Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
David Friesen Circle 3 Trio - Triple Exposure
by Hobart Taylor, KUCI - Irvine, CA
Bassist composer Friesen, Greg Gobel, pianist, and drummer, Charlie Doggett, play the most elegant of chamber jazz. The jazz trio, like the string quartet in classical music, is an ideal form for balance between solo and ensemble play. Friesen, long a recognized virtuoso, gently leads the tunes but does not overwhelm them. Check out "Rainbow Song" for a very special tour de force.... read more
Richard Cole - Shade
by Adam Greenberg, All Music Guide
Shade is an outstanding album of contemporary jazz from (mostly) tenor saxman Richard Cole. This album opens with a bang and a slightly larger ensemble in something of a tribute to Joe Henderson. Cole, as well as trumpeters Thomas Marriott and Randy Brecker, take some outstanding solos here. In pianist Bill Anschell's composition "Moxy," the band slims down to a quartet and combines a frenetic piano with Monk-inspired horns. A Fender Rhodes is... read more
Michael Dease - City Life: Music of Gregg Hill
by David R. Adler, JazzTimes
The Year in Trios, 2025
This is the eminent trombonist's third effort devoted to the music of Michigan composer Gregg Hill (who coproduced the set). It's a double album but the first half fits our mandate, with just trombone, bass (Linda May Han Oh) and drums (Jeff "Tain" Watts). Virtuosity, blues feeling, swing rhythm sharpened to a dagger's edge — need I say more? Don't listen to me, listen to... read more
Laurie Antonioli and Richie Beirach - Varuna
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
Sometimes you just have to wait until things are right. Antonioli has been working with Beirach for over 25 years, mostly on his stomping grounds in Germany when she was based over there. This set was begun 10 years ago and was only finished up recently, and it's just the two of them for most of the set. Even when tackling the chestnuts, Antonioli finds her art chick side, making this a totally different set than her Joni Mitchell tribute set... read more
Rodney Whitaker - Mosaic: The Music of Gregg Hill
by Paul Rauch, All About Jazz
4-STARS In their fourth collaboration on Origin Records, bassist and bandleader Rodney Whitaker and Central Michigan composer Gregg Hill strike gold once again, backed by a formidable gathering of musicians. Hill's music has experienced a surge in interest due to his prolific releases on Origin, which have featured musicians in and around the impressive jazz faculty roster at Michigan State University, a program with Whitaker at the... read more
Matt Otto - Red
by Kevin Cox, Jazz Review
Tenor saxophonist Matt Otto's latest release, Red, is an intriguing collection of 8 original compositions. Otto, now based in Los Angeles, is joined here by a trio of friends from his years on the New York scene. On this disc, Otto and his band have crafted a sound that is immediately enjoyable, and increasingly impressive with each subsequent listening. Mid-tempo grooves and pensive ballads, all of the songs share a certain haunting,... read more
Jeff Johnson - The Art of Falling
by Jason West, All About Jazz
I like living with CDs. I like to leave them in the player for a week or two and see how they grow. I'm not worried if, at first, I don't hear everything that's going on. Just as long as there's something - a few magnetic bars, a particularly firey exchange, a pregnant moment in the music - that demands another listen. So it is with The Art of Falling.
The phrase that hooked me comes at the hands of pianist Randy Porter, and it occurs in the... read more
Upper Left Trio - Cycling
by C. Michael Bailey, All About Jazz
It would be too easy to pigeonhole the Upper Left Trio as a Bad Plus wannabe. Doing so would certainly be inaccurate, as the Upper Left Trio exists at approximately the midpoint between the Oscar Peterson Trio and Medeski, Martin, and Wood. The band's debut recording, Cycling, consists of 10 well-crafted original piano trio compositions that fall conservatively well short of the Bad Plus, producing a record that will not boast the band being the... read more
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