Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Bill Anschell - Improbable Solutions
by Abe Beeson, KNKX - The New Cool
Pianist Bill Anschell has established himself as a dynamic bandleader and able accompanist around his native Puget Sound region. But with his new release, Improbable Solutions, Anschell leaves the acoustic piano behind and digs deep into the possibilities of electronically produced music.
New Cool host Abe Beeson spoke with Anschell recently about his new album, which isn't his first foray into the world of electronic music.
A... read more
Hadley Caliman - Straight Ahead
by David Franklin, Cadence
Hadley Caliman recorded with the likes of Gerald Wilson, Don Ellis, and Mongo Santamaria in the 1960s and with such folks as Hampton Hawes, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, and a raft of other Jazz and Pop stars, as well as his own groups, in the ?70s. But the 78-year-old tenorist did not make another record until his return to the studio for a CD under his own name in late 2007. Gratitude was well-received with Straight Ahead... read more
Marius Nordal - Boomer Jazz
by George Fendel, Oregon Jazz Society
Marius Nordal is one of those virtuoso pianists who can spin you around in your chair and make you rue the day you ever started taking piano lessons. I know this to be true because I own his first two albums for Origin, and I've heard his Tatum-esque exploits on both. He has complete command of the piano, and you can't reign him in, so don't try. And, by the way, it's all very musical and lots of fun! This time around, Nordal tackles the music... read more
Andrew Rathbun Large Ensemble - The Atwood Suites
by Paul Weideman, Pasatiempo (The New Mexican, Santa Fe)
Soprano and baritone saxophones open "Two Islands I" in a sprightly mien, like an awakening. Luciana Souza sings lines from a Margaret Atwood poem: "I could say it without looking, the animals; the blackened trees, the arrivals; the bodies, words, it goes and goes; I could recite it backwards." Tim Hagans begins a lovely solo on flügelhorn, kinetically abetted by drummer Bill Stewart, who is a constant but varicolored presence on Andrew... read more
Tom Rizzo - Imaginary Numbers
by Corey Hall, Jazzreview.com
Remember how bassist Oscar Pettiford would take huge breaths between notes while soloing? This bad brother seemingly envisioned his instrument, his-self, as a horn, so you could hear him inhale before his fingers would pluck out a low-end exhale-ation.
Pettiford came to mind while listening to guitarist Tom Rizzo's debut album, Imaginary Numbers (Origin). With active accompaniment from a five-piece horn section and full rhythm section, Rizzo's... read more
Christopher Icasiano - Provinces
by Max Level, KFJC 89.7FM
Drums and keyboards-everything played by Icasiano, a mainstay of the Seattle free music scene. There are two "suites" here and within each suite the pieces tend to track together. Several of the tracks have repeating-in some cases one could say relentless-drum patterns, augmented with simple keyboard/synth melodies, drones, and sounds. Field recordings pop up occasionally, some of them including voices. I really enjoyed Track 3, a jagged... read more
Hadley Caliman - Straight Ahead
by Brad Walseth, JazzChicago.net
Based on his background and abilities, it is astonishing that a player like tenor saxophonist Hadley Caliman is not more well-known. Originally from L.A., Caliman studied with Dexter Gordon before touring with Mongo Santamaria, Gerald Wilson, Willie Bobo, Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, Bobby Hutcherson and many more, even - at one point - touring live with the rock group Santana. For more than twenty years, he was a member of the music faculty... read more
Cathy Segal-Garcia & Phillip Strange - Live in Japan
by Paul Freeman, Pop Culture Classics
Good things are worth waiting for. And it's been a very long wait for the release of this exceptional set, performed by jazz vocalist Cathy Segal-Garcia and pianist Phillip Strange. It was recorded in Osaka, Japan, 30 years ago. But what dazzled listeners in 1992 will still do so in 2022 and beyond.
This two-CD package contains 21 classic tunes, attractively arranged and entrancingly performed. Segal-Garcia's ability to utilize unique... read more
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