Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Doug Scarborough - The Color of Angels
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect
The always impressive Doug Scarborough returns with a new batch of jazz tunes, and he's got Akram Abdulfattah, Jeremy Siskind, Damian Erskine, Mustafa Boztuy and Reinhardt Melz along for the ride.
The title track opens the listen with swift keys from Siskind, as Scarborough's bright brass and Melz's frisky drumming guide the timeless jazz climate, and "Limitless" follows with a soulful approach where Abdulfattah's precise violin adds much to... read more
Matt Otto - Red
by Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
A fluent tenor saxophonist with a cool tone and a relaxed style, Matt Otto is able to glide over the most complex chord changes gracefully. For this pianoless quartet set with guitarist Greg Touhey, Otto creates cool jazz of the 21st century. The music is mostly quiet with its heat being just below the surface. Even "Class Struggle," which is essentially "Giant Steps," features Otto's playing making it sound simple and laid-back. This subtle... read more
Doug Lofstrom - Concertino: The Music Of Doug Lofstrom
by Laurence Vittes, Gramaphone
Chicago composer Doug Lofstrom has coupled first recordings of two modestly appealing orchestral concertinos for oboe and harp with an archival reprise of his Plumed Serpent studio fantasy from 30 years ago. There isn't much in either Concertino that hasn't been heard before - Richard Strauss and Hollywood musicals come to mind, though more svelte, brought up to date and internationalized - but they are both beautifully written for the... read more
Dominic J. Marshall - Spirit Speech
by C. Michael Bailey, All About Jazz
Did you hear the one about the English pianist, living in Amsterdam, blending a cornucopia of popular music styles under the banner of jazz. Well, that would be Dominic J Marshall, leading his trio of bassist Tobias Nijboer and drummer Jamie Peet through his sequel to 2012's Icaros (F-ire Records), Spirit Speech. Nijboer is a holdover from Icaros, providing Marshall with a rhythmic continuity present in both recordings.... read more
David Friesen - Day of Rest
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
The bass man makes a solo piano set on a Ravenscroft piano where all the tracks are solo miniatures that seem improvised but probably have a ton of composition behind them. It's just that he makes it all look and sound so easy. You try and duplicate it! Call it a throw back to new age piano solo if you need to but it really is instrumental music that exists on a plane all of it's own. Well done by a real... read more
Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra - Sacred Music of Duke Ellington
by Andrew Lindemann Malone, Jazz Times 2006
Before this review delves into the overarching aesthetic issues which we critics so like to concern ourselves, I should note that the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra's two-CD compilation of pieces from Duke Ellington's three Sacred Concerts provides solid performances of mostly remarkable music. The Oregon Repertory Singers sound especially good under their conductor, Gil Seeley, delivering an exquisite textured account of Duke's a capella... read more
John Bishop - Nothing If Not Something
by David Dupont, Cadence
One of my favorite musical lineups is the saxophone-bass-drums trio. It's ideal for open ended musical exploration. It's highly democratic with all the instruments having an equal share in the ensembles, though inevitably the saxophone gets most of the solo space. Yet without a chordal instrument to lock things in, those solos tend to have a conversational quality. And the Seattle based trio of drummer John Bishop, alto saxophonist Rick Mandyck,... read more
Anthony Branker and Word Play - Uppity
by Robert Ratajczak, LongPlay | RadioJAZZ.FM 35, Poland
Composer, conductor and director of the University Jazz [Program] in Princeton, Anthony Branker has created an excellent musical project by engaging with the leaders of American jazz; musicians: saxophonist Ralph Bowen, trombonist Andy Hunter, Eli Asher trumpeter, pianist Jim Ridl and drummer Donald Edwards.
The album opens with the funky rhythm maintained in ?Let's Conversate!? in which the saxophone and trombone lead the title conversation... read more
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