Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Ryan Shultz - Hair Dryers
by Hryar Attarian, Chicago Jazz Magazine
Bass trumpeter Ryan Shultz's debut as a leader, Hair Dryers, is an enjoyable look back at the jazz-fusion movement. A heavily electrified atmosphere envelops the songs that the group interprets with a deft balance of elegance and an organic vigor. Shultz, who penned most of the music, wields his instrument with remarkable agility and coaxes out of it a sinewy sound with an understated passion. The soulful title track, reminiscent of... read more
Thomas Marriott - Constraints & Liberations
by Bill Milkowski, JazzTimes
Seattle trumpeter-composer Thomas Marriott is joined by tenor saxophonist Hans Teuber, pianist Gary Versace, bassist Jeff Johnson and drummer John Bishop on this excellent release, his fifth for Origin. From the urgent free-leaning opener, "Diagram," which seems to use Miles Davis' "E.S.P." as a jumping off point, to the swinging title track, the moody meditative "Clues" and the atmospheric rubato closer, "Treadstone 71." Marriott and company... read more
Laurie Antonioli and Richie Beirach - Varuna
by Thomas Cunniffe, Jazz History Online
Varuna is a dwarf planet located near Pluto, and although it was only discovered about fifteen years ago, it has already become the subject of an original song by vocalist Laurie Antonioli and pianist Richie Beirach. The lyrics touch upon the mythological and astronomical meanings of both the planet and its namesake, and the song's mystical, out-of-time setting is a perfect opener for the second duet album by Antonioli and Beirach. "Varuna" (the... read more
Benny Powell - Nextep
by Jeff Krow, Audiophile Audition
Steppin' out with Benny Powell.
Seventy-eight-year-old trombone master Benny Powell has had an extensive career, playing in the big bands of Lionel Hampton and Count Basie. He played in the Basie band for many years, and was prominently featured in Randy Weston's African Rhythms group. Criminally under-recorded as a leader, Powell has only had three recording sessions as a group leader. His first two albums were for minor labels in... read more
Milan Verbist Trio - Time Change
by Dee Dee McNeil, Making A Scene
This lovely album opens with a rubato piano introduction to the title tune. There is a tenderness to the touch of Milan Verbist on the piano keys. The title song is soothing to the ear and to the heart. It's an original composition by Verbist, reflecting a period of time around the transition from winter to summer. It also pinpoints when this album was recorded. After a while, Toon Rumen enters with an improvised double bass solo, while Jens... read more
John Stowell - Solitary Tales
by Brian Whistler, Audiophile Audition
That Stowell has never stopped growing is amply apparent on this latest release.
John Stowell is an Oregon-based jazz guitarist who has been on the scene since the mid 1970s. I first encountered his music while he was touring the west coast back in the 70s in a duo with bassist Dave Friesen. Freisen's visceral, earthy approach to the bass was the perfect counterpoint to Stowell's heady jazz conceptions, which together produced a... read more
David Friesen - My Faith, My Life
by Doug Ramsey, Rifftides
Friesen's virtuosity brought him to prominence as a bassist nearly fifty years ago. He has remained one of the instrument's most adventurous players through a career including associations with Duke Jordan, Marian McPartland, John Handy, Denny Zeitlin, Paul Horn and other major jazz artists. This two-CD album presents him on the first disc playing his compositions on the Homage bass, an instrument he developed. On some tracks in that CD he... read more
Jay Thomas with the Oliver Groenewald Newnet - I Always Knew
by George W. Harris, Jazz Weekly
Jay Thomas plays trumpet and flugelhorn as well as alto, tenor and soprano sax for tribute to blue pastels from masters ranging from Duke Ellington to Chick Corea. Fellow brass man Oliver Groenewald does most of the charts for the team that also boasts Brad Allison/tp-fh, Dan Marcus/tb, travis Ranney/as-fl-cl, Greg Sinabaldi/bs-bcl, John Hansen/p, Michael Glynn/b and Adam Kessler/dr. The moods and textures are highly in debt to Gil Evans, with... read more
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