Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
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
Paul Tynan - quARTet
by Wolfgang Giese, Musik an sich (Germany)
Today I introduce a record of a Canadian jazz musician, quartet of the trumpeter, flugelhorn and cornetist Paul Tynan. Yes, the word art (ART) is already in the title, and I can only underline it, because this music is great art! It should also be understood that one should consider this publication as a Gesamtkunstwerk. In addition to the four musicians, six different artists are presented in the booklet, in particular Jennifer Sandquist,... read more
Peter Erskine & The JAM Music Lab All-Stars - Vienna to Hollywood: Impressions of E.W. Korngold & Max Steiner
by Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move
When one receives an album from a jazz titan such as Peter Erskine, one cannot help but rejoice, knowing that Peter Erskine, like so many others of his caliber, has shaped the history of contemporary jazz through his collaborations with the best of the best: Maynard Ferguson, followed by his groundbreaking work with Jaco Pastorius in Weather Report, a group with which he recorded five albums. Later came collaborations with luminaries such as... read more
Hal Galper - E Pluribus Unum - Live in Seattle
by Ken Dryden, All Music Guide
Hal Galper's working trio with bassist Jeff Johnson and drummer John Bishop has broken free of the typical expectations of a piano trio. Recorded over two days at the 2009 Earshot Jazz Festival in Seattle, Galper challenges the crowd to join them in their explorations. The pianist's wonderfully abstract approach to the venerable standard "How Deep Is the Ocean" avoids stating the melody outright and doesn't allow the listener to get used to... read more
Hal Galper Trio - Airegin Revisited
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
Hal Galper's Airgen Revisited is exhilarating. The pianist has been working at his artistry for more than a half century, and he is moving surely into the "elder statesman of jazz" category, riding the furious wave of several distinctive and idiosyncratic trio recordings. Galper, like alto saxophonist Lee Konitz and pianist Martial Solal, has gone deeper into the music than seems possible, taking a great many standards and unleashing them,... read more
David Sills - Down The Line
by George Fendel, Jazz Scene
Hooray for David Sills for a few reasons. He opts for a tenor sound which is rich and righteous AND on this recording, he includes two of the world's greatest players in Alan Broadbent, piano and Gary Foster, alto sax. If you haven't heard them, pick up this CD. I promise you'll be mesmerized. To the rhythm section, add Larry Koonse, guitar; Putter Smith, bass and Tim Pleasant, drums. That all makes for an outstanding aggregation. But back... read more
Matt Jorgensen + 451 - Another Morning
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz.com
Matt Jorgensen + 451 has created a distinctive music, a free flying jazz sound with a 1960s rock sensibility, bursting with enormous chops. It's a mix of Ryan Burns' often out there, Jimi Hendix-ian keyboard work (wailing on Fender Rhodes, organ and Moog ), Mark Tayor's bite-of-lime saxophone tang, Jorgensen's multi-layered percussion complexities and Phil Sparks' deep in the pocket bass work. Mix it up and it's unmistakable on the blindfold... read more
Michael Waldrop Big Band - Time Within Itself
by Dave Gregg, The Jazz Reader
Time Within Itself, Michael Waldrop's first big band CD, is a joyous, rip-roaring ride that charts a rollicking course through diverse musical styles, ranging from jazz fusion to the very best of big band jazz.
At the helm on drums, Waldrop is the indomitable anchor of the ensemble, a master of kinetic energy who plays both authoritatively and with a rare symmetrical beauty. Creating a rhythmic force that is high-octane yet beautifully... read more
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