Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Dave Glenn - National Pastime
by Larry Hollis, Cadence
Glenn...reinforcers my belief that some of the fine trombonists just keep coming out of the woodwork. It's not clear if National Pastime is his first recording as a leader (he's been working since the early 70's) but whatever the circumstances it would be safe to say Dave Glenn is more than ready, even overdue, to helm his own recording project. And a project it is because there's no question that this is a certified concept album in the best... read more
Mattias Svensson - Embrace
by Thierry De Clemensat, Paris-Move
5 STARS
Embracing the Present: Mattias Svensson's Quiet Authority in Modern European Jazz
In an era when jazz often oscillates between nostalgic revival and restless experimentation, Embrace arrives as a quietly confident statement, an album that neither looks backward nor feels compelled to shout its modernity. It speaks instead with assurance, depth, and patience. When the name Mattias Svensson appears on the... read more
Jessica Williams - Songs of Earth
by Doug Ramsey, Rifftides
Williams, the Triple Door?s Steinway and the Seattle theater restaurant?s audience collaborate on yet another album of solo pieces by the pianist. The audience gets credit because their attentiveness, appreciation and courtesy help establish the atmosphere in which Williams creates seven pieces comprising a collection unlike any other in her vast discography. You can almost hear the audience listening.
For all of its suggestions of... read more
John Bishop - Antwerp
by Dorothea Gangel, Jazz'N'More (Switzerland)
4-STARS The drummer John Bishop can look back on a decades-long musical career that was characterized by membership in trios, as when he recorded the album "Antwerp" with pianist Bram Weijters and bassist Piet Verbist, both Flemish. On his last trip to Antwerp, the idea arose to musically express their friendship and shared enthusiasm for this Belgian city as a trio. The sound on the new album is also characterized by mutual admiration... read more
Deep Blue Organ Trio - Wonderful!
by Larry Hollis, Cadence
The Deep Blue Organ Trio has been around long enough to be super-tight in all aspects of musicianship. For their fourth outing they have gone the concept album route with a project containing the songs of Steveland Morris (aka Stevie Wonder). The triad of Bloom, Foreman and Rockingham transform these nine titles from first class pop writings to vehicles for heavy improvisation and telepathic interplay.
Whomever picked the repertory was... read more
Benjamin Boone - The Poets Are Gathering
by George W Harris, Jazz Weekly
Benjamin Boone plays alto and soprano saxes with a core team of Kenny Werner/p, Ari Hoenig/dr and Corcoran Holt/b and a rotating group of guests on instruments and vocals with poems narrated by 11 different guests. The basic theme here is a result of the frustration from COVID-19 and the George Floyd trauma, with a mix of jazz and poetry that has been part of the tradition since "Strange Fruit". Boone and Werner compose most of the music, with... read more
Emi Meyer - Monochrome
by Hobart Taylor, KUCI - Irvine, CA
Emi Meyer's phrasing and nuanced tonal control is clean and complete. This is a singer/songwriter whose intimate and compelling narratives and reflections are set in jazz pop arrangements. The melodies fall like the first snow. Her tune "If I Think of You" and her co-written tunes, especially one with Dawn Clement, "Flesh and Bones", resonate with sincerity. She covers an ironically understated version the blues classic "I'd Rather Go Blind",... read more
Michael Waldrop - Origin Suite
by Brian Morton, Jazz Journal (London)
4-STARS The heart sinks a little at the threat of a concept suite celebrating the span of human history, then bucks a little with the thought that there have been some very good ones: Mingus's Pithecanthropus Erectus, Grachan Moncur III's Evolution, George Russell's The African Game...
This latest attempt, written in emulation of Buddy Rich's epic suites, actually only occupies the first 10 minutes of a long and richly varied CD and... read more
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