Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Mimi Fox - Standards, Old & New
by Lee Hildebrand, East Bay Express
Playing solo jazz guitar ain't easy. Unlike piano, on which an unaccompanied musician can do bass lines and/or chords with the left hand and melodies with the right, solo guitar affords few such possibilities, unless the picker uses the tapping technique associated with Mimi Fox's friend Stanley Jordan. On her third solo album out of nine releases, Fox employs the traditional method of fretting with her left and picking with her right as she... read more
Gwendolyn Dease - Beguiled
by Dick Metcalf, Improvijazzation Nation
For some reason, marimba doesn't come across as something I think about a lot in the jazz arena... but in Gwendolyn's talented hands, you'll be amazed at the deep and rich textures she's able to paint on tunes like the opener, "Beija-flor", (penned by jazz bassist Rufus Reid)... one of the reasons (I believe) why this is so aurally attractive is because she takes a lot of time to develop the tune (it pegs in at 9:03). "G.W.G.E.", on the other... read more
Randy Halberstadt - Parallel Tracks
by John Sunier, Audiophile Audition
Recorded in Seattle, this album from one of the outstanding jazz pianists of the Pacific Northwest brings us a notable lineup of composers - Artie Shaw, Branislav Kaper, Ray Noble, Bill Evans, Thelonious Monk, Cole Porter, Italian jazzman Enrico Pieranunzi, and would you believe Frederic Chopin? This is a trend seen on a number of jazz releases lately - one track on the album being a straight interpretation of a classical work; in this case... read more
Giacomo Gates - Centerpiece
by Owen McNally, Hartford Courant
Giacomo Gates, jazz troubadour, worldly wise and grand master of scat and Vocalese, is one of the jazz world's finest living exemplars of true grit.
At best, the male jazz vocalist is an endangered species, particularly now when the terrific female singers dominate the slim marketplace for jazz.
As shown by the dozen bright tracks on this disc, nothing... not even the gross injustice of never getting his due� can dim the exuberance, skill... read more
Marc Seales - People & Places
by George W Harris, Jazz Weekly
Nice and easy soul jazz in world view of Grover Washington Jr is laid out by Marc Seales, playing piano and keyboards and featuring the warm tenor sax of Ernie Watts alongside Bruce Lett/b and Moyes Lucas, Jr/dr. Seales goes does as easy as 25 year old Scottish Whiskey as he plays the keyboards on the dreamy "Rue Cler" and veers around Let on the stylish "Ascending Truth". He gives a nice piano workout on the rich aria of "Prelude" and is cool... 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
Marlene Rosenberg - MLK Convergence
by Matt Silver, WRTI, Philadelphia
Jazz Album of the Week: Bassist Marlene Rosenberg's MLK Convergence Captures Spirit of Protests
Inspired by the protest music of the '60s that helped dismantle the codified racism of that era, bassist Marlene Rosenberg's latest album, MLK Convergence, released almost exactly a year ago, presents a new catalogue of socially conscious compositions with the exigency of our current moment in mind, taking aim at the vestiges of... read more
Mamutrio - Primal Existence
by Hobart Taylor, KUCI - Irvine, CA
A funny thing about the trio form, whether it is a power trio in rock (The Police), Beethoven's piano trios, or the work of Bill Evans' trios, the perfect balance between figure and ground that comes to mind as you listen to ensemble and solo play intermittently to me just feels intimate and to the point.
This Belgian triad is spirited, precise in rhythmic attack led by drummer Jesse Dockx, supported by the full yet delicate bass playing... read more
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