Human Spirit: Dialogue: Live at the Earshot Jazz Festival (2011 [2012], Origin): Seattle group, named for recent Thomas Marriott album -- Marriott plays trumpet, Mark Taylor alto sax, and Matt Jorgensen drums, each contributing tunes (Marriott 4 of 8, the others two each), but since that doesn't quite make for a modern postbop band, they added "special guets" Orrin Evans (piano) and Essiet Essiet (bass) -- Evans was an especially... read more
An ace guitarist that can play with the shimmering lines of Joshua Breakstone or Pat Martino covers songs even though he can write interesting stuff and calls in first call hands to lend a hand because it's obvious he cares. A solid, swinging date that sure to delight jazz guitar fans, everything you could want in a smoking performance is delivered here. Well done... read more
Trombonist Nick Finzer, 27, keenly recognizes the ebbs and flows of the jazz idiom. He appreciates its fluidity as pop music melds into the straightahead language of the jazz legacy. But he's taken a different road for revitalizing the heritage of jazz for the modern age.
"I don't want to abandon the tradition," said the tall and slender Finzer, who plays his instrument with a combination of fat-sound power and rich lyricism. "I want to... read more
In a career spanning nearly four decades, vibraphonist Joe Locke conquered a high-ranking place among the most versatile mallet men in jazz. On his latest album, Subtle Disguise, he is edgier than ever, presenting two covers and seven original compositions, which are elevated to a superior dimension by the presence of exceptional colorists such as saxophonist David Binney and guitarists Adam Rogers and Raul Midón.
The eloquent saxman makes... read more
Stowell and Scenes have five other releases on Origin, and they just get tighter as they work off the deep understanding of each other's creative process. Jeff Johnson is one of the most sensitive bassists around with an incredible understanding of lyricism and moving inside the psyche. Bishop, in addition to being one of the head honchos for Origin, appears on dozens of recordings and is an immaculate, sensitive percussionist who can read and... read more
Flutist and pianist Anne Drummond's third album as a leader, Revolving, is breezy, lyrical and quite enchanting. That's not to call it artistically lightweight or categorize it as easy listening. On the contrary, her pastel-colored compositions are like impressionistic paintings and sketcher depicting spaciousness with deceptively simple lines.
A vaguely mystical sensibility permeates the title track. Drummond's agile flute flutters over lush... read more
The voracious sweep of postmillennial jazz has plenty of exemplars but few truer than the trumpeter Cuong Vu. Over the last decade he has upheld a dreamlike sound informed by post-bop but just as rooted in noise pop, grunge and ambient minimalism. He has an invaluable partner in the bassist Stomu Takeishi, who shares his fluency with electronics and his fondness for immersive lyricism. Together with the smart young drummer Ted Poor they have... read more
Ma Rainey channeled music as her ritual of "singing to understand life." Congressman John Lewis leveraged music towards the "good trouble" he created fighting for civil rights in an uncivil land. Anthony Branker understands music as the calculus of his life's work—the art of weaving words and sound into transcendent tapestries that explore the rich, complex, and nuanced aspects of intolerance, beauty, prejudice, spirituality, gender, equality... read more
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.
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