Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
John McLean / Clark Sommers Band - Parts Unknown
by Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz
4 1/2 STARS It's amazing what can happen when you take a tight-knit, deep-dish duo reflective of Chicago's jazz riches, add one of the world's most dexterous and expressive vibraphonists, and sweeten the deal with a grooving up-and-comer. Charts are mapped over uncharted territories, musical assuredness carries the day in uncertain realms, and surprises await around every well-constructed corner. This is not-so-simply a beautiful case of... read more
Bobby Broom - Bobby Broom Plays for Monk
by John Barron, All About Jazz
Chicago-based guitarist Bobby Broom pays tribute to jazz icon Thelonious Monk on Plays For Monk, a fresh take on eight of the late pianist's compositions, along with a couple of standards associated with Monk's repertoire. Joining Broom for his third release on Seattle's Origin Records are his long time trio mates, bassist Dennis Carroll and drummer Kobie Watkins.
Broom does a tremendous job navigating Monk's music in a bare-bones guitar trio... read more
Tim Davies Big Band - The Expensive Train Set
by John Ziegler, Duluth Reader
The jazz big band is one of those dinosauric amalgamations that roamed the land in thundering herds back in the mid to late 20th Century.
From Fletcher Henderson to Lionel Hampton, from Count Basie to Duke Ellington, from Woody Herman to the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra, these large aggregations (usually 18 pieces) traveled up and down the highways and byways of this great land, spreading the gospel of jazz to listeners and dancers at... read more
Michael Zilber - Originals for the Originals
by Robbie Gerson, Audiophile Audition
5-STARS Saxophonist Michael Zilber has an unusual geographic history. He was born in Vancouver, Canada before moving to Boston as a teenager. He moved to New York and worked with Sonny Sitt, Dizzy Gillespie, Dave Liebman, Dave Douglas, Rachel Z and Narada Michael Walden among many. While In New York, he recorded two critically acclaimed albums, The Heretic and Stranger In Brooklyn as a sole band leader. But his career has been anchored... read more
Mamutrio - Primal Existence
by George W. Harris, Jazz Weekly
The team of Lieven Cambre'/as, Piet Verbist/b and Jesse Dockx/dr team up for some fun bop and beyond. Cambre' has a sweet as honey tone, gloriously sighing to Verbist's resonant bass on "In Peace with Gravity" and relaxing on the lovely "Ballast". His vibrato gets lonely while Dockx gets frisky on "For Less Than Nothing" and the team snaps joyfully on "My Love You." Dockx brushes up on the soft shoe "To Remember" and delivers a hip grove with... read more
Jim Gailloreto Jazz String Quintet - American Complex
by Adam Greenberg, All Music Guide
For his sophomore effort with the Chicago-based HAWK string quartet in tow, Jim Gailloreto's skill in composition and arrangement for a string quartet has increased notably. Instead of forcing the quartet into a gypsy-jazz romp, Gailloreto keeps the players in their comfort zone -- free from improvisation, and showcasing technical mastery and careful collaboration without sacrificing an austerity of sorts. Over the top of the quartet, though,... read more
Richard Sussman - Continuum
by George Fendel, Jazz Society of Oregon
When CDs contain mostly or exclusively original music, I look for one primary characteristic. If I can't find it, the CD is usually not a prime candidate for review. It's as simple as...a well-defined melody. If that's old-fashioned, so be it. But I lose my sense of direction when I can't discern a melody as a foundation for the improvisation which follows. I know nothing of Richard Sussman other than he's probably a New Yorker (judging from the... read more
Jessica Williams - Billy's Theme: A Tribute to Dr. Billy Taylor
by Tony Augarde, MusicWeb International
Billy Taylor is best known -- at least in Britain -- for his trio's recording of his composition I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to be Free, which has been popularized as the signature tune for BBC Television's long-running "Film" programme. But, of course, Billy Taylor has done much more than that, as Jessica Williams's sleeve-note reminds us: playing with the likes of Ben Webster, Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker; acting as house pianist at... read more
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