Origin Records Reviews

Gregg Keplinger / Reuben Radding / Daniel Carter - Language
by Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

Alto saxophonist Daniel Carter is an avant-gardist who can also play thoughtfully and with logical development. On Language, he performs five group originals with bassist Reuben Radding and drummer Gregg Keplinger that are mostly free improvisations. The music starts at its most intense with "Speak Glow," evolves from being introspective to fiery on the nearly 20-minute title cut, is passionate on "Aphasia," and finds the group playing a... read more

Jeff Johnson - The Art of Falling
by Jon Davis, Expose

Bassist Jeff Johnson is one of the regulars in the Origin Records stable, and these two releases see him as leader, first of a trio with drummer Billy Mintz and reedman Hans Teuber, then with a quartet, adding pianist Randy Porter. Most of the selections on both are Johnson originals, with a few covers (Wayne Shorter, Henry Mancini, even Glenn Miller) thrown in. Johnson seems to favor a relatively free setting, using the composed tunes as... read more

Sam Yahel - Truth And Beauty
by Chris Robinson, Downbeat, September 2007

Truth And Beauty, Sam Yahel's fourth offering as a leader, finds the organist joined by Joshua Redman and Brian Blade, two of his closest collaborators. The trio is incredibly tight, which comes as no surprise given their time spent playing together in the Yaya3 collective. Redman plays superbly throughout; in Rollins-esque fashion, he builds several of his solos from a melodic fragments, developing it into a complete statement. Yahel... read more

Piet Verbist - Zygomatik
by Dave Sumner, emusic Review

An album that has all types of swagger and sway. Bassist Verbist creates a groove that is all about Serious Cool, yet undeniably thoughtful and even cerebral at times. Bram Weijters on the keys, which is a big bonus from a sideman standpoint. One of those albums that can appeal to modern jazz enthusiasts and old school jazz fans alike. Non-jazz reference: Fans of Morphine should take a listen to this. Highly... read more

Phil Kelly & The SW Santa Ana Winds - My Museum
by Ric Bang, The Davis Enterprise

Phil Kelly is a bit of an anachronism: a drummer who's also a prolific jazz composer and arranger.

He has written literally hundreds of charts for dozens of groups. His first CD for Origin - "Convergence Zone" with a Seattle-based band he calls the NW Prevailing Winds - was nominated for a 2004 Grammy Award. Having succeeded in the Pacific Northwest (Kelly lives in Bellingham, Washington), he decided to change locales for his next... read more

Carlos Vega - Art of the Messenger
by Jack Bowers, All About Jazz

4-STARS In case you didn't quite catch the "message" subtly embedded in the title of Chicago-based tenor saxophonist Carlos Vega's new recording, Art of the Messenger, here is a brief reminder that it was drummer Art Blakey who formed the Jazz Messengers in the mid-1950s and led the celebrated hard-bop ensemble until his death in 1990. The Messengers' roster of alumni reads like a Who's Who of Jazz Hall of Fame members.

With that in... read more

Randy Halberstadt - Flash Point
by Adam Greenberg, All Music Guide

Though the Origin label has a special knack for finding excellent bands led by drummers, they have also had considerable success discovering groups led by talented musicians who play other instruments. Pianist Randy Halberstadt is an excellent example of this. On his second album for the label, Halberstadt combines with a quartet of additional notables from the Seattle jazz scene for a surprisingly wide-ranging set. The album opens in a strong... read more

Josh Nelson - Exploring Mars
by Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz

4-STARS - Exploring Mars is fueled by a love of science fiction, intellectual inquisitiveness, and musical inventiveness of the highest order. Pianist Josh Nelson, initially inspired by the landing of the Curiosity rover on Mars in the summer of 2012, put together a project that's musically expansive and wholly unique: It's safe to say that he's the first person to tie together author Ray Bradbury's writings, original music that... read more

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