Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Clay Giberson - Minga Minga
by Hobart Taylor, KUCI, Irvine, CA
Keith Jarrett has tuned my ears to the ephemeral joys solo piano explorations. Bill Evans tuned them as well. With such high standards it is hard to hear those who don't quite get "there" (aka George Winston). Giberson gets there. He intermingles traditions, emotions, and even time signatures gracefully and seamlessly.... read more
Phil Kelly & The SW Santa Ana Winds - My Museum
by Forrest Dylan Bryant, JazzTimes, February 2007
Like their meteorological namesake, this California counterpart to Phil Kelly's Seattle-based big band is breezy, warm, and unmistakeably L.A. The first half of the program finds the 19-piece ensemble working hard-swinging modern arrangements, until the title track slows things down with full strings and a soulful vocal by Greta Matassa. From there the band cruises along on some light funk and Latin numbers before coming full circle, ending... read more
Anthony Branker & Ascent - Dance Music
by Edward Blanco, All About Jazz
Dr. Anthony Branker holds an endowed jazz chair, and is currently director of the Program in Jazz Studies at Princeton University. A composer and musical director, Branker established the jazz collective, Anthony Branker & Ascent in 2004, featuring an A-list of players?among them, saxophonists Tia Fuller and Ralph Bowen fronting a light ensemble, with vocalist Kadri Voorand. Dance Music is the group's third album of all-original music, inspired... read more
Anthony Branker and Word Play - Uppity
by Sean J. O'Connell, Downbeat Magazine
***1/2 (3.5 stars)
Anger and injustice are strong themes on composer and conductor Anthony Branker's new album. Knowing the backstory of Branker's compositions, told in his lengthy liner notes, is essential to a complete understanding of the project, though the funky performances on the primarily instrumental recording are not nearly as frustrated.
"Let's Conversate!" bounces alongside Jim Ridl's Fender Rhodes, while Kenny Davis holds down a... read more
Paul Tynan - quARTet
by Robert Rusch, Cadence
As a painter, even beginning with my earliest work, I realized the effect composition and improvisation had on my canvas work. I would often pick some music to try to trigger/inspire my painting. PAUL TYNAN [tpt/flg/corn] has essentially turned the tables on that on quARTet [Origin Records 82776]. For this CD, Tynan has taken a piece of artwork (canvas or photograph), spent intimate time with it and then fashioned a composition and improvisation... read more
Ziggurat Quartet - Calculated Gestures
by Nenim Iwebuke, Afropop Worldwide
Nigerian-born, London-raised, Brooklyn-based saxophonist, composer and producer Zem Audu is no novice to the music industry. While working closely with notable names like Hugh Masekela, Jason Moran and Lauryn Hill over the years, the Skatalites band member has ingested a variety of genres: contemporary jazz, ska, reggae, funk, soul and r&b.
Zem's new album, Spirits (Origin Records), is a fusion of his life experiences: his roots in... read more
Les DeMerle Sound 67 - Once in a Lifetime
by Michael van Gee, Jazz'N'More (Switzerland)
5-STARS What a surprise: The first recordings of drummer Les DeMerle, previously thought lost, have now finally been released. Recorded in 1967 for the Atlantic label, the acetates were in the drummer's home. His band, Sound 67, featured a highly prominent lineup, including the young Randy Brecker (*1945), the outstanding Alan Gauvin and Lanny Morgan (as), as well as singer Genya Ravan ("Ten Wheel Drive").
A total of eight tracks were... read more
Alex Graham - Brand New
by George Fendel, Platter Chatter
I must admit that the first thing that caught my eye on this CD was, with apologies, not the name Alex Graham, but the names Jim Rontondi (trumpet); Steve Davis (trombone); David Hazeltine (piano); Rodney Whitaker (bass); and Carl Allen (drums). When you're in that kind of musical company, it's a pretty fair bet you too have what it takes. And Alex Graham shows there's no doubt on an array of interesting tunes ranging from a couple high flying... read more
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