Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Jim Knapp Orchestra - It's Not Business, It's Personal
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect Reviews
The Seattle composer, arranger and trumpet extraordinaire Jim Knapp knew his way around a diverse jazz tune you won't soon forget, and here along with a large handful of esteemed musicians he brings a big band effort that's quite distinct and exciting.
"Miami Vince" starts the listen with no lack of energy, as Jon Hamar's frisky brass welcomes the lively brass and airy flute from Paul Taub that swirls with a timeless jazz energy, and... read more
Dave Slonaker Big Band - Shifty Paradigms
by Thierry De Clemensat, Paris-Move
5 STARS
If, from the opening moments of this album, you sense a faintly cinematic and slightly mysterious atmosphere in Dave Slonaker's music, it is probably rooted in a fascination that took hold early in his life: the sound world of great orchestras. As a teenager, that curiosity led him to the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, where he immersed himself in the mechanics of orchestration and large-scale composition. Decades later,... read more
Tom Collier - Across the Bridge
by Rotcod Zzaj, Improvijazzation Nation
Tom's stellar vibraphone work leads the pack here, with electric guitar from Bill Frisell, electric/acoustic guitar from Larry Coryell, electric bass & electric guitar by Dan Dean, drums from John Bishop and (also) drums by Ted Poor... he got high marks from me in issue # 159, and totally solidified my impression of his mastery with this new all-original release. No question I'll be slidin' up to Seattle to watch him play live (since he's "just... read more
Michael Orenstein - Aperture
by S Victor Aaron, Something Else!
The untold positive story in jazz today is that there are still so many young men and women who are incredibly talented jazz musicians and willing to keep this genre alive, and for no other reason than being passionate about this music. One of these who has only in the last few years who has entered the scene is pianist and composer Michael Orenstein.
Already, Orenstein comes as a 2021 graduate (masters) from University of Southern... read more
Marc Seales - People & Places
by Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move
5-STARS A Dream Album of People, Places, and Time: Marc Seales and Ernie Watts Deliver a Jazz Masterpiece for the Ages.
The title, and even the opening notes, of this album might initially evoke the laid-back sophistication of a Michael Franks project. And indeed, there is something unmistakably refined, almost architectural, about this collaboration. In an era when melodic clarity is too often sacrificed for trend or abstraction,... read more
John Stowell / Dave Glenn & The Hawčaptak Quartet - Violin Memory
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
4-STARS Guitarist John Stowell does not hesitate when it comes to taking on unconventional projects. 2021 saw him teaming with vocalist Dan Dean on Rain Painting (Origin Records)—an album of featuring an overdubbed layering of voices (Dean's) making for lush and enriching choir-like harmonics, accompanied by Stowell's various guitars.
The Portland-based guitarist's follow-up finds him teaming with trombonist Dave Glenn, a longtime... read more
Anthony Branker & Ascent - Blessings
by John Barron, All About Jazz
Composer/arranger Anthony Branker and his ensemble Ascent follow up on the critically acclaimed release Spirit Songs (Sons of Sound, 2006) with Blessings, a spirited collection of progressive jazz. The music was composed during a residency Branker participated in at the Estonian Academy of Music where he represented the United States as a Fulbright Scholar. The recording features a first-rate cast of east coast heavy-hitters.
The disc's... read more
Scenes - Destinations
by Doug Ramsey, Rifftides
Drummer John Bishop, guitarist John Stowell and bassist Jeff Johnson will soon be celebrating two decades together as the trio they call Scenes. Bishop founded the Origin label in Seattle in 1997, and by the fall of 2000 the three veteran Pacific Northwest musicians had combined in a group that has released six records on Origin.
For all the subtlety and intricacy of the group's interaction, their music commands attention because of... read more
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