Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Bill Anschell - Shifting Standards
by Carol Banks Weber, Festival Peak
I'm a Bill Evans type of listener. For me, a musician's touch says more than a fantastic cavalcade of impressive, overly complicated notes, impossibly juxtaposed against a harried orchestra of one. If you can make me feel down to my bones, you've got me.
Seattle's beloved jazz pianist Bill Anschell is cool, because he can do both: move and impress, touch and flash, tone and stack — often on a forgettable, throwaway standard everybody... read more
Jordan VanHemert - Survival of the Fittest
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect
The always exciting saxophonist Jordan VanHemert is joined by Terell Stafford, Michael Dease, Helen Sung, Rodney Whitaker and Lewis Nash for these 9 rich and colorful jazz tracks.
The textured and melodic "Here And Now" starts with Stafford's soulful trumpet amid Sung's mature keys and Nash's light drumming, and "Tread Lightly" follows with scrappy drums and Whitaker's playful bass that suit VanHemert's bright sax bouts.
Landing the middle... read more
Michael Waldrop Big Band - Time Within Itself
by C. Michael Bailey, All About Jazz
This big band recording is notable for its arranger, Dr. Jack Cooper. Cooper recently released a revelatory Jack Cooper: Mists -Charles Ives For Jazz Orchestra (Planet Arts, 2014), which was the "most recommended" recording at All About Jazz in 2014. Cooper is a professor of music at the University of Memphis and he properly embraces the heritage of that great Southern City. Cooper's arrangements are unique in their brassy "wall-of-sound"... read more
Ziggurat Quartet - Calculated Gestures
by Nenim Iwebuke, Afropop Worldwide
Nigerian-born, London-raised, Brooklyn-based saxophonist, composer and producer Zem Audu is no novice to the music industry. While working closely with notable names like Hugh Masekela, Jason Moran and Lauryn Hill over the years, the Skatalites band member has ingested a variety of genres: contemporary jazz, ska, reggae, funk, soul and r&b.
Zem's new album, Spirits (Origin Records), is a fusion of his life experiences: his roots in... read more
John Stowell and Dave Liebman - Blue Rose
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
Because Liebman spends so much time over achieving and pushing envelopes, it's easy to forget what a wonderfully lyrical player he is when he just kicks back and lets the flow just flow. A shining guitar/sax stand off, this set follows up the one recorded by these two a decade back, the difference being that the last was recorded in Banff, this recorded in the Poconos. Other than that, not much difference other than the aging of chops a... read more
David Friesen Circle 3 Trio - Interaction
by Raul da Gama, JazzdaGama
Circle 3, bassist David Friesen's exploratory trio is no ordinary threesome. On Interaction this is principally a chordless trio - "principally", because Mr Friesen sometimes deems it fit to add piano to the proceedings - where considerable musical exploration takes place as the music progresses and melodies are tossed around, now feather-light and wispy as cirrus clouds; or melodies that turn dense with sonic narratives, like foreboding... read more
Ben Thomas Tango Project - The Hat with the Grin and the Chuckle
by Rudolf Radnai, avxforum.hu (Budapest)
Ben Thomas' Tango Project album has a particularly interesting and unusual sound, the title of which evokes the memory of a famous chef, and despite the bandoneon sound, the music has little to do with Argentine tango, but rather the imprints of Thomas's personality, layered polyrhythms, with inventive melodies and surprising... read more
Deep Blue Organ Trio - Folk Music
by D. Oscar Groomes, O's Place
he Trio is guitarist Bobby Broom, drummer Greg Rockingham and Chris Forman on the Hammond. Don't let the title fool you. These are cool jazzy blues packed with soul. Broom steps up on "The Chant" and "She's Leaving Home" with fine solos. Chris is at the center of the action in most cases and he doesn't disappoint with well-developed solos that build intensity. These guys are not showboating, they just get it done, paying attention to the details... read more
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