Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
John Moulder - Trinity
by Adam Greenburg, All Music Guide
In some ways in a similar vein as Duke Ellington's Sacred Music, John Moulder here creates a set of his own inspirational jazz. The performances are exquisite, with sensitive performances on all instruments. The mood is contemplative, meditative, as one would probably expect. Moulder's guitar strums out only what it needs to, with Laurence Hobgood's piano in tandem. Others often take on the temporary role of lead, with a soft run on the trumpet... read more
The Spin Quartet - In Circles
by Don Lerman, Cadence
The Spin Quartet consists of top-notch musicians who carve out an interesting group identity. The absence of a piano or guitar from the instrumentation of two horns, bass, and drums gives clarity and an open quality to the music, aided by the fine writing from mostly band members.
Trumpeter/flugelhornist Chad McCullough wrote five of the pieces, with the subdued "Oranges Are Supposed to be Orange" and bright-eyed "Haberdasher" among his... read more
Storms/Nocturnes - VIA
by John Kelman, All About Jazz.com
Virtuosity can, when it's the raison d'�tre, be an impediment; when it's a foundation, in service of the music, it can be liberating. Storms/Nocturnes was initially the brainchild of Tim Garland but, after first convening as a subset of the sextet on the closing track to the British saxophonist/composer's Made By Walking (Stretch, 2000), ultimately evolved into a more egalitarian working trio. Both Storms/Nocturnes (Sirocco, 2001) and... read more
Hadley Caliman - Straight Ahead
by David Franklin, Cadence
Hadley Caliman recorded with the likes of Gerald Wilson, Don Ellis, and Mongo Santamaria in the 1960s and with such folks as Hampton Hawes, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, and a raft of other Jazz and Pop stars, as well as his own groups, in the ?70s. But the 78-year-old tenorist did not make another record until his return to the studio for a CD under his own name in late 2007. Gratitude was well-received with Straight Ahead... read more
Gabriel Espinosa - The Brazilian Project
by George W. Harris, Jazz Weekly
Composer and bassist Gabriel Espinosa gives a salute to the music of Brazil with a collection of his material that takes on the halcyon days of bossa nova and bring them up to date. He mixes and matches with a collection musicians in Roger Rocha/as-ss-fl, Josue Lopez/ts-fl, Daniel Freire/bars, Bruno Santos/fh, Rafael Rocha-Joabe Reis/tb, Andre Lopez-Felipe Silveira-Eduardo Farias/p, Giovani Malini/g, Hugo Maciel/eg Renato Rocha-Rafael Barata/dr... read more
Piet Verbist Zygomatik - Cattitude
by Frank Huser, Jazzflits (Netherlands)
What is it that bassist Piet Verbist has with the cheekbone? In Latin "zygomaticum." The shape of the cheekbone has to do with the sight of the face, unlike for example the tibia which is much more uniform than the cheekbone. The word in the name of this quintet intrigues and makes you look for an explanation, that might follow when you listen to the music on "Cattitude," which is multiform. In eight compositions, Piet Verbist creates a... read more
Alison Ruble - This Is A Bird
by JACK WALTON, South Bend Tribune
On her debut album, "This Is a Bird," jazz vocalist Alison Ruble creates an atmosphere where nostalgia and innovation go hand-in-hand.
Even the artwork and album title reflect this. Ruble discovered a box of old letters that her mother and grandmother had written to each other, and snippets of the women's handwriting appear on the cover and in the CD booklet.
"I'm somewhat of a nostalgic person," Ruble says on her cell phone while... read more
Benjamin Boone | Philip Levine - The Poetry of Jazz
by Britt Robson, JazzTimes
It has been a banner time for high-profile jazz-poetry collaborations. Last year saw the release of Matt Wilson's long-planned tribute to Carl Sandburg, Nicole Mitchell's teaming with Haki Madhubuti and Jane Ira Bloom's musical refractions of Emily Dickinson's terse verse, among other projects. But now there is The Poetry of Jazz, providing us with the revelatory phenomenon of the wordsmith being the heppest musical cat on the scene.
Philip... read more
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