Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
The Spin Quartet - In Circles
by Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader
Trumpeter Chad McCullough, the nominal leader of this gritty quartet, recorded their superb debut album, In Circles (Origin), in his old home of Seattle before settling here in Chicago (he now teaches at DePaul). But his powerful playing and no-nonsense compositions almost seem to telegraph his move to the Windy City. With performances built around the propulsive, deep grooves sculpted by bassist Clark Sommers and drummer Kobie Watkins,... read more
Dave Slonaker Big Band - Shifty Paradigms
by Dee Dee McNeil, Musical Memoirs
Years ago, you may have found a young Dave Slonaker hunched over books and piles of music sheets at Pittsburg's Carnegie Library, researching the nuts and bolts of how big band music is created. His fascination developed when he was just a teenager and has continued for decades.
Today, Slonaker heads a 15-year-old Grammy nominated ensemble and is a busy orchestrator, arranger and composer for film and television. This big band features some... read more
Jon Hamar - Idyl Wild
by George Fendel, Jazz Society of Oregon
The versatile bassist Jon Hamar has established himself as one of Seattle?s first call bass players over the last few years. For this rather unusual session, he leads a quartet with two saxophones, bass and drums. One of the saxmen, Rich Perry, has been a formidable presence in New York for quite a while. This session marks something of a detour for Perry, in that it is more in the free-avant garde camp than his prior mainstream orientation.... read more
speak - Speak
by Gwendolyn Elliott, City Arts
Seattle free jazz quintet Speak hasn't been around a while ? the group just formed in 2008 ? but that hasn't kept them from attracting attention. They're the newest signers to local jazz label Origin Records and have lined up gigs from clubs in New York to jazz festivals in Europe. Their six track debut of original compositions is a 45 minute progressive jazz art piece. Cuong Vu ? whose smooth, improvisational trumpet work has appeared... read more
Shawn Purcell - Oblivity
by Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move
4 1/2 STARS
For nearly two decades, guitarist and composer Shawn Purcell served in military music ensembles, an experience that almost certainly shaped his meticulous sense of orchestration and his instinct for placing instruments in the precise order and hierarchy needed to evoke a particular mood. In Purcell's hands, it is always about beauty and elegance: music that is at once intricate and painstakingly crafted, where the... read more
Dave Slonaker Big Band - Convergency
by Jack Bowers, All About Jazz
5-STARS While big-band albums generally differ, sometimes widely, in tone and temperament, there are definitive criteria by which every one may be evaluated—arrangements, performers, sound quality, sequencing and, above all, the elusive but imperative swing quotient. Dave Slonaker checks all those boxes and more on Convergency, a superlative successor to his excellent Grammy-nominated debut album, Intrada, released in 2013.
To... read more
John Stowell and Dave Liebman - Blue Rose
by Martin Z. Kasdan Jr., Louisville Music News
Guitarist John Stowell was a guest artist at several of the Bellarmine University Jazz Guitar Workshops and Concerts, and saxophonist (and more) Dave Liebman has appeared here many times over the years, at the University of Louisville and elsewhere. Together, they have crafted an elegant and warm album of duets featuring their interpretations of material from Duke Ellington (the lovely title track, "Blue Rose"), Wayne Shorter (the lilting and... read more
John Stowell & Dan Dean - Rain Painting
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
4-STARS Guitarist John Stowell has spent two decades recording for Seattle's Origin records, collaborating with artists such as saxophonists Dave Liebman and Michael Zilber, drummer John Bishop, bassist Jeff Johnson and guitarist Ulf Bandgren. His work with the band Scenes—with Bishop and Johnson, and (twice) saxophonist Rick Mandyck—is particularly noteworthy. Bassist Dan Dean—with a sparser discography than Stowell's—has made... read more
Looking for a specific review?
This is just a small collection of the Origin Records reviews. Click here to view all reviews or try to Search for your favorite CD title.
Search Reviews:
Recently Added Reviews:
Abate Berihun & The Addis Ken Project - Addis Ken
by Hanna Kay, Cult News (Paris)
Abate Berihun & The Addis Ken Project - Addis Ken
by Budapest, Rudolf Radnai
Abate Berihun & The Addis Ken Project - Addis Ken
by Editor, Bman's Blues Report
Jared Hall - Hometown
by Editor, Bman's Blues Report
Dawn Clement - Dear Ms. Dearie
by Editor, Bman's Blues Report
Jared Hall - Hometown
by Dee Dee McNeil, Making A Scene
Affinity Trio - New Outlook
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect
Michael Dease Big Band - Return Trajectory
by Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move
Brad Goode Quintet Feat. Ernie Watts - Live Your Dream: Live at North Street Cabaret
by Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move
Maja Jaku - Blessed & Bewitched
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect