Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Kelly Brand Nextet - The Door
by Brad Walseth, www.jazzchicago.net
It sometimes astounds me, when I hear local musicians whose talent is world class, and yet they are perhaps not very well known outside the boundaries of Chicago, although they should be. Case in point is pianist/composer Kelly Brand, who is known to the jazz fans of Chicago, but deserves a much wider audience based on her stellar playing and composition skills. If there is any justice in the world, her new nextet recording "The Door" will open... read more
Dann Zinn - Day of Reckoning
by Anthony Dean-Harris, Downbeat
Day Of Reckoning is Dan Zinn's fifth album as a leader and lead it he certainly does. The reedist is very much at the forefront of this music, the band patter for his play. There's a buoyancy to the music here, floating along with ease, the players seemingly having a good time. Most performances, though, are just warm, never scalding hot.
"Continental Divide" gets enjoyably wild early on, until the tune shifts into a simpler gear, coasting... read more
Nnenna Freelon - Time Traveler
by Nate Chinen, WBGO
On Time Traveler, her first album in more than a decade, Nnenna Freelon considers the passage of time through the prism of personal loss. The album is a tribute to the memory of her husband of 40 years, noted architect Phil Freelon, who died in 2019.
Among the more emotional expressions on the album is this cover of "Time in a Bottle," a posthumous No. 1 hit for singer-songwriter Jim Croce. With a sharp band arrangement by her pianist, Miki... read more
Collier & Dean - Sleek Buick
by Dave Sumner, Wondering Sound
Real nice contemporary fusion recording, led out by vibraphonist Tom Collier, and also including some powerhouse names from the contemporary scene like Ernie Watts, Ted Poor, Alex Acuna and Don Grusin. Album starts out with a bluegrass ditty, with mandolinist Andy Leftwich spurring them on, then moves into more common territory. Songs have a nice motion to them, "Lettercollum/Paris" in particular, which is all kinds of likable. Typically not... read more
speak - Speak
by John Barron, All About Jazz
The Seattle-based quintet Speak explores a multitude of musical moods with their eponymous recording debut. An exemplary model of genre-defying music, the disc features original compositions that delve into odd-metered progressive rock grooves and spontaneous bursts of improvised sound that are at times explosive.
The opening cut "Amalgam in the Middle" makes anthemic pronouncements with an extended section for Aaron Otheim's intensity... read more
Paul Marinaro - Mood Ellington
by Dave Oberhelman, Chicago Daily Herald
Chicago jazz singer Paul Marinaro's prior full-length record, on which his baritone voice supported the Metropolitan Jazz Octet, was "The Bowie Project," a collection of covers of the iconic British rock star David Bowie.
Marinaro's current project, "Mood Ellington," tackles another legendary band leader, Duke Ellington, arguably the greatest American jazz composer.
"Mood Ellington," which will have Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 24-25, record... read more
David Weiss Sextet - Auteur
by Icrom Bigrad, Jazz Sensibilities
David Weiss' Auteur, the latest release with his sextet, hits with the force of a well-honed ensemble ten years in the making. This album, crafted by musicians rooted in the evolution of modern jazz, highlights Weiss' original composition and an ensemble that speaks in a language of the jazz lineage. The seven-track collection, released on September 20, 2024, through Origin, shines with Weiss' signature blend of unrecorded historical gems and... read more
Dmitri Matheny - Cascadia
by George W Harris, Jazz Weekly
Rare is the artist these days that plays only the flugelhorn, but for this album Dmitri Matheny makes it work and work elegantly with his team of Charles McNeal/ts-ss, Bill Anschell/p, Phil Sparks/b and Mark Ivester/dr on this collection of originals and covers. Of the former, Anschell is rich and easy with Matheny and McNeal's tenor on the pulsating read of the rarely interpreted "On A Misty Night" while Jimmy Webb's "Witchita Lineman"... read more
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