Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Oscar Hernández & Alma Libre - Love the Moment
by Jaime Torres Torres, National Foundation for Popular Culture (Puerto Rico)
Define jazz as one of the most beautiful expressions of art.
Developed as a musician in New York, it was inevitable that, parallel to salsa, jazz would awaken his interest early, especially when he collaborated with Ray Barretto and Dave Valent'n, who were transiting the genre.
After a career with Ismael Miranda & La Revelación, Libre, the Folkloric and Experimental Group, Barretto and Rubén Blades, among others, they did not miss the... read more
Chris Walden Big Band & The St. John's Choir - Kurt Marti Suite
by Dick Crockett, Bop 'n DIck's 10 Picks
How can an orchestration based on the verse of Kurt Marti can be so majestic and powerful, especially when the lyrics are sung in German by the St Johns Choir, Hamburg? For someone who doesn't understand the language, there's something more universal here with voice and orchestration with Chris Walden and his arrangements. Walden draws upon his resources and a big band arranger, writer and leader to create this, the musical voice of Kurt Marti.... read more
Josh Nelson - The Sky Remains
by Dave Sumner, Bird is the Worm
Josh Nelson's Exploring Mars was one of the very best things to come out in 2015. The pianist's ode to the science and stories of the Red Planet was an imaginative network of wild magic and scientific precision. The music was light on its feet and given the space to wander freely, but each note was a concise step in a clear direction. That lyrical focus is missing from his 2017 release The Sky Remains, but Nelson still summons up plenty of... read more
Lower Monumental - Mayday Session
by Stephen Latessa, All About Jazz
When I was living at home, there were certain types of music that would cause my mother to knock on my bedroom door as she walked past and ask, "what are you listening to?" in a tone that seemed to wonder whether she had a reason to be worried. The Mayday Session is that type of music. It isn't particularly loud or jarring, but there are enough kinks and corners with who-knows-what on the other side of them to make the whole project vaguely... read more
Allison Adams Tucker - WANDERlust
by George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune
San Diego music mainstay Allison Adams Tucker isn't kidding when she describes herself as a "world jazz singer."
As her third and newest album, "WANDERlust," handily reaffirms, she can sing with equal skill and poise in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian and Japanese. Recorded in New York, the alluring "WANDERlust" teams her with such luminaries as Chicago saxophonist Chris Potter, Mexican drummer Antonio Sanchez and Brazilian... read more
Piet Verbist - Suite Réunion
by George W. Harris, Jazz Weekly
Bassist Piet Verbist brings his compositions to the table with Bart Borremans/ts, Bram Weuters/p, and Dre Pallemaerts-Wim Eggermont/dr. Verbst's bass is sonorous and reflective on his solo piece "Mygratum" and uses his strings to lead into pieces like the spacious and sparkling "Hope in Despair" and serpentine "Devious Ways." Weijters is peppy on the upbeat boppers "Bright Minor" and "Blues Excuse, as Borremans creates warm and long shadows on... read more
Richard Cole - A Glance Back
by Adam Greenburg, All Music Guide
The debut solo album from Richard Cole, a Seattle sax player with some pretty good chops. The tone is relatively high here, making use of squeaks and squeals as possible, and holding to a modern jazz ideal in general. The solos sometimes draw themselves out in a slow arc before moving on, but they showcase some very nice sensitivity in exploring the range. The jazz scene in Seattle picked up quite a bit after the release of this album, and this... read more
Paul Ricci - The Path
by Editor, Modern Drummer
There are a very few drummers whose inclusion will make me pick up a recording, Steve Jordan is one of them. The fact the Jordan, Anthony Jackson, and Manolo Badrena (three fourths of Steve Khan's famed Eyewitness band) play together on three tracks of this record make it instantly appealing to me. Throw in a tune featuring one-time Fela drummer Jojo Kuo, and one tune with Brazilian drummer Jurim Moreira, and you have an attractive rhythmic... read more
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