Origin Records Reviews

The Acoustic Jazz Quartet - Organic
by C. Michael Bailey, All About Jazz

"Organic Unity" the approximate center point of the Acoustic Jazz Quartet's new recording Organic, fairly well sums up in an aural sense the constantly evolving vision of this fine West Coast quartet. This slightly Bossa piece shows exactly how far an already superb quartet has come since its previous release, Acoustic Jazz Quartet (Naxos Jazz 86033, 1999) and David Sill's previous offerings Journey Together (Naxos Jazz 86023, 1999) and Bigs... read more

Shawn Purcell - 180
by Bob Weinberg, Jazziz

Like so many jazz guitarists, Shawn Purcell was awed by the playing of Pat Martino, whose classic album El Hombre truly opened his ears to the possibilities of the guitar-organ trio. And certainly, Martino's influence echoes throughout 180 (Origin), the Washington, D.C.-based Purcell's most recent release. Teaming up with organ virtuoso Pat Bianchi and drum phenom Jason Tiemann, Purcell explores and updates the dynamics of the classic organ... read more

Abate Berihun & The Addis Ken Project - Addis Ken
by Hanna Kay, Cult News (Paris)

There is something of the sunrise in Addis Ken, of a horizon between the liturgical traditions of the Jews of Ethiopia, jazz, blues and African rhythms. A dialogue between Ethiopian saxophonist and singer Abate Berihun and the trio of Israeli pianist Roy Mor, Addis Ken tells as much a personal story as a collective adventure. Roy Mor looks back for us on this musical encounter where jazz becomes a bridge between cultures and a universal... read more

Andrew Rathbun Large Ensemble - The Atwood Suites
by Marc Myers, Jazz Wax

Setting poetry to music is nothing new. Setting Margaret Atwood's poetry to music is a different matter. Most people probably aren't even aware that novelist Margaret Atwood wrote poetry. She has. Toronto saxophonist and composer Andrew Rathbun has taken her We Are Hard on Each Other and Two Islands: Excerpt From Circle/Mud Poem and set the prose to music on the two-CD set Atwood Suites (Origin). But this isn't ordinary music. First, it's richly... read more

Benjamin Boone - The Poets Are Gathering
by Skip Heller, All About Jazz

BEST OF 2020 Saxophonist Benjamin Boone's The Poets Are Gathering (Origin) was maybe the most interesting new disc this year. Ever since Ken Nordine crossed swords with Chico Hamilton sideman Fred Katz to spawn the long-loved Word Jazz albums, the two disciplines have had mutual respect but an uneasy coexistence. Boone thrives on the uneasy, and here he is joined by eleven of the finest Central/Northern California poets for a... read more

Corey Christiansen - Dusk
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record

The guitar man takes a steep left turn here as he wraps up his jazzy Americana trilogy with original tunes that seem to take smooth/summer jazz into some dark corners where there's a jazzy impression of southern gothic lurking around the next turn. There's a solid little history of modern jazz here lurking in the twists and turns that gives it the extra special sauce that really brings it together. Sharp, original work that grabs the... read more

Purna Loka Ensemble - Metaraga
by Sumana Ramanan, FirstPost (India)

Geometry Sings the Blues in Indian-American Mathematician's Radical New Music System - CURVED PHRASES from Indian ragas melt into languorous blues microtones. The strains of music born on the American South's slave plantations mutate into the more angular notes and layered melodies of the Western classical genre. The different sounds weave in and out of one another, creating a shifting and arresting aural landscape that feels at once both... read more

Amit Friedman - Sunrise
by Yotam Ziv, Columbus Music Magazine (Israel)

BEST ISRAELI JAZZ OF THE DECADE The "sunrise" of composer and saxophonist Amit Friedman came after quite a few years when he played as a sideman with many good musicians. Friedman defines himself as an autodidact. Although he studied jazz at Thelma Yellin and took individual lessons here and there, he paved the way for himself. This is probably why his music is so accessible and pleasant to listen to, but not at the expense of depth and... read more

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