Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Josh Nelson - The Sky Remains
by Kirk Silsbee, Downbeat
****
Pianist Josh Nelson thinks big. His own projects, showcased so far in clubs only, are multi-media affairs with scenery and video projections to live music The music for these phantasmagoria is equally expansive, often revolving around Los Angeles history, science fiction and things celestial. The son of a Disney imagineer, he sees the town as the ultimate thrill ride. Nelson's triumph is essaying his personal obsessions in ways so... read more
Darrell Grant - Truth And Reconciliation
by John Henry, Audiophile Audition
Another jazz project with a strong message, the sixth album with the noted pianist/composer leading concentrates on honoring the dismantling of apartheid in South Africa. Grant - who has worked with Betty Carter, Tony Williams and Roy Haynes - calls this double disc his dream project. He has assembled some top sidemen and varies the 16 tracks among piano trio, quartet, quintet and settings for his vocals on some of the tracks. In addition, he... read more
Oscar Hernández & Alma Libre - Love the Moment
by Raul da Gama, Latin Jazz Network
Editor's Pick The celebrated composer, pianist and director of the award-winning Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Oscar Hernández has another incarnation and it's called Alma Libre, a smaller group that he sometimes calls together to play his high-spirited and energetic - and sometimes moody and elegiac - music. As with everything he composes (and performs), this repertoire is pure gold; a series of highly imaginative compositions with... read more
Alex Graham - The Good Life
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
A quick trip to multiple reedman Alex Graham's web site finds his sound compared to Wayne Shorter, Dexter Gordon, and Horace Silver, but a couple of spins of The Good Life tells you that these reactions must be referring to the band's collective sound. Graham plays alto sax, flute, and clarinet -- the latter two reeds on the opener only-but he's an alto saxophonist first and foremost on this outing. His tone on that main horn sounds like Jackie... read more
Rob Lockart - Parallel Lives
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz.com
The problem with saxophonist Rob Lockart's debut CD, Parallel Lives, is that it's hard to get past the opening cut, the America Songbook classic, Arthur Altman's "All Or Nothing At All." It's a problem of the sublime variety?this rendition of the familiar tune is magnificent. Lockart is locked into the emotion of the tune, the aching, sometimes searing uncertainty of the outcome of the ultimatum, the possibility of ending up on the wrong side of... read more
Bad Luck - Four
by Dave Segal, The Stranger
Inbox Jukebox Track of the Day: The Bitches Brew-like Zoner "Four" by Seattle Jazz Duo Bad Luck
Bad Luck, "Four" (Origin). Seattle duo Bad Luck—saxophonist/loop manipulator Neil Welch and drummer Chris Icasiano—have been making jazz fiery again over the last few years. They generate a lot of heat and fury for two people, and their live performances have been whirlwinds of inventive energy and technical mastery—chaos harnessed to... read more
Andrew Rathbun Large Ensemble - The Atwood Suites
by Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz
4-STARS The marriage between jazz and poetry is having a true moment in the present artistic sphere. The two have long mixed and mingled, oft proving sympathetic and symbiotic in their multidirectional moves, unique cadences, and improvisational capacities. But never before has the connection been so strong and centralized. With drummer Matt Wilson's triumphant encounter with the work of Carl Sandburg, soprano saxophonist Jane Ira... read more
John Bishop - Antwerp
by Kevin Bennett Goolsby, The New Jazz Train
John Bishop, Seattle-based drummer, educator, and owner of the Origin Records label has over four decades of performance and recording experience with appearances on more than 100 albums. He was inducted into the 'Seattle Jazz Hall of Fame' in 2008 and his latest project 'Antwerp' is Mr. Bishop's first album under his own name in 15 years.
The genesis of Mr. Bishop's latest project began with his first meeting with pianist Bram Weijters... read more
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