Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Tim Davies Big Band - The Expensive Train Set
by Hobart Taylor, KUCI - Irvine, CA
Composer/arranger Davies's day job is Hollywood... film scores, arranging a symphonic performance of Kendrick Lamar's "To Pimp a Butterfly", etc. Here he gets to show his own capacity to write and arrange big band music as high art. Like the late '40's Kenton bands, or even more like say Sauter-Finegan, Davies explores the complex possibilities inherent in coordinating so many moving pieces. The title of the CD refers to the fact that big... read more
Mamutrio - Primal Existence
by Claude Loxhay, Jazz Halo - Belgium (French)
The sax-bass-drum trio is not a rare grouping, mostly with tenor saxophones (Sonny Rollins, Gratitude Trio by Jeroen van Herzeele) but there are exceptions such as the trio Renku by Michaël Attias with alto sax, or this Mamutrio .
This formula "without net" requires a perfect involvement of the rhythmic pair: everyone must be able to be a soloist in his turn. This is the case of Mamutrio.
Along with Jesse Dockx, a 19-year-old drummer... read more
Hadley Caliman - Gratitude
by Ric Bang, The Davis Enterprise, June 5th, 2008
If you've never heard of tenor sax player Hadley Caliman, you're forgiven; I lived and worked in Los Angeles for more than 35 years, and I didn't encounter him....and that's where he made his name from the 1950s through the '70s.
As soon as he graduated from high school, he began to play in numerous jazz clubs located along Central Avenue. His idol was Dexter Gordon, with whom he studied, and Caliman played so much like him that he got the... read more
Bobby Broom - The Way I Play: Live In Chicago
by Adam Greenberg, All Music Guide
Between stints of touring with Dr. John, or Sonny Rollins, or his own Deep Blue Organ Trio, guitarist Bobby Broom has been holding court in a Chicago restaurant for a decade or so in a small trio format. Eventually feeling comfortable with the vibe he'd been creating, a live album was culled from a series of recordings over a few months of the live show. Among all of the jazz standards here, there's a constant interplay between drummer Kobie... read more
Jessica Williams - Billy's Theme: A Tribute to Dr. Billy Taylor
by Larry Taylor, Jazz Review
This CD represents the fine pianist, Jessica Williams', solo tribute to her mentor and friend, Dr. Billy Taylor. She wrote all the songs, and they show her impressive range and ability.
Honoree Taylor began his piano career with Ben Webster in the '40s and went on to lead his own groups through the decades. From the beginning, Taylor also became involved with jazz education and publication. Over the years he also had his own radio program on... read more
Benjamin Boone | Philip Levine - The Poetry of Jazz
by Michael Jackson, Downbeat
4-STARS Like a whiskey aged in charred casks, not a gin - which Pulitzer-winning poet laureate Philip Levine at first taste thought was hair tonic - this collection of world-weary words framed by quick-witted saxophonist/composer Benjamin Boone should be taken neat and steep sampled. Levine grew up in Detroit, and as a teenager during the '50s worked in car manufacturing plants. His general cynicism about the workplace is at odds with... read more
John Stowell - Solitary Tales
by Chris Robinson, Earshot Jazz
John Stowell's album Solitary Tales is all about exploration. On most of the album Stowell plays a nylon string acoustic/electric guitar that has a classical sound. In fact when Stowell isn't playing swung or bebop lines, he almost sounds as if he's improvising in a classical guitar fashion. In this way, Stowell makes full use of the idiomatic possibilities of the guitar. This is even the case when playing his electric, such as on Ornette's... read more
Les DeMerle - Comin' Home Baby
by Chris Spector, Midwest Review
The great thing about not being a hipster is that I can freely admit I like this record and this band. Here's a solid set without pretension where a piano trio with a vocalist is kicking out the jams on chestnuts on a cruise ship for people that would rather gorge themselves at the midnight buffet than dig the solid jazz being laid down. Certainly not the environment for breaking down walls and making statements, DeMerle and company's prime... read more
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