Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Clarence Penn - Monk: The Lost Files
by Tim Wilkins, WBGO - New York
No, Monk: The Lost Files isn't a master tape drummer Clarence Penn found stuck behind the stacks at the Library of Congress. But the story is just as good.
The way Clarence tells it, a glass of wine at his son's second birthday party led to a computer dysfunction that ate some tape he desperately wanted to keep. Penn had recorded a rhythmic reimagining of Monk tunes, as an experiment with his Penn Station colleagues Chad... read more
Marcos Varela - San Ygnacio
by Bob Protzman, Downbeat Magazine
***1/2
If you were a young bassist-composer releasing your album debut as a leader, you'd want Ron Carter writing your liner notes.
Such was the case for Marcos Varela, whose San Ygnacio unites eight of the finest musicians in New York for an admirable 11-track program. Varela is keenly aware of the significance and influence of Carter, but the young bassist should certainly be commended for the smart choices he makes on this... read more
Laurie Antonioli and Richie Beirach - Varuna
by Andrew Gilbert, Daily Democrat News (Sacramento)
Best of 2015: Bay Area Jazz - Laurie Antonioli leads one of the better bands in the Bay Area, but for her gorgeous album "Varuna" (Origin), she reunites with the great American pianist Richie Beirach (who's been based in Germany since 2000). They're joined by bassist Pepe Berns on four of the album's 13 tracks, but working as a duo they spin gossamer spells out of standards like "Summer Night," the bossa nova "Gentle Rain" and... read more
Amit Friedman - Unconditional Love
by Burak Sulunbaz, Cazkolik (Istanbul)
The future of Middle Eastern jazz: Unconditional Love by Amit Friedman, one of the most creative musicians of Israeli jazz, was released on May 7, from Origin Records. Friedman has produced a world music in which we can hear the elements of American jazz, beyond the traditional sound palette of Middle Eastern jazz from that he came from. At the age of 14, Friedman went to New York to visit the Blue Note Jazz Club with his... read more
Brad Wheeler - The Future Was Yesterday
by Nathan Holaway, Jazz Review
Brad Wheeler better have a huge appetite because the world is definitely his oyster. Not only is Wheeler an ace saxophonist, but a great contemporary and progressive composer. He is one of the shining voices for the future, who is insurmountably steeped in the traditions of the past. The listener can hear faint echoes of Coltrane and Shorter, as well as contemporary traces to Brecker, Liebman, and even Steve Lacy.
Wheeler's backing band is... read more
Mark Taylor - Spectre
by Andrew Gilbert, Seattle Times
By taking his time and letting his music develop at its own pace, Mark Taylor has become one of the essential players on the Seattle jazz scene.
While steadily pursuing his own musical vision, the alto saxophonist has toiled fruitfully as a sideman, contributing to more than half a dozen excellent ensembles. From long-running institutions like the Jim Knapp Orchestra (which plays the first Monday of every month at the Seattle Drum School) to... read more
Deep Blue Organ Trio - Wonderful!
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
Chicago's Deep Blue Organ Trio mines one of popular soul artist Stevie Wonder's most fertile creative periods?the late sixties through the early seventies?on Wonderful!. The organ trio format is known for its unvarnished soulfulness, and the group's reverent treatment of these familiar hits gives a breezy lift to Wonder's always engaging and ebullient melodies.
Before about 1960 there was rhythm and blues in the record bins, which meant music... read more
Dee Daniels - Jazzinit
by John Stevenson, JazzReview.com
Every now and then, the art and craft of jazz gets a kick up its rear end. Put more politely, it is updated from time to time.
A small number of jazz instrumentalists and vocalists do this by planting melodic flags on altogether higher harmonic peaks. With Bebop, for example, Charlie Parker and John Birks Gillespie upended swing's sway with dizzying feats of individual improvisation; Ella Fitzgerald single-handedly transformed the role of the... read more
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