Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Jim Knapp Orchestra - It's Not Business, It's Personal
by Mark Stryker, JazzTimes
There are two kinds of jazz listeners. Those who recognize Jim Knapp as a profound large-ensemble composer and arranger of uncommon imagination, depth, and expression—and those who have yet to hear his music.
Knapp, who died November 13 at age 82, was a revered bandleader, composer, arranger, trumpeter, and teacher in the Pacific Northwest. He taught for decades at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle and worked in myriad idioms: big... read more
Dave Hanson - Blues Sky
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
Pianist Dave Hanson opens his Blues Sky with a joyful barnburner, "Two Masters," a tip of the hat to Bill Evans and Chick Corea, two of the biggest names in piano jazz. Hanson is probably best known for his work as composer-arranger and co-leader of Denver's H2 Big Band, but he pares things down on his Blues Sky album release, thanks in part to a weeklong artist-in-residence gig at Denver's Dazzle Jazz club, which allowed him... read more
David Friesen - A Light Shining Through
by Chris Lunn, Ancient Victorys
Recorded in 2021 in Kyiv Ukraine with the Kyiv Mozart String Quartet and later adding in some percussion and saxophone brings Friesen's work to yet another level. This is personal for him. Ukraine is his mother's ancestral home, and Friesen made many trips there before the pandemic then the war made returning impossible. Some of those past trips included John Stowell, and both have toured extensively throughout Europe. Friesen heads back to... read more
Michael Waldrop Big Band - Time Within Itself
by C. Michael Bailey, All About Jazz
This big band recording is notable for its arranger, Dr. Jack Cooper. Cooper recently released a revelatory Jack Cooper: Mists -Charles Ives For Jazz Orchestra (Planet Arts, 2014), which was the "most recommended" recording at All About Jazz in 2014. Cooper is a professor of music at the University of Memphis and he properly embraces the heritage of that great Southern City. Cooper's arrangements are unique in their brassy "wall-of-sound"... read more
Marcos Varela - San Ygnacio
by Valery Amador, Bass Musician Magazine
New York City is a long way from tiny San Ygnacio, Texas - not only measured in miles (around 2,000, for the record) but also in temperament. Born and raised in Houston, bassist Marcos Varela nonetheless traces his roots back to the historic Texas town where his family has lived on the same ranch since at least the 1750s. Based in New York for the last 12 years, Varela takes stock of how far he's come on his leader debut, San Ygnacio, due to... read more
Scott Reeves Jazz Orchestra - Without a Trace
by Brian Zimmerman, Jazziz
In addition to being an in-demand trombonist and professor at the City College of New York, Scott Reeves is an abundantly skilled composer and arranger, with a reputation for merging edgy, non-traditional harmonies with timeless grooves and forms. Without a Trace, his sophomore album for Seattle-based Origin Records, provides a glimpse into Reeve's compositional style. Featuring some of New York's top-flight jazz artists — including... read more
R|E|D|S - Sign of Four
by Kyle O'Brien, Jazz Society of Oregon
The acronym moniker stands for the four musicians in this quartet ? guitarist Bjarne Roupe, baritone saxophonist Ed Epstein, drummer Dennis Drud, and bassist Goran Schelin. This is northern European jazz, in that three of the players are based in Denmark and one in Sweden (though Epstein, father of saxophonist Pete Epstein, is an Oregon native). It also has that calculated feel that typifies jazz from the Scandinavian countries. But it is more... read more
John Stowell | Michael Zilber - Live Beauty
by George Fendel, Oregon Jazz Scene
The gifted Portland guitarist John Stowell manages to get a record or two per year out there for his loyal listeners to enjoy. This time it is saxman Michael Zilber, who joins Stowell and the quartet before a live audience in Berkeley, California. Stowell and Zilber communicate effortlessly on six originals of varying moods and tempos. There is also one standard; the venerable "My Funny Valentine." and you have never heard it quite like... read more
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