Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Hal Galper - Live at the Berlin Philharmonic, 1977
by Jim Gilchrist, The Scotsman
4-STARS This intense moment in time captures US pianist Hal Galper leading a volatile quintet with the fabled Brecker brothers - trumpeter Randy and the late Mike on tenor saxophone, bassist Wayne Dockery and drummer Bob Moses. The double CD opens by establishing the band's take-no-prisoners ethos with Now Hear This, Galper's creative fire churning and spinning over the relentless pace of bass and drums while both Breckers are in... read more
John McLean / Clark Sommers Band - Parts Unknown
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
Ditching Larry Hobgood wasn't the only radical change Kurt Elling made a few years ago as he jettisoned the rest of his backing crew on board here as well. The dismissal doesn't seemed to have done this duo any harm as they picked up some new pals and proceeded to embark on an easily progressive but still swinging route. With a four on the floor forthrightness that cuts throughout the clutter, straight ahead jazzbo will enjoy this trip while... read more
Brad Goode - The Unknown
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
4 1/2 - STARS One of the joys attached to reviewing music is the exposure to artists who otherwise might not show up on the radar. For every Pat Metheny there are a hundred highly-creative, lower-profile, hugely-talented guitarists plucking the strings; for every Brad Mehldau plying the trade ten dozen marvelous, relatively unknown pianists show up in the mailbox or the downloads. And for every Ralph Alessi out there blowing their horns,... read more
Jessica Williams - Touch
by George Fendel, Oregon Jazz Scene
Williams might say otherwise, but really, she has nothing to prove. Each new CD she has brought out in recent years is a passionate and joyous journey. Especially so is this new CD, where she plays solo and allows the piano to sing exquisite melodies, both hers and those of others. The opener is Gershwin's "I Loves You Porgy," and it receives a nearly rhapsodic treatment, played as lovingly as possible. Williams has composed prolifically over... read more
Mimi Fox - This Bird Still Flies
by Lou Fancher, The Mercury News
Shook up after a five-hour medical procedure and a nightmare surprise breast cancer diagnosis, jazz guitarist Mimi Fox stood, stunned, in a hospital parking lot. Swirling overhead in the night sky, a flock of birds chirped and sang a complicated, gorgeous, melodic song.
Months later, during treatment, the Vallejo-based composer and musician completed her replicated version of the tune. This "Bird Still Flies" is the title track of Fox's new,... read more
Thomas Marriott - Urban Folklore
by Travis Rogers, Jr., Music Life and Times
Thomas Marriott has released his ninth album as a leader with the October 21, 2014 Origin Records release of Urban Folklore. He has joined with one of the most expressive and talented trios around in the persons of Orrin Evans on piano, Eric Revis on bass and Donald Edwards on drums. They are deliberate and delicate and thoroughly brilliant. In fact, they have appeared separately and together on many of the finest recordings of the last... read more
Jeff Johnson - Suitcase
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
Bassist Jeff Johnson traveled the United States from the 1970s until 1990. He followed the work during his time of transience, and played an array of styles, from R&B to country, from blues to pop, and jazz. Then he put his suitcase down in Seattle and evolved into something of a house bassist for Origin Records, backing pianists Jessica Williams and Hal Galper, saxophonist Mark Taylor, vocalists Carrie Wicks and Jeff Baker, drummer John Bishop,... read more
Anthony Branker & Ascent - Blessings
by John Barron, All About Jazz
Composer/arranger Anthony Branker and his ensemble Ascent follow up on the critically acclaimed release Spirit Songs (Sons of Sound, 2006) with Blessings, a spirited collection of progressive jazz. The music was composed during a residency Branker participated in at the Estonian Academy of Music where he represented the United States as a Fulbright Scholar. The recording features a first-rate cast of east coast heavy-hitters.
The disc's... read more
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