Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Anthony Branker - Beauty Within
by KARL ACKERMANN, All About Jazz
The two aneurysms that forced composer and musical director Anthony Branker to give up the trumpet in 1999 have done nothing to stem the tide of thoughtful and progressive music that he consistently delivers. Downsizing from his "Word Play" ensemble, Branker guides a quintet of new and long-time colleagues on Beauty Within.
A regular Branker collaborator, saxophonist Ralph Bowen joins a consummate session man in guitarist Pete McCann who... read more
Michael Waldrop Big Band - Time Within Itself
by Nigel Jarrett, Jazz Journal
British guitarist Allan Holdsworth may be surprised to learn that the description "Holdsworthian" is now current in American jazz journalism. It's invoked on this album to set a context for his Texan counterpart Jimi Tunnell, who swirls through some of Jack Cooper's arrangements on Waldrop's debut as a big-band leader. Liner-note writer Bill Milkowski suggests that Tunnell helps give the music "a visceral, post-Weather Report energy" and... read more
Brad Wheeler - The Future Was Yesterday
by Nathan Holaway, Jazz Review
Brad Wheeler better have a huge appetite because the world is definitely his oyster. Not only is Wheeler an ace saxophonist, but a great contemporary and progressive composer. He is one of the shining voices for the future, who is insurmountably steeped in the traditions of the past. The listener can hear faint echoes of Coltrane and Shorter, as well as contemporary traces to Brecker, Liebman, and even Steve Lacy.
Wheeler's backing band is... read more
John La Barbera Big Band - Grooveyard
by Arturo Gomez, KUVO (Denver)
John was born into a musical family in upstate New York, his father and brothers are musicians. John began playing trumpet for the Buddy Rich and Woody Herman big bands where it soon became obvious that he had a knack for composing and arranging. Over the decades La Barbera has played with the finest jazz artists as well as symphony orchestras. In 1992 he and drummer Sherrie Maricle founded the all-female big band, Diva which has become very... read more
Ben Thomas - Triskaidekaphobia
by George Fendel, Jazz Scene, November 2005
Right off the bad, let's get to this rather unwieldy title. According to the album notes, the group recorded an untitled tune in 13/4 time. Acknowledging the challenge of such a meter, one of the players stated "all the more reason to fear the number 13." And that, apparently, is what this 17 letter word means: fear of the number 13. Okay with me, although I couldn't find it in my dictionary. Anyway, it's nice to see a younger generation... read more
Doug Lofstrom - Concertino: The Music Of Doug Lofstrom
by Laurence Vittes, Gramaphone
Chicago composer Doug Lofstrom has coupled first recordings of two modestly appealing orchestral concertinos for oboe and harp with an archival reprise of his Plumed Serpent studio fantasy from 30 years ago. There isn't much in either Concertino that hasn't been heard before - Richard Strauss and Hollywood musicals come to mind, though more svelte, brought up to date and internationalized - but they are both beautifully written for the... read more
Roxy Coss - Restless Idealism
by Bob Weinberg, JAZZIZ
Plaudits and plum assignments are nothing new to saxophonist Roxy Coss. The New York City-based musician, who graduated Magna Cum Laude from William Paterson University in 2008, has earned coveted space with the Mingus Big Band and The Diva Jazz Orchestra and was a member in good standing of trumpeter Jeremy Pelt's group. Fronting her own band, she held down a weekly residency at Smoke for a couple of years. None of this escaped the notice of... read more
Brent Jensen with David Sills - Stay Cool
by David Franklin, JazzTimes, May 2003
Although many youner players look to the hard-bop of the '50s and '60s for inspiration, it's much less common to find youthful players who reflect the values of the erstwhile "cool school." But altoist Brent Jensen and tenorist David Sills, two saxophonists inspired by the likes of Paul Desmond, Lee Konitz and Warne Marsh, are among the few. In the context of a pianoless quartet, their Stay Cool (Origin) evokes the spirit of Lester Young... read more
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