Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Scott Hesse - The Stillness of Motion
by Robert Silverstein, MWE3.com
Seattle based Origin Records continues to refine and redefine the spirit of 21st century jazz with a number of releases that borders on prodigious. Among their many fine recent titles is The Stillness Of Motion by The Scott Hesse Trio. Chicago based Hesse has composed a range of instrumental trio tracks while receiving support from his trio mates, Clark Sommers (bass) and Makaya McCraven (drums). The sound of this CD is very improv based free... read more
Laurie Antonioli - The Constant Passage of time
by Ken Franckling, Ken Franckling's Jazz Notes
Singer Laurie Antonioli has a gem here, one that reveals the many facets of her musical talent. She's got perfect pitch, the ability to immerse herself into the band she works with (a musician whose instrument is her voice), and she's a superb lyricist. This long-time educator chairs the vocal program at the California Jazz Conservatory in Berkeley. Antonioli and her band-mates put fresh spins on a wide variety of source material including... read more
John Stowell - Resonance
by C. Michael Bailey, All About Jazz
Resonance, as manifested in the new recording of the same title by guitarist John Stowell, takes two guises. First, as a talented guitar player with an impressive resume, Stowell can be counted on, nee, expected to provide interesting and compelling performances of both his original and the jazz standard repertoire. This is certainly evident in his choice of recital items. Second, Stowell teams up with the modern guitar Stradivari, Mike Doolin,... read more
Upper Left Trio - Three
by Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
The Upper Left Trio is a tight piano-bass-drums trio whose interplay borders on the intuitive at times. Pianist Clay Giberson, bassist Jeff Leonard and drummer Charlie Doggett engage in the type of musical conversations that Bill Evans made famous in the 1960s even though they do not emulate Evans too closely. Their treatments of the group originals (the only standards are "The In Crowd" and Neil Young's "Don't Let It Bring You Down") are... read more
Brent Jensen with David Sills - Stay Cool
by Adam Greenburg, All Music Guide
This is an exploration of the cool jazz movement from some 50 years later. Brent Jensen studied for a time under Lee Konitz, and is here accompanied by three quarters of the Acoustic Jazz Quartet (the missing member being guitarist Jamie Findlay). Tenor sax accompaniment is provided by David Sills (a student of Gary Foster) and the songs tend toward the realm of Lennie Tristano (although staying piano-less in full cool jazz mode). The roots of... read more
Christopher Icasiano - Provinces
by Max Level, KFJC 89.7FM
Drums and keyboards-everything played by Icasiano, a mainstay of the Seattle free music scene. There are two "suites" here and within each suite the pieces tend to track together. Several of the tracks have repeating-in some cases one could say relentless-drum patterns, augmented with simple keyboard/synth melodies, drones, and sounds. Field recordings pop up occasionally, some of them including voices. I really enjoyed Track 3, a jagged... read more
Dan Cray - Meridies
by C. Michael Bailey, All About Jazz
There is nothing iconoclastic about pianist Dan Cray. He derives his piano style more from Tommy Flanagan and Hank Jones than Matthew Shipp or Ran Blake. He has been driving a trio through four previous recordings: Who Cares (Cray Sounds, 2001); No One (Blujazz productions, 2003); Save Us! (Blujazz productions, 2005); and Over Here Over Heard (Crawdad, 2008). Cray has also provided movie music for actor Michael Keaton's The Merry Gentleman... read more
Benny Powell - Nextep
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz.com
If Benny Powell doesn't sound familiar, he should be. He's recorded memorable work with Count Basie (a classic solo on "April in Paris") and on pianist Randy Weston's African Sunrise (Polygram Records, 1992). He's also been heard in countless recordings with Frank Sinatra, Duke Ellington, Joe Henderson, Sarah Vaughn and as part of Merv Griffin's TV show band. Certainly, Benny Powell is a versatile veteran jazz man.
On Nextep, Powell assembles... read more
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