Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Doug Lofstrom with Misha Rachlevsky & the Russian String Orchestra - Music for Strings
by George W Harris, Jazz Weekly
Music composed by Doug Lofstrom is deliciously performed by the Russian String Orchestra, conducted by Misha Rachlevsky on this rich collection of original and fresh classical works. There are four major pieces, all of which brim over with musicality and grace. A three piece "Music For Strings" includes rich Britten-esque lilts, rich pizzicato'd swayings and a dramatic climax. "Concerto For String Orchestra" as gentle pleadings as well as... read more
Mattias Svensson - Embrace
by Thierry De Clemensat, Paris-Move
5 STARS
Embracing the Present: Mattias Svensson's Quiet Authority in Modern European Jazz
In an era when jazz often oscillates between nostalgic revival and restless experimentation, Embrace arrives as a quietly confident statement, an album that neither looks backward nor feels compelled to shout its modernity. It speaks instead with assurance, depth, and patience. When the name Mattias Svensson appears on the... read more
Clay Giberson - Minga Minga
by Rotcod Zzaj, Improvijazzation
It's difficult to pull off solo piano when the genre/content is jazz/blues based, but Portland, Oregon pianist Clay is able to do that without a hitch. Songs like the opener, "Little Bird", will give your ears a clear image of just how intimate/bluesy his keyboards can be. It's all about the birth of his daughter, and will be a gift to her that will last forever. I particularly enjoyed pieces like "Burst", which isn't (at all) what the title... read more
Margo Rey - The Roots of Rey | Despacito Margo
by Ediitor, Jazziz
The seductive arrangements of multi-Grammy-winning Latin-jazz arranger Oscar Hernandez and eight-time Billboard-charting singer-songwriter Margo Rey are undeniably beautiful. The Roots of Rey is an intimate, well-timed album comprised of 13 tunes from the Latin and American songbooks, re-imagined for contemporary times.
Take Rey's version of "Angel Eyes," which receives a sultry update courtesy of a gyrating clave-based rhythm and some... read more
Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra - The Endless Search
by Adam Greenberg, All Music Guide
After a guest spot with the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra in 2001, longtime sax player Jimmy Heath went back to work at Queens College. Letting a few years pass, the SRJO came back with a commission -- an attempt to create new music for the older structured form of big-band jazz. The result was a three-part tour de force of harmony that manages to showcase the formidable horns of Seattle individually without simply resorting to solos. This is... read more
Bobby Broom - Song And Dance
by Ron Netsky, Rochester City Newspaper
Over the last three decades Bobby Broom has played with the giants, including a long stint with Sonny Rollins and a short one with Miles Davis. But there's more room to showcase his mastery of the jazz guitar on trio albums like Song and Dance. Broom's technique, reminiscent of Grant Green and Wes Montgomery, is put to good use on an unusual mix of standards ("Smile" and "You And The Night And The Music"), recent pop tunes ("Where Is The Love"... read more
Joachim Mencel - Brooklyn Eye
by Piotr Iwicki, Brullion 24 (Warsaw)
The essence of art is to find your own language as a creator. Talk to the recipient with new things, do not bore him with variations "on a theme", force him to reflect, focus attention.
This is the case with the new album by Joachim Mencel, recorded with American jazzmen from the proverbial TOP. Steve Cardenas, Scott Colley and Rudy Royston are the elite of the New York scene, and our pianist shines against the background of what they do.... read more
Geof Bradfield - Our Roots
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
4 1/2 STARS Discussing "roots" in the context of jazz, a good starting point is the Mississippi delta, down in New Orleans, where the music of trumpeters King Oliver and Louis Armstrong grew strong. And then there's the rich earth of the delta in north western Mississippi, up near Clarksdale, where the blues grew and blossomed. The roots from both these areas were, of course, transplanted from Africa.
Chicago-based... read more
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