Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Pharez Whitted - For the People
by Ed Kopp, JazzIz Magazine
Anyone who believes that mainstream jazz is growing less and less accessible should check out this aptly titled release from trumpeter Pharez Whitted. For the People is a catchy collection, but it's no pop-jazz trifle. Performing hard-bop originals marked by soulful melodies and bluesy grooves, Whitted's sextet demonstrates that accessible jazz need not be formulaic.
After 14 years teaching jazz at the collegiate level--he's... read more
Xavier Lecouturier - Carrier
by George W. Harris, Jazz Weekly
Drummer Xavier Lecouturier features guitarist Lucas Winter in an excellent light along with his band of Ben Feldman/b, Gus Carns/p, Santosh Sharma/ts-EWI and guest Thomas Marriott/tp on an album of originals. Tunes like the spacious and pulsating "Aube" features Winter's warm strings along with rich tenor sounds while Sharma's switch to EWI creates a nice fusiony "Guitar Hero" for Winter's electric warrior of a solo. Lecouturier gives hip... read more
Bobby Broom - My Shining Hour
by George W. Harris, Jazz Weekly
Few guitarists these days possess an identifiable tone; Bobby Broom's one of the guys who does. He's been a perfect foil for tenor guys like Stanley Turrentine and Sonny Rollins, as his #2 pencil thin tone mixed with a duster of a strum is like a signature from a fountain pen.
Most of the standards here are taken at a joyful and midtempo lilt, making "My Ideal" more wistful than longing and "My Shining Hour" brimming with hope.... read more
Scott Reeves Jazz Orchestra - Without a Trace
by Nigel Waddington, London Jazz News
New York Big Band leader and composer Scott Reeves is someone whose music I wish I'd discovered sooner. His new release, Without A Trace, contains originals and standards, colourfully orchestrated and recorded with an intimate, club-like ambience.
These pieces really are "composed", and what a difference it makes. They are led by the line, so there is always a feeling of forward travel. No fewer than 12 soloists offer their artistry,... read more
Benjamin Boone - Caught in the Rhythm
by Dr. Debra Jan Bibel, Amazon
Benjamin Boone continues his lauded project of uniting poetry with jazz. After the two volumes of The Poetry of Jazz, featuring the poems and narration of Laureate Philip Levine, followed by A Gathering of Poets, 11 narrating their own often dark and angry social commentary, he presents his most interesting, expansive, and musical combinations that Boone himself regards as his best. Again, no text of the poems are provided, forcing the listener... read more
Dan McCarthy - City Abstract
by Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz
4-STARS The concept of homecoming is inextricably linked to the music that Dan McCarthy presents on City Abstract. Recorded in May of 2019, shortly after he had returned to his native Toronto after fifteen years in New York, this date finds the vibraphonist bowing to two of his biggest influences: pianist Carla Bley and vibraphonist Gary Burton. Those lodestars provide solid inspiration and clear direction for McCarthy, who works his way... read more
Diverse - Diverse
by examiner.com, examiner.com
Diverse, the eponymous album by Kansas City Jazz group Diverse, is a true success story, the rarest kind of success story, the kind that almost never develops to such a fruitful outcome. Most of the elements of it are fairly commonplace?all of the right pieces come together, a group of talented musicians meet at college, they begin working on their own original music, they enter a contest, grand prize is a recording contract?these things happen.... read more
Arthur Kell Speculation Quartet - Live at LunÀtico
by Chris Cooke, KIOS (Omaha)
A compelling, vibrant recording by bassist Arthur Kell and his Speculation Quartet, "Live at LunÀtico", is well worth your attention.
Arthur Kell (bassist, composer) is one of the most original voices on today's New York City jazz scene. Based in Brooklyn, New York. He has played with a stellar cross-section of the most influential jazz musicians for decades. On the new release he is joined by Nate Radley and Brad Shepik (guitars) plus Allan... read more
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