Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Deep Blue Organ Trio - Folk Music
by Dr. Judith Schlesinger, All About Jazz.com
With the first two bars of Folk Music, you can tell that things are going to get greasy. Few people want greasy hair or greasy food, but greasy music is a whole other story: it means soulful and swinging and played with the kind of laid-back confidence that signifies true mastery. "Blues is the preacher, jazz is the teacher," says the group's website. This approach is one reason this CD is a pleasure from beginning to end.
Another is the... read more
George Colligan - The Endless Mysteries
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
What do you do when you're Jack DeJohnette's piano man and you feel like improvising but ECM tells you the roster is currently full? You call Larry Grenadier and tell him to bring over his bass, then call John Bishop at Origin and say "have I got a deal for you." This set of originals feels more lived in than improv-ed and a smoking time is had by all. Hot stuff from a crew that doesn't need to be told what to... read more
Benjamin Boone - The Poets Are Gathering
by Benjamin Kirk, Fresno State University Arts & Humanities
"That's my son collapsed there," poet Patricia Smith bluntly speaks in the album's opening line. "My son crumpled there," a rhetorical finger points past the distracting noise of the pundits and protests to the human crux of the issue. Smith's voice sharpens the accusation as Benjamin Boone's saxophone unravels the emotion behind the mother's words.
"My son dangling there. My son caged there...My daughter splayed there...My son hanging... read more
Thomas Marriott - Trumpet Ship
by Dave Rogers, WTJU
Jazz trumpeter, composer and producer Thomas Marriott is a veteran of the national jazz scene who's earned seven Golden Ear awards, produced 11 albums as a leader for Origin Records, and toured with greats like Maynard Ferguson and Roy McCurdy, as well as contemporary jazz artists Orrin Evans and Joe Locke." (http://thomasmarriott.net/biography/) This is Marriot's twelfth release as a leader and it is a real gem! In addition to Marriott's... read more
John Bishop - Antwerp
by Russell Perry, WTJU-FM
Drummer John Bishop (Benjamin Boone, Hal Galper, Thomas Marriott) founded Origin Records as a label "run for musicians by musicians", yet rarely does he issue music under his own name. It has been 18 years since Nothing If Not Something in 2005. Of the program of six originals and three covers (by Hal Galper, Carla Bley, Henry Mancini), Dan McClenaghan wrote on AllAbout Jazz, "From the opener, Weijters' rollicking Ruchsichtslos, to Galper's... read more
Upper Left Trio - Cycling
by Lynn Darroch, Oregonian
A COMFORTABLE RIDE
The smorgasbord of styles under the umbrella of jazz these days -- from smooth to rough, swing to funk -- means that CD reviews must go beyond comments on purely musical qualities to consider how listeners might use the music, be it for dancing, meditation, background or stimulation.
"Cycling," the first CD by the Portland contemporary jazz group Upper Left Trio, could fill several of those functions.
All... read more
John Stowell and Dave Liebman - Blue Rose
by George W. Harris, Jazz Weekly
RINGER OF THE WEEK If you're not a sucker for duet albums, maybe THIS one will change your mind. Acoustic guitarist John Stowell sits down by the fireplace with Dave Liebman for a collection of duets that sounds like a conversation between masters of their craft, which is exactly what it is.
Liebman, who is better known for being a bit on the left of center side of music, reigns in like a stallion while delivering deft performances on... read more
Scenes - Along the Way
by Bill Bennett, All About Jazz
The scenes along the way here are generally bucolic ones, awash with that distinctive just after the sundown light celebrated by photographers. It's a contemplative journey?"no hurry, no worry," as the clich� goes. The tempos are relaxed, the timbres unfailingly warm. Subtlety is the key word. This amiable, polished music never clamors for your attention; however, a little deep listening will yield many aural delights.
Guitarist John... read more
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