Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Mimi Fox - This Bird Still Flies
by Howard Mandel, Downbeat
4-STARS Proving she has nothing to prove on This Bird Still Flies, meticulous Bay Area guitarist Mimi Fox uses her 11th recording as leader or co-leader to showcase her utter mastery of the acoustic instrument. Mixing five originals with standards, Beatles songs and a national ode, the 62-year-old guitarists' guitarist here takes care to let every nuance of fingerwork and dynamic control shine.
"Get Away Blues" opens the album... read more
Randy Halberstadt - Open Heart
by Paul Rauch, All About Jazz
4-STARS Seattle based pianist Randy Halberstadt has been a major figure on the jazz scene in the Pacific Northwest for several decades, applying his talents as a pianist, composer, educator, and author. He has four previous releases as a leader, most recently with Flash Point (Origin, 2010). So yes, it has been some time since we last heard from the multidimensional pianist.
In the meantime, Halberstadt has garnered a reputation as... read more
Anthony Branker & Other Ways of Knowing - Manifestations of a Diasporic Groove & Spirit
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
4-STARS At the time of this writing (early 2026), the United States is beset by an odious president, a racist sociopath who seems hellbent on erasing all references to achievement or success of anyone of African descent—leaving aside that we are all of African descent; but some made the relocation to North America involuntarily.
Stubborn resistance and unvarnished artistic statement—shoulders pulled back, chins jutting... read more
Jon Hamar - Idyl Wild
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
Casting off the Geoff Keezer penumbra of his last album, this time around he replaces piano with double sax for a bass/drum/sax jazz quartet that knows how to offer up a low key hipsters delight. Not needing pyrotechnics to catch fire, this crew keeps the fire on a simmer that just doesn?t burn out or boil off. Sweet stuff for real finger popping daddios that dig it from their chairs.... read more
Hans Fahling - Hamburg: Port of Call
by Nils Jacobson, All About Jazz
Hamburg guitarist Hans Fahling wrote eleven compositions for Hamburg, each accompanied by a Patrick Haskett painting in the liner notes. The artistic intent behind this dual presentation (funded by a number of international sponsors) is well-realized through a series of shifting moods and styles. However, the interdisciplinary approach on Hamburg disguises the high-level improvisational bent of the music considered on its own.
Fahling's... read more
Joe Locke - Force of Four
by Ken Watkins, 100 Greatest Jazz albums
Following the fusion influenced "Live In Seattle" (with Geoffrey Keezer) in 2006 and "Sticks And Strings" (with Jonathan Kreisberg) in 2007, "Force of Four" continues vibe player Joe Locke's very strong recent run of inventive albums.
The new quartet ? Joe Locke (vibraphone), Robert Rodriguez (piano and electric piano), Ricardo Rodriguez (bass) and Jonathan Blake (drums) ? is the ideal vehicle for a pleasing programme of innovative post bop.... read more
Thomas Marriott - Urban Folklore
by Thomas Conrad, JazzTimes
Editorial Pick Thomas Marriott would be better known if he had stayed in New York, where he was a respected trumpet player on the scene in the early years of the new millennium. Instead, for quality-of-life reasons, he returned to his hometown of Seattle, where he has assembled a substantial body of work on the local label, Origin. Marriott usually records with Seattle's best players, but here he employs a name-brand East Coast rhythm... read more
Hal Galper & the Youngbloods - Live at the Cota Jazz Festival
by Dick Metcalf, Improvijazzation
I've reviewed Hal's excellent jazz piano work here quite often over the many years I've been writing reviews... this July, 2017 release shows his total dedication to the art of jazz... he's joined by Nathan Bellott on alto saxophone, Dean Torrey playing bass and David Frazier doing drums, in one of the best "live" jazz recordings of 2017... as you listen to the opener, "Speak with a Single Voice", you'll hear what "professional" really means...... read more
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