Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Nnenna Freelon - Time Traveler
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
After a decade away, the hands down award winner is back with a set that refashions old tunes through the lens of the grief and loss she's gone through while she's been away from us. You want a sample? Dionne Warwick never took Bacharach/David to church like this! Especially on a signature song. A strong statement throughout about loss that doesn't hit the listener as a downer, this is a certified solid artist come roaring back to the top and... read more
Jeff Johnson - Free
by Dave Nathan, All Music Guide
Recorded live at the Old Town Ale House in Seattle, WA, Jeff Johnson and his cohorts have fashioned almost an hour's worth of artistic modern music expertly played by these Northwest jazz artists. The play list is well crafted and balanced with four originals by the trio and one each of a jazz and a classic standard. This CD is a set of six cerebral, intense performances that require a commitment on the part of the listener matching that of the... read more
Kelly Brand Nextet - The Door
by Charles Vecoli, Jazzreview
The Door is the latest effort from pianist, composer Kelly Brand and her Nextet. Once you put this disc on, you won't want to take it off. This is a disc that is full of listening pleasure. The composition is excellent, the arrangements are thick with melody and tempo, and the execution is superb. The listener is engaged from the first note until the sound of the creaking door at the end of the disc. The Door is a testament to Brand's talent for... read more
Joachim Mencel - Brooklyn Eye
by WOJCIECH PACUŁA, High Fidelity (Poland)
BEST RECORDING 2020 - High Fidelity Magazine (Poland)
Joachim Mencel - pianist, lyricist, composer, music producer, dr hab. - assistant professor at the Academy of Music in Krakow, decorated, among others The Silver Cross of Merit and the Bronze Medal for Merit to Culture - Gloria Artis, called the "romantic of Polish jazz pianism" - we read in the official biography available on the musician's website.
He graduated from the... read more
Geof Bradfield - Our Roots
by Michael Jackson, Downbeat
In each of his four CDs for Origin, the enlightened, musician-led label from Seattle, commencing with Urban Nomad in 2008, through African Flowers (2010), Melba (2013) and Our Roots (2015), Chicago-based Geof Bradfield has proven himself a blue chip saxophonist/arranger/composer and conceptualist. Further to that, Houston-born Bradfield has emerged as a witty and informative live presenter of his ambition projects.
Case in point was a... read more
Deep Blue Organ Trio - Wonderful!
by Brandon Bernstein, Just Jazz Guitar
Chicago based musicians Bobby Broom (guitar), Chris Foreman (organ), and Greg Rockingham (drums) pay tribute to legendary musician Stevie Wonder with their release Wonderful! The album, which was released in August 2011 on Origin Records, is guitar/organ trio at its best and pays homage to Stevie Wonder by doing jazz arrangements of nine of Wonder's compositions. The musicians carefully listened to Wonder's compositions, memorizing the words so... read more
R|E|D|S - Sign of Four
by Jerome Wilson, Cadence
Sign of Four is by a simpler quartet formation with guitar and baritone sax as the leads. Epstein plays a mobile and hard swinging baritone that brings Serge Chaloff to mind, especially in his ballad work. While Roupe has a thick, cushiony guitar sound reminiscent of Abercrombie or Coryell. The two of them really mix it p and dance on "Last Call" and "Space Acre." "Cambodia" is a swirling, Rock bossa nova "Tuca's Song" s a nice vehicle for... read more
Dave Slonaker Big Band - Shifty Paradigms
by John Ephland, DownBeat
This is big-band jazz, L.A.-style. Orchestrator, arranger and composer Dave Slonaker has now held this Grammy-nominated aggregate together for over 15 years. And it shows. Shifty Paradigms is his third for the label and a fun listen.
"Dash Can" and "Bye Bye Blues" kick things off with forward-charging charts and solos and include standard big band section work, some swing and not a little backbeat. "Blue Windows" cools things off with a... read more
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