Origin Records Reviews



Meridian Odyssey - Earthshine
by George W Harris, Jazz Weekly

Post bop jazz bordering on Weather Report-styled fusion is delivered by the adroit team of Santosh Sharma/ts, Noah Halpern/tp, Dylan Hayes/p, Martin Budde/g, Ben Feldman/b and Xavier LEcouturier/dr on this collection of band-composed originals. The instrumentation is traditional, but the feel is quite eclectic, with some clever tones by Budde that is reminiscent of vintage Yes on "Searchlight" while there are some misty soundscapes produced by... read more

Ben Thomas Tango Project - Eternal Aporia
by Jane Kozhevnikova, All About Jazz

For some people, tango means the dance with a stereotypical red rose between the teeth. For Ben Thomas, a percussionist and bandoneonist from Seattle, tango is much more than that: it has been an important part of his life for at least fifteen years before the 2022 release of Eternal Aporia. The album includes twelve of his original compositions mixing tango with jazz and classical chamber music.

Joining Thomas on the album are Eric Likkel... read more

Anthony Branker & Imagine - What Place Can Be for Us?
by Michael Ambrosino, All About Jazz

Ma Rainey channeled music as her ritual of "singing to understand life." Congressman John Lewis leveraged music towards the "good trouble" he created fighting for civil rights in an uncivil land. Anthony Branker understands music as the calculus of his life's work—the art of weaving words and sound into transcendent tapestries that explore the rich, complex, and nuanced aspects of intolerance, beauty, prejudice, spirituality, gender, equality... read more

Richard Cole - Inner Mission
by Ric Bang, JazzScan.com

This is another release from the great musicians who have made the Pacific Northwest their home; only world-famous trumpeter Randy Brecker resides elsewhere. This Seattle-area congregation consists of more than a dozen musicians who perform in various quartets and quintets, depending on the track.

Brecker and Thomas Marriott handle the trumpet and flugelhorn; Richard Cole plays both tenor and soprano sax; and Bill Anschell and John Hansen... read more

Barry Greene - Giants
by Jack Bowers, All About Jazz

The Giants singled out by guitarist Barry Greene on his recording of that name include a number of musicians who served as role models and helped shape his singular musical voice. Pat Martino is one, as are Grant Green, Wes Montgomery, Russell Malone and Pat Metheny, each one a stepping-stone on Greene's upward path toward self-identity and mastery of his instrument of choice. Greene paid it forward by teaching for more than thirty years at the... read more

Dave Glenn - National Pastime
by Chris Van Hof, International Trombone Association Journal

Dave Glenn's 2009 release explores the intersection of two truly American creations: baseball and jazz. Glenn is clearly a gifted trombonist and composer, who after years of working in New York City now teaches jazz at Whitman College in Washington state. Those New York years saw him playing with Gerry Mulligan; Blood, Sweat, and Tears; and countless others. Fruitful musical collaborations resulted, too including the outstanding musicians... read more

Giacomo Gates - Centerpiece
by Joe Lang, New Jersey Jazz

Jazz vocalist and terminal hipster Giacomo Gates just keeps getting better and better with each recording. "Centerpiece" (Origin 82428) finds Gates backed by Harold Danko on piano, Ray Drummond on bass, Greg Bandy on drums, Vincent Herring on alto sax and Vic Juris on guitar. Gates has many assets, among them a rich and flexible voice, a natural sense of swing, the ability to scat musically and logically, and an attentiveness to lyrics that is... read more

Jeff Johnson - Tall Stranger
by John Barron, All About Jazz.com

Bassist Jeff Johnson has built a stellar reputation in jazz circles, having worked with pianists Hal Galper and Jessica Williams and appearing on over two-dozen recordings for the Seattle-based Origin Records. For his fourth release as a leader, Tall Stranger, the Seattle-based Johnson, along with saxophonist Hans Teuber and drummer Billy Mintz, delivers an intriguing set of stripped-down compositions, emphasizing a free-form approach to group... read more

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