Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Anthony Branker and Word Play - Uppity
by Curtis Davenport, Jazz Inside Magazine
With a large percentage of jazz musicians being African-American, racial justice has long been a point of contention and frustration for them (us). This frustration has manifested itself in different ways. Many in the 50?s and 60?s aligned themselves with religious groups such as the Nation of Islam, which preached black self reliance and encouraged members to discard their ?slave names? in favor of names that they felt were closer to their... read more
Bobby Broom - Upper West Side Story
by Jerome Wilson, Cadence
This recording marks the first time guitarist Bobby Broom has ever done a CD of only his own compositions. All of his melodies here, like the tricky blues vamp of ?Major Minor Mishap? and the sleek cool of ?Lazy Sundays? are attractive and provide good showcases for the dexterity and natural soul in his playing. His fat, laid back sound ,with traces of George Benson, is all over the set and once in a while he?ll go on a speedy, finger busting... read more
Trio East - Best Bets
by Ed Trefzger, JazzWeek
A WORKING GROUP since 2001, the "power trio" of Clay Jenkins on trumpet, Jeff Campbell on bass and Rich Thompson on drums keeps a regular Thursday gig a few blocks from the Eastman School of Music where all are on the faculty. The absence of piano on this understated CD of mostly originals and a few uniquely arranged standards provides plenty of space for Jenkins' smouldering but clear trumpet, Campbell's driving bottom end and Thompson's... read more
The Jazz Police - The Music of Daniel Barry
by Dave Nathan, All Music Guide
The Jazz Police are made up of musicians who see their task as creating and promoting modern big band music. For their second album for Origin, leader James Rasmussen has selected the music of one of the band's trumpet and flugelhorn players, jazz educator Daniel Barry. Drawing upon musicians from the fertile and active Northwest U.S. jazz scene, the group has 18 members plus four players added for certain tracks. Barry made a trip to Brazil... read more
David Friesen - Day of Rest
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
The bass man makes a solo piano set on a Ravenscroft piano where all the tracks are solo miniatures that seem improvised but probably have a ton of composition behind them. It's just that he makes it all look and sound so easy. You try and duplicate it! Call it a throw back to new age piano solo if you need to but it really is instrumental music that exists on a plane all of it's own. Well done by a real... read more
John Stowell - Solitary Tales
by George Fendel, Jazzscene, April 2009
Anyone who has witnessed a performance by master guitarist John Stowell, knows that he is far from your everyday guitarist. From the nearly vertical position of the guitar (not unlike the position of a cello) to the artist's expression and his closed eyes, Stowell is nearly one with the guitar. On this solo expedition, he plays both acoustic and electric guitars in the Portland, Oregon living room of his luthier, Mike Doolin. Stowell plays five... read more
EEA - The Dark
by Dave C, WRUV Reviews
Debut effort from this trio which includes Peter Epstein(reeds), Larry Engstrom(trp) & David Ake(p). Title could not be more apt for the CD is a spacious, mellow set of music where emphasis is less is... read more
speak - Speak
by Peter Walton, Earshot Jazz
A good deal of excitement surrounded Speak in the year preceding the release of their self-titled debut. The quintet's growth has been fascinating to watch, and having now released an album commensurate with their talents, it would not be surprising for 2010 to be a big year for the ensemble.
Featuring saxophonist Andrew Swanson, trumpeter Cuong Vu, bassist Luke Bergman, keyboardist Aaron Otheim, and percussionist Chris Icasiano, Speak... read more
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