Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Ben Black - Remembered Faces / Private Places
by Christopher Loudon, JazzTimes
Ben Black, whose choirboy purity is reminiscent of the sweet, fawn-like androgyny of the pre-Psycho Anthony Perkins, is about as distant as a male singer could be from the rough 'n' tumble Stigers. Technically, Black is light years ahead of Perkins, but could use some of the screen star's dramatic know-how. Still, as evidenced throughout Remembered Faces/Private Places (Origin), his voice is singularly gorgeous and ideally suited to dreamy... read more
Marc Seales - People & Places
by Stephen Graham, Marlbank (UK)
There are few saxophonists who can melt the hardest of hearts as reliably as Quartet West player Ernie Watts. Eighty this autumn, Watts replicates that feat yet again on Seattle pianist Marc Seales' engaging opener 'Rue Cler.'
A quartet album, the line-up is completed by bassist Bruce Lett and by drummer Moyes Lucas Jr. There's an energetic version of Wayne Shorter 1977 Weather Report Heavy Weather classic 'Palladium' among the main... read more
Bobby Broom - Bobby Broom Plays for Monk
by Nick Bewsey, ICON Magazine
Chicago-based guitarist Bobby Broom, a dynamic solo artist (The Way I Play: Live in Chicago) and member of Sonny Rollins' band since 2005, sets his sights on ten of Thelonious Monk's most frequently covered tunes on what should be a career-changing album. "Bobby Broom Plays for Monk" is a deeply satisfying trio recording that showcases Broom's warm, lustrous tone on imaginative arrangements of tunes that were radical in their day but now have... read more
Ben Thomas Tango Project - The Hat with the Grin and the Chuckle
by Eric Olson, Earshot Jazz
Not quite an accordion, nor exactly an oversized harmonica, coming off somewhere between a blown reed instrument and a bowed string, the indelible, somewhat nasally bandoneon — the melodic mainstay of traditional tango music — is frequently a clarion call to the dancefloor.
But not always! On The Hat with the Grin and the Chuckle, the newest album from the Ben Thomas Tango Project, the bandoneon functions as the most outspoken member of a... read more
Michael Waldrop Big Band - Time Within Itself
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
A vet of the North Texas Lab Band, you don't argue with Waldrop's chops. Leading a modern big band like it was something he was born to do, Waldrop has his eye and ear on the proceedings like a mother hawk watching over her young 'uns making sure everything stays straight and true for them. Disregarding any elements that made big band corny in the 50s and 60s as it tried to stay hip, this is first call instrumental music no matter what... read more
Chris Walden Big Band - Full-On!
by Carol Banks Weber, AXS
Chris Walden's been so busy scoring and arranging other people's projects, he barely has time for his own music. The five-time-Grammy-nominated, German composer/arranger hasn't put out his own record in seven years, not since the wonderfully received Kurt Marti Suite. He's been too busy writing arrangements for stars like Diana Krall, Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand, Michael Bublé, Neil Young, Stevie Wonder, Christopher Cross,... read more
Piet Verbist - Flamenco Jazz Summit: El Mar Empieza Aqui
by Ferdinand Dupuis-Panther, Jazz'halo (Belgium)
The label writes the following lines about the album: "Forceful and mystic, with a beauty and intensity that reminded him of his first hearings of Miles, Mingus, or Monk, Belgian bassist & composer Piet Verbist was pulled into his deep study of Flamenco culture several years ago through a grant from the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp. After a dozen immersive trips to Andalusia to study, perform, and develop a repertoire, Piet presented concerts... read more
Ray Vega & Thomas Marriott - East-West Trumpet Summit
by John Barron, All About Jazz
East-West Trumpet Summit is a rollicking showcase for longtime friends Ray Vega and Thomas Marriott. Vega, a New York native and the elder of the two, has served for many years as a mentor to Seattle's Marriott. The two first met when Marriott was a student at the University of Washington in Seattle, and Vega was in town touring with the late Tito Puente. Friends ever since, the two trumpeters share an affinity for hard-blowing,... read more
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