Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Brent Jensen with The Acoustic Jazz Quartet - The Sound of A Dry Martini
by Michael Bettine, CD Review.com
Review: The title of this CD paraphrases what the late saxophonist Paul Desmond said he wanted to sound like. Idaho based Brent Jensen creates not so much a tribute album (which seem to be in vogue these days) as he does an album that captures the same essence that Desmond had.
Neither a hip bopper, nor a cool West Coaster, Desmond often seems to fall between the cracks of American jazz history. Best known for his long association with... read more
Piet Verbist - Zygomatik
by Guy Peters, Goddeau (Belgium)
Jazzbassisten, daarvan beweert men wel eens dat het droogstoppels zijn die niet liever doen dan spelen in dienst van? en verder vooral met rust gelaten willen worden. Een beeld dat blijft leven en niet snel ontkracht zal worden (laten we Mingus? XL-persoonlijkheid dan even negeren), al laat verder onderzoek horen dat er een heus leger flamboyante jazzbassisten is dat ook als leider mooie dingen laat horen. Dat geldt ook voor Piet Verbist, die nu... read more
Bob Sneider & Paul Hofmann - Serve and Volley
by Bill Milkowski, JazzTimes
These intimate duos mark the third such encounter between guitarist Bob Sneider and pianist Paul Hofmann, both faculty members at the Eastman School of Music. They exhibit an easy rapport on the jaunty opener, "Warm Welcome," a riff on "All God's Chillun Got Rhythm" that culminates in some sparkling exchanges and bristling unison lines. They settle into sublime conversations on Hofmann's gentle "Grace" and his waltzy-time "I Remember Bill... read more
John Stowell - Resonance
by John Henry, Audiophile Audition
Portland, Oregon-based guitarist Stowell has a super-cool approach to his instrument but with a minimum of fuss can tear up the strings with some complex improvising that seems to occur at almost the speed of light. He plays here acoustic-electric guitars made by Portland custom guitar-maker Mike Doolin, and using nylon strings. Doolin invited Stowell over to try out his latest creations and in the process taped him playing a tune on each... read more
Anthony Branker & Ascent - Blessings
by John Barron, All About Jazz
Composer/arranger Anthony Branker and his ensemble Ascent follow up on the critically acclaimed release Spirit Songs (Sons of Sound, 2006) with Blessings, a spirited collection of progressive jazz. The music was composed during a residency Branker participated in at the Estonian Academy of Music where he represented the United States as a Fulbright Scholar. The recording features a first-rate cast of east coast heavy-hitters.
The disc's... read more
Peter Epstein and Idée Fixe - Abstract Realism
by David Kane, Cadence
Aptly titled, Abstract Realism plies the interesting waters that lie between conventional Jazz and the Avant-garde. This is the sort of progressive Jazz I find interesting: Jazz that employs both tonality and atonality; where written material serves to propel the performers into improvised flights of fancy and where the music is replete with dynamic contrast. Just a quick com parison of two tracks, "Simple" and "Center" for instance, cover quite... read more
Bobby Broom - Bobby Broom Plays for Monk
by Ken Watkins, 100 Greatest Jazz Albums Blog
Bobby Broom, joined by Dennis Carroll (bass) and Kobi Watkins (drums), plays eight Thelonious Monk compositions in this guitar trio take on the great pianist's music.
Jazz musicians have never found it easy to capture the wonder and the eccentricity of Monk's music in any terms other than his own. Yet that has not stopped generations of players from taking on this challenge, so pervasive is his influence as one of the initiators of bop. Many,... read more
Andrew Rathbun Large Ensemble - The Atwood Suites
by Peter Hum, Ottawa Citizen
TOP 10 CANADIAN JAZZ ALBUMS OF 2018 The Toronto-raised composer and saxophonist, who is on faculty at the University of Western Michigan, released a splendid and ambitious double album in April, reuniting with some stellar talents that he previously made music when he lived in New York City. Rathbun's gorgeous compositions and orchestrations stirringly set the poetry of Margaret Atwood to music, and Luciana Souza's pristine voice looms... read more
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