Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Greta Matassa | Clipper Anderson - And to All a Good Night
by John Henry, Audiophile Audition
This is definitely the Christmas CD to get if you want something jazzy and hip and not the same old same old. Of the dozen songs here, I think the only one that was familiar to me was Irving Berlin's "Count Your Blessings." Didn't know there were so many appropriate popular tunes for the holidays that didn't make the sophisticated listener grimace.
Clipper Anderson reports that he's known as "Mr. Christmas" around the house and has been... read more
Paul Marinaro - Mood Ellington
by D. Glenn Daniels, The Jazz Page
The two-album release by vocalist Paul Marinaro, Mood Ellington, offers a luscious journey through the legendary songbook of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn. Marinaro's warm, resonant voice glides along rich musical landscapes crafted by thirteen top-tier arrangers, including Alan Broadbent, John Clayton and Bill Cunliffe, spanning intimate quartet settings to expansive string-and-horn orchestras. Supported by his Chicago rhythm core of... read more
Steve Million - What I Meant to Say
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect
The pianist and composer Steve Million has had a prolific year, as he also released Jazz Words alongside the vocalist Sarah Marie Young, and here with Steve Cardenas, John Sims and Ron Vincent at his side, Million regroups with some longtime friends for a batch of old and new tunes.
"Open The Book" starts the listen with Million's sophisticated and cozy piano being complemented by the light drumming and spirited guitar work, and this dynamic... read more
Shawn Purcell - 180
by Bob Weinberg, Jazziz
Like so many jazz guitarists, Shawn Purcell was awed by the playing of Pat Martino, whose classic album El Hombre truly opened his ears to the possibilities of the guitar-organ trio. And certainly, Martino's influence echoes throughout 180 (Origin), the Washington, D.C.-based Purcell's most recent release. Teaming up with organ virtuoso Pat Bianchi and drum phenom Jason Tiemann, Purcell explores and updates the dynamics of the classic organ... read more
Dmitri Matheny - Cascadia
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
4-STARS Flugelhornist Dmitri Matheny and his quintet play perfectly on Cascadia. There is no surprise there—with a rhythm section of pianist Bill Anschell, bassist Phil Sparks and drummer Mark Ivester backing the front line of Matheny and saxophonist Charles McNeil— perfection is the expectation.
Matheny grew up in Georgia and Arizona, spent a formative and near-obligatory stint in New York City, and played for a time in the band... read more
Lower Monumental - Mayday Session
by Adam Greenburg, All Music Guide
Two-thirds of the group formerly known as Flatland return for a new debut with this one, a recording of a live improv session on one of Seattle's better avant-garde radio stations. The music is relatively similar to that of Flatland, with the notable removal of a bass and addition of a sax, courtesy of Saul Cline, a session player occasionally with Matt Jorgensen + 451. The atmosphere is particularly spacey here, but generally aims for the... read more
Western Jazz Collective - Dark Journey: The Music of Andrew Rathbun
by Editor, Modern Drummer
Saxophonist and composer Andrew Rathbun has a specific musical direction, and he accomplishes creating a nice set of music in that direction. However, describing that direction is difficult. Listening to the opener "Making No Sense" might offer the reader some help. Rathbun's music is highly composed, with large doses of improvisation, using both directional grooves and expansive soundscapes. Doses of electric piano and distorted guitar further... read more
Bobby Broom - Upper West Side Story
by Neil Tesser, Chicago Examiner
On his new album "Upper West Side Story" (Origin), guitarist Bobby Broom focuses entirely on his own hard-to-categorize compositions. That?s not a new trick in jazz. But it?s something Broom avoided for decades.
"I purposely waited to make a record of all originals," states Broom, who leads his trio (bassist Dennis Carroll and drummer Makaya McCraven) in a CD-release celebration this weekend at the Jazz Showcase. "But, you know, I've... read more
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