Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Jared Hall - Hometown
by Jack Bowers, All About Jazz
4-STARS The Hometown in question is Spokane, Washington, where trumpeter and composer Jared Hall was born and raised. On his third album for Origin Records, Hall salutes the hometown to which he has returned after years as a touring musician with a splendid series of his original compositions and new readings of others by Bobby Hutcherson and Thelonious Monk.
To help carry out his plan, Hall enlisted the services of four stellar... read more
John Wojciechowski - Focus
by Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune
The kids who study music at St. Charles North High School may not realize how fortunate they are. For their teacher/bandleader happens to be one of Chicago's more commanding saxophonists, an artist who surely could build a full-time international career performing, if he so chose.
When I first heard John Wojciechowski, at the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition in Washington in 1996, I was sure he would take the top... read more
Scenes - Variable Clouds: Live at the Earshot Jazz Festival
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect
The saxophonist Rick Mandyck, guitarist John Stowell, bassist Jeff Johnson and drummer John Bishop released their debut as Scenes in 2001, and this first live recording captures their unparalleled chemistry together, where mostly originals unfold with a strong sense of connection between the band and audience.
"Tilbury Hill" gets the listen off to a warm, soothing start, where the agile sax and spirited guitar is met with cozy drumming, and... read more
Don Lanphere with New Stories - Home At Last
by amazon.com, amazon.com
You don't have to be from the Northwest to appreciate this Seattle legend. He played with Fats Navarro and Charlie Parker in the 40's and returned to recording in the 80's. Don had a buttery tone in that mellow zone somewhere between Lester Young and Coleman Hawkins. The only other player who had this kind of sound was Bud Johnson - like melting amber, warm honey. Lanphere mixes master technical craftsmanship with the taste and wisdom of an... read more
Last Word Quintet - Falling to Earth
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect
A Chicago quartet, plus Marc Kelly Smith's voice, Last Word Quintet pen stories of urban life here, where 12 lively tracks unfold with nods to beat poetry.
The lively spirit of "Iron Tango" starts the listen with Smith's raw spoken word alongside Sarah Allen's well timed drums and Doug Lofstrom's playful bass, and "Children Of Paradise" follows with a hint of rasp, as Bob Long's warm keys guide the soulful brass.
In the middle, the... read more
Piet Verbist - Secret Exit to Another Dimension
by JEAN-CLAUDE VANTROYEN, Le Soir (Belgium)
The Belgian double bassist Piet Verbist, in bed with the guitarist Hendrik Braeckman and the drummer Lionel Beuvens, produce this great album, of very swinging jazz, very fair and very exciting. Ten pieces, due to Verbist, to Braeckman and Beuvens, plus a cover of Charlie Parker (Cheryl) and one from Thelonious Monk (Pannonica). It's the guitarist who leads the dance, around which the bassist winds passionately and on which the drummer sings... read more
Ryan Cohan - Originations
by Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune
The best jazz recordings of 2020 to date: Savvy listeners already know that Chicago pianist-composer Cohan has a well-honed gift for writing long-form jazz compositions. It reaches a high point in "Originations," a suite Cohan performed to vivid effect at the Hyde Park Jazz Festival in 2018. The new recording deepens earlier favorable impressions of the piece, which amounts to a series of tone poems in which Cohan explores his Middle... read more
Affinity Trio - Hindsight
by Michael van Gee, Jazz'n'More (Switzerland)
Trios consisting of trumpet, piano and bass are rare, which is why the line-up of the band Affinity Trio makes you sit up and take notice. This also applies to the music, a mix of originals and rare jazz standards. The debut album, recorded in Chicago, allows intimate insights into making music together, in which all three musicians--trumpeter Eric Jacobson, Pamela York on piano and Clay Schaub on double bass--are always responsible for rhythmic... read more
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