Origin Records Reviews

Thomas Marriott - Trumpet Ship
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz

4-STARS Spontaneity rules. Seattle-based trumpeter Thomas Marriott had a day off from touring with his quartet, so he decided to go into the studio and record an album: Trumpet Ship. His twelfth outing for Origin Records—all of them reaching for the stars, all of them getting there—this quartet album lines up after his stop-you-in-your-tracks gorgeous Romance Language (Origin Records, 2018). A tough act to follow. Marriott and his... read more

John Stowell / Michael Zilber - Basement Blues
by Andrew Gilbert, San Jose Mercury News

Michael Zilber and John Stowell might be making their best music yet

The ice and fire front line of the John Stowell/Mike Zilber Quartet gives the band a sound that's quietly dramatic and consistently alluring. Stowell, a guitarist based in Portland, Oregon, possesses a less-is-more aesthetic, rarefied harmonic palette and pleasingly cool tone. Zilber, a longtime resident of Albany, is a muscular tenor and soprano saxophonist working... read more

Jessica Williams - With Love
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record

One of the magical things about Williams in performance is that she has the ability to take songs that countless piano bar players have beaten into the ground in various pummelings and make them sound fresh, new and distinct. With a set card here of almost all chestnuts that have been beaten to death in a million piano bars, Williams is playing just for you and like a grand master. Williams is one of those players that proves that she doesn't... read more

Human Spirit - Dialogue
by Tom Hull, Jazz Perspectives

Human Spirit: Dialogue: Live at the Earshot Jazz Festival (2011 [2012], Origin): Seattle group, named for recent Thomas Marriott album -- Marriott plays trumpet, Mark Taylor alto sax, and Matt Jorgensen drums, each contributing tunes (Marriott 4 of 8, the others two each), but since that doesn't quite make for a modern postbop band, they added "special guets" Orrin Evans (piano) and Essiet Essiet (bass) -- Evans was an especially... read more

Laurie Antonioli - Songs of Shadow, Songs of Light
by Dr. Debra Jan Bibel, Amazon.com

Joni Mitchell certainly has gone far since June 1968 when I listened to the then emerging composer sing at New York's The Bitter End. Having become one of the honored greats of music, her numerous songs have been covered by many singers and instrumentalists. This includes jazz artists, which is appropriate since Mitchell herself wrote and performed jazz crossovers. The latest is from vocalist Laurie Antonioli, whose new album, Songs of... read more

John Stowell - Solitary Tales
by Peter Westbrook, Cadence

Solo guitarist Stowell, heard on Solitary Tales, has a sound harking back to Classical guitar playing with none of the rhythmic stiffness sometimes associated with it. The opening track, "Everything I Love," moves from chiming rubato passages to an improvisation that alternated between thoughtful, climbing episodes and swinging single-note lines. I was reminded of Joe Pass' solo recording for Pablo--but where Pass occasionally overwhelmed me... read more

New York Voices - Reminiscing in Tempo
by George W Harris, Jazz Weekly

Taking the mantle of The Manhattan Transfer to the next level, the team of Peter Peter Eldridge, Lauren Kinhan, Darmon Meader and Kim Nazarian mix rich harmonies, vocalese and strong soloing in a wide range of jazz colors and palates. The vocal textures are oil color rich, as they display on the gorgeous a cappela p ieces "Los Tres Golpes" while giving some linguistic percussion to an R&B-ish "Moments in a Mirror." A palpable piano lurks as the... read more

Bobby Broom - Upper West Side Story
by Robbie Gerson, Audiophile Audition

****1/2 Stars

Unlike many jazz artists, Bobby Broom made a name for himself quickly. At the age of sixteen, he auditioned and was invited to tour with Sonny Rollins. His mother interceded and Broom attended Berklee School of Music in Boston instead. There he played with Branford Marsalis, Terence Blanchard and Donald Harrison. After returning to New York, he reunited with Rollins, and this time toured extensively (including... read more

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