different expectations. Befitting the music's emphasis on improvisation and the element of surprise, a live set of previously recorded compositions serves as a jumping off point for differences born in the heat of the moment. On the first night of... read more
Barry Greene - Giants
by Thierry De Clemensat, Paris-Move
Barry Greene's Giants: A Modern Jazz Tribute That Bridges Tradition and Innovation
Barry Greene's Giants poses its central question before a single note has fully settled: to whom, exactly, does this title refer? The answer, as the album gradually reveals, is less a declaration of stature than an act of reverence. Greene, an accomplished guitarist and composer, has neither the inclination nor the ego to cast himself... read more
Upper Left Trio - Cycling
by Lynn Darroch, Oregonian
A COMFORTABLE RIDE
The smorgasbord of styles under the umbrella of jazz these days -- from smooth to rough, swing to funk -- means that CD reviews must go beyond comments on purely musical qualities to consider how listeners might use the music, be it for dancing, meditation, background or stimulation.
"Cycling," the first CD by the Portland contemporary jazz group Upper Left Trio, could fill several of those functions.
All... read more
Clarence Penn - Monk: The Lost Files
by Britt Robson, JazzTimes
It is a testament to how singular and beloved the music of Thelonious Monk is that the slightest changes to it can be unsettling. Almost from the moment drummer Clarence Penn and his quartet Penn Station launch into "Well, You Needn't," Monk devotees will feel like something is off. The overall tone is more flippant than wry, words are being whispered in the background, and the piano and bass are electric. The intent is not blasphemous: On this... read more
Rodney Whitaker - Mosaic: The Music of Gregg Hill
by Carmel de Soto, Jazz Music Archives
4-STARS Rodney Whitaker is a sought-after bassist extraordinaire and a pre-eminent jazz educator. On his latest project, "Mosaic: The Music of Gregg Hill" (Origin Records, 2025), Whitaker and his vibrant working band breathe life into Hill's idiosyncratic compositions, crafting an album brimming with fiery interplay, deep swing, and a forward-thinking sense of adventure.
From the outset, the title track, "Mosaic," draws listeners in... read more
Marc Seales - American Songs, Volume 3: Time & Place
by Dick Metcalf, Improvijazzation
When your favorite tunes are those like "Pusherman", you'll find long hours of listening ahead in Marc's excellent keyboards on this great release! He's joined by guitarist Fred Hamilton, bassist Jeff Johnson, with Dave Captein on electric bass & Gary Hobbs on drums & they can COOK it! The other great thing about the recording is that it's all done right here on my home turf; a January 2015 release that you'll just want in your... read more
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