Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Jeff Johnson - Tall Stranger
by Peter Monaghan, Earshot Jazz
Re-corded back in 2002, Tall Stranger opens with two group improvisations in which the players - Johnson, California drummer Billy Mintz, and treasured Seattle hornman Hans Teuber - feel each other out and enter an oblique, moody realm of light and shadow.
These are three superbly exploratory players. Mintz is a drummer like no other - he measures his attack as if determined to bruise no drumhead unless absolutely necessary; he caresses the... read more
Benjamin Boone - Confluence: The Ireland Sessions
by George W Harris, Jazz Weekly
Alto saxist Benjamin Boone creates an album of originals that mix instrumentals and vocals in artistic fashion. Usually, when a vocalist is brought in, the mood of an album changes, but JaYne is included here on three pieces that are like parts of a musical mosaic, fitting in perfectly. She glides around Joe O'Callaghan's tasty guitar work on "Your Eyes Meeting Mine", is languid with pianist James Miley during "In The Twilight" and floats... read more
Dave Liebman | John Stowell - Petite Fleur: The Music of Sidney Bechet
by Larry Blumenfeld, Jazziz
The most striking thing about the recent release Petite Fleur: The Music of Sidney Bechet is the sound of Dave Liebman's soprano saxophone on the opening title track, Bechet's best-known composition. That sound is large and pungent, with each held note featuring a bold and tightly wound vibrato--a far cry from the looser, more urgent sound, often leaning provocatively in and out of a given tone, that we've come to expect from... read more
Piet Verbist Zygomatik - Cattitude
by Brent Black, Bop-N-Jazz
To refer to bassist Piet Verbist as cutting edge would be cliché, to refer to Cattitude as one of the most adventurous releases for 2014 would be an understatement.
Hybrid genres are nothing new. A largely acoustic ensemble that can pull from improvisational music along with soul, rock and funk and accomplish this daunting task utilizing their own artistic vision is remarkable at best. A trio joined by two accomplished saxophonists... read more
Hadley Caliman | Pete Christlieb - Reunion
by George Fendel, Jazz Society of Oregon
The two tenor concept is nothing new in jazz. But when played by the best of the lot, it can be highly exciting and musically fulfilling. Such is the case here with Seattle veteran Caliman and LA kingpin Christlieb. With an all-Seattle rhythm section of Bill Anschell, piano, Chuck Deardorf, bass, and John Bishop, drums, the two renew a long standing musical friendship with an album dotted with original compositions by its participants, and a few... read more
Michael Waldrop - Origin Suite
by Jack Bowers, All About Jazz
Drummer / vibraphonist Michael Waldrop 's intriguing Origin Suite (deftly arranged by Jack Cooper) sweeps away musical boundaries to make its points, one of which is that big-band jazz needn't be ensnared in a time warp but is capable of changing with the times to engender songs that are as aesthetically pleasing as they are thematically stylish.
The three-movement suite, written to feature Waldrop on drums and vibes, calls to mind in its... read more
Don Lanphere - Like A Bird
by Robert Spencer, Cadence
Don Lanphere recorded in the late Forties with Fats Navarro and Max Roach, and his tenor sound is rooted in the note choices and approaches of that era - which sounds as if he would be much more remote than he actually is, since most "mainstream" jazz players of our day play the same way. Imagine, by the way, what might have happened at Minton's when Lanphere was a kid if someone had come in with a tenor sound copped from Coleman Hawkins records... read more
Don Lanphere with New Stories - Home At Last
by Butch Berman, Berman Music Review
One of my fave jazz trios is Seattle's New Stories, and one of my fave sax players is Don Lanphere, who lives in Kirkland, Wash., Seattle's over-the-bridge neighbor.
When these four get together to play, they are ready to SAY SOMETHING; the new Origin CD Home at Last is another excellent choice for any true jazz lover of the bebop era to embrace and add to his or her record collection.
Home at Last simply smolders and soothes all at the... read more
Looking for a specific review?
This is just a small collection of the Origin Records reviews. Click here to view all reviews or try to Search for your favorite CD title.
Search Reviews:
Recently Added Reviews:
Abate Berihun & The Addis Ken Project - Addis Ken
by Hanna Kay, Cult News (Paris)
Abate Berihun & The Addis Ken Project - Addis Ken
by Budapest, Rudolf Radnai
Abate Berihun & The Addis Ken Project - Addis Ken
by Editor, Bman's Blues Report
Jared Hall - Hometown
by Editor, Bman's Blues Report
Dawn Clement - Dear Ms. Dearie
by Editor, Bman's Blues Report
Jared Hall - Hometown
by Dee Dee McNeil, Making A Scene
Affinity Trio - New Outlook
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect
Michael Dease Big Band - Return Trajectory
by Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move
Brad Goode Quintet Feat. Ernie Watts - Live Your Dream: Live at North Street Cabaret
by Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move
Maja Jaku - Blessed & Bewitched
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect