Origin Records Reviews



Yoshiyuki Yamanaka - Great Time
by Dave Nathan, All Music Guide

Tenor sax player Yoshiyuki Yamanaka was leaving nothing to chance for his first album for Origin. He brought three of the top rhythm players extant into the studio, the inestimable jazz artists Junior Mance, Ben Riley, and Earl May. As much as the fine playing by the tenor sax man, these three contribute to the musical achievements attained on this CD. Over his career, Yamanaka has sampled the styles of the great tenors, including John Coltrane,... read more

Thomas Marriott - Crazy: The Music of Willie Nelson
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz.com

If you want to put your music into compartments, it might be hard to cozy up to a "jazz" CD getting tight with the tunes of "country" icon Willie Nelson. But smart music lovers throw the labels down the man hole, and maybe remember that none other than Miles Davis counted himself a Nelson fan -- check out the six takes of the tune "Willie Nelson" on The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions (Columbia Records, 2003) boxed set.

Enter... read more

Dan Cray - Outside In
by George W. Harris, Jazz Weekly

Pianist Dan Gray delivers the most bona fide jazz album of the quartet. He brings together Dayna Stephens/ts, Clark Sommers/b and Mark Ferber/dr for a split of seven songs between covers and originals. Stephens' warm and breathy tenor is a highlight here, relaxed and yearning with Cray's pulse on "Small Sir" and filling the room with smoke rings with glistening piano chimes on the relaxed "Where Springs." Cray and company bop with style and... read more

Michael Dease - The Other Shoe: The Music of Gregg Hill
by John McDonough, DownBeat

Michael Dease drops The Other Shoe only eight months after his last, Next Best Thing, which was a neat and literate little small-band bouquet. This time, the front line is smaller with Dease on trombone (and occasionally baritone sax) and newcomer Virginia MacDonald on clarinet, an unlikely but compatible twosome.

Focusing on the compositions of Gregg Hill, the program will be unfamiliar to most, giving listeners open-ended... read more

Brad Goode - The Unknown
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect

The trumpet extraordinaire Brad Goode brings along Jeff Jenkins, Seth Lewis and Paa Kow for this technically proficient and grove filled 19th solo album that's as intense as it is exciting.

"Decathexis" starts the listen with no lack of energy, as Lewis' funky bass lines and Kow's acrobatic drumming make for a lively jazz spirit, and "Pain" continues the fluid instrumentation with Goode's radiant brass alongside Jenkins' playful keys that... read more

Amit Friedman - Sunrise
by Yotam Ziv, Columbus Music Magazine (Israel)

BEST ISRAELI JAZZ OF THE DECADE The "sunrise" of composer and saxophonist Amit Friedman came after quite a few years when he played as a sideman with many good musicians. Friedman defines himself as an autodidact. Although he studied jazz at Thelma Yellin and took individual lessons here and there, he paved the way for himself. This is probably why his music is so accessible and pleasant to listen to, but not at the expense of depth and... read more

Tim Horner - The Head of the Circle
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record

Sure it might be sitting down jazz and art jazz, but it ain't like that. With a clear vision and some wonderful players along for the ride to bring that vision to the fore, this is a drummer led session where the drummer knows about more than the use of white space. One of those great creative dates that isn't creative for the mere sake of it, Horner has the chops and the flying time to pilot the plane anyway he wants and you can be assured... read more

Deep Blue Organ Trio - Wonderful!
by Chris M. Slawecki, All About Jazz

Wonderful! presents the Deep Blue Organ Trio's jazz take on nine Stevie Wonder hit songs that span Talking Book (Motown, 1972) to Songs in the Key of Life (Motown, '76), plus Wonder's 1969 hit single "My Cherie Amour" and "Tell Me Something Good," Chaka Khan's breakout from Rags to Rufus (MCA, '74) by Rufus (and which Wonder never recorded).

Guitarist Bobby Broom, drummer Greg Rockingham, and Hammond B-3 organist Chris Foreman have... read more

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