Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Dudley Owens | Aaron Immanuel Wright - People Calling
by Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader
On the terrific new People Calling (Origin), this Chicago-New York four-piece taps into the "spiritual jazz" feel of John Coltrane's classic quartet, even chanting the words of the title track, a la "A Love Supreme." The new recording is a big leap forward for Chicago saxophonist Dudley Owens, whose 2009 debut album, Just the Beginning, tried to show off his entire range and ended up diluting his strengths. He's now impressively focused:... read more
Joe Locke - Subtle Disguise
by Nigel Jarrett, Jazz Journal (London)
It's astonishing to reflect that this super album by vibraphonist Joe Locke is his 36th as a leader. There's nothing about it to dislike, unless it's the fastidiousness that for some might make the arrangements of his tunes feel too neat and its solo eruptions too contained. But that's a reflection of his role as composer - there are just two others represented here: Bob Dylan and Blind Willie Johnson - and compared with many less orderly... read more
John Stowell | Michael Zilber - Shot Through With Beauty
by John Barron, The Jazz Word
Like minds converge on Shot Through With Beauty, a quartet release co-led by guitarist John Stowell and saxophonist Michael Zilber, two stalwarts of West Coast progressive jazz. Joined by bassist John Shifflett and drummer Jason Lewis, who each contribute a composition to the session, the group achieves collaborative serenity through ten tracks of original material and modern-jazz gems from the likes of Kenny Wheeler and... read more
Jared Hall - Influences
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect
The trumpet wizard Jared Hall tips his hat to those who influenced him for 8 originals and a Gigi Gryce cover, where Tal Cohen, Michael Glynn and John Bishop are all in attendance.
"Songs For Shaw" opens the listen with Hall's swift horn that's complemented by Cohen's frisky keys, and "Dear Roy" follows with a calm, emotive spirit, as Bishop's subdued drums help create much elegance.
In the middle, "One For Wallace" is a rich and... read more
John Moulder - Bifrost
by Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune
The Green Mill Jazz Club doesn't usually fall to a hush on a rowdy Friday night, but it did as midnight approached.
With guitarist John Moulder leading an inspired quintet, the music-making often achieved a quiet serenity, bringing a capacity audience to a whisper. There's simply no way to converse when music of such profundity and grace is unfolding.
Moulder has been a leading figure in Chicago jazz for a couple of decades, largely thanks... read more
Charlie Ballantine - East by Midwest
by Editor, Bman's Blues Report
I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, East By Midwest, by Charlie Ballantine and it's great! Opening with Storyteller, a lush, instrumental ballad, Charlie Ballantine on guitar crafts a beautiful melody, saturated with reverb and tone. Joined by Quinn Sternberg who's bass work is active and Dan Weiss on drums who keeps it light but effective makes for a brilliant opener. Monk's, Trinkle Tinkle, has real forward thrust... read more
Alon Farber Hagiga with Dave Douglas - The Magician: Live in Jerusalem
by Stephen Graham, Marlbank (UK)
There's the familiar and the less familiar here - the familiar certainly for Dave Douglas fans the presence of the trumpeter's 'Spring Ahead,' which was on the Stargazer album back in the 1990s, and 'Persistence of Memory' recorded in such settings as 2009 big band album A Single Sky. The other tunes, less familiar but in keeping with what Douglas provides are the progressively edgy hard bop tunes that Israeli saxophonist Alon Farber... read more
Steve Million - Remembering The Way Home
by Doug Simpson, Audiophile Audition
Pianist Steve Million has been connected to the Chicago jazz scene for twenty years and started issuing albums in the mid-90s, but Remembering the Way Home is Million's first solo piano venture. Although Million has worked in different settings, including a Monk tribute band, Remembering the Way Home finds Million returning to his classical roots, performing a dozen pieces firmly fixed in a third stream classical/jazz vein.
Most of the music... read more
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