Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Marlene Rosenberg - Bassprint
by John Corbett, Downbeat
"****" 4-STARS
A stalwart member of the Chicago scene, Marlene Rosenberg has made infrequent trips to the studio as a leader. Bassprint is her first CD in a decade, but it's well worth waiting for, and perhaps it shows the value of patience and persistence. Rosenberg is assured at the helm, nothing to prove, no chip on her shoulder.
Aside from two tasty tunes by Kenny Barron, all the music is original, showing the... read more
Don Lanphere with New Stories - Home At Last
by Ben Ohmart, Muses Muse
This cd is getting hot in my computer drive. It's been spinning for the last five hours. That's because this is the sort of jazz that was made for minds like mine. First off, it's over an hour in length, and the long 10 tracks spin with a constant, but smooth buzz that speaks always at night. But more importantly, the mindset of contemporary, straight forward, mainstream jazz is ever present. None of this artistic, ground breaking trial by... read more
Rich Thompson - Less Is More
by John Barron, The Jazz Word
Drummer Rich Thompson is the driving force behind this propulsive quartet recording that features a choice selection of tunes and exceptional soloists. Trumpeter Terell Stafford adds an element of fire to Kenny Dorham's "Lotus Blossom" and eloquence to the ballad "It's Easy to Remember." Doug Stone's tenor saxophone replaces Stafford on a couple of tracks. His soloing is characterized by warmth and a free-flowing approach to phrasing,... read more
Bobby Broom - Upper West Side Story
by Richard Scheinin, San Jose Mercury News
Best 20 jazz albums (so far) of 2012
Bobby Broom: Upper West Side Story (Origin). This is a super-good CD from Broom, one of the most unpretentious (and best) jazz guitarists. He plays as if he's playing for his life: Nothing "clever" about it, though if you were to analyze his solos, they probably would turn out to be way more advanced than those of the clever guys. Broom -- who played for years with Sonny Rollins --... read more
Milan Verbist Trio - Time Change
by Ferdinand Dupuis-Panther, BelgienInfo (Belgisch-Deutsches Netzwerk)
Carried and with "Nordic heaviness" - one thinks of composers such as Grieg and Sibelius - the trio around pianist Milan Verbist opens the current album. Listening to the melodic lines and harmonies, you might think that a wintry night in Scandinavia is being musically sketched, as if the Nordic winter is coming to life, in which in some places the sun shines only rarely or not at all. "Time Change" is the title of the piece. Truly, the... read more
Tom Collier - Plays Haydn, Mozart, Telemann and others
by C. Michael Bailey, All About Jazz
Tom Collier is a bit of a character as, can be attested by the YouTube videos below. He has served as Director of Percussion Studies at the University of Washington since 1980. In 2011, he was appointed Chair of Jazz Studies at the school, and was awarded the Adelaide D. Currie Cole Endowed Professorship in the School of Music for the academic years 2011-2014. He is, indeed, having a good year. His last recording, Mallett Fantasique (Origin... read more
Jim Knapp Orchestra - It's Not Business, It's Personal
by George W Harris, Jazz Weekly
Modern big band orchestral charts inspired by Gil Evans are delivered on this album by composer/arranger and conductor Jim Knapp and his 13 member ensemble. The textures created the horns sections are quite impressive, floating around John Hansen's piano on "Modal Horizon" with the flutes creating cirrus clouds of sound on "Miami Vince" and framing Jeff Hay's trombone on"Gray Skies". Drummer Matt Jorgensen rumbles under Mark Taylor/as, Vern... read more
Laurie Antonioli - Songs of Shadow, Songs of Light
by Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz
The concept of a jazz-informed program of Joni Mitchell tunes isn't exactly novel anymore. Herbie Hancock's high profile River: The Joni Letters (Verve, 2007) took home two Grammy Awards; vocalist Tierney Sutton got some well-deserved attention when she put her own spin on Mitchell's work with After Blue (BFM, 2013); somewhat under-the-radar releases from artists like David Lahm and Rachel Z have made something of an impact on a... read more
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