Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
John Gunther - Painting the Dream
by Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move
5-STARS When Sound Becomes Vision
John Gunther paints with sound. Each note on his latest album, Painting the Dream, feels like a brushstroke drawn from a vivid inner landscape. Listening to it, one senses not just a musician shaping melodies, but a composer sculpting space, color, and emotion. The Denver-based saxophonist, clarinetist, and educator has long been known for his range as a multi-instrumentalist and improviser. Yet here,... read more
Christopher Icasiano - Provinces
by Georges Tonla Briquet, Jazz Halo (Belgium)
The American label Origin is mainly specialized in jazz based on tradition. With 'Provinces' they radically deviate from that course. You could say a kind of "close encounters of the unknown kind". The man who is responsible for this alone: multi-instrumentalist Christopher Icasiano.
The continuously drumming drums create an uncomfortable feeling from the start. With somewhat haunting Hans Zimmer soundscapes and relentlessly dark bass... read more
Todd Bishop - Travelogue
by Dave Sumner, Bird is the Worm
It was going to be interesting to see how the Todd Bishop Group emerged from their excellent 2012 release, Little Played, Little Bird. An album that covered obscure Ornette Coleman tunes, Bishop and company spoke to the heart of the Coleman originals without trying to out-free the free jazz artist. While there was no mistaking the inspiration of those tunes, Bishop gave the music his own voice; a voice that situates itself pretty... read more
Trio East - Best Bets
by Ed Trefzger, JazzWeek
A WORKING GROUP since 2001, the "power trio" of Clay Jenkins on trumpet, Jeff Campbell on bass and Rich Thompson on drums keeps a regular Thursday gig a few blocks from the Eastman School of Music where all are on the faculty. The absence of piano on this understated CD of mostly originals and a few uniquely arranged standards provides plenty of space for Jenkins' smouldering but clear trumpet, Campbell's driving bottom end and Thompson's... read more
Rodney Whitaker - Mosaic: The Music of Gregg Hill
by Paul Rauch, All About Jazz
4-STARS In their fourth collaboration on Origin Records, bassist and bandleader Rodney Whitaker and Central Michigan composer Gregg Hill strike gold once again, backed by a formidable gathering of musicians. Hill's music has experienced a surge in interest due to his prolific releases on Origin, which have featured musicians in and around the impressive jazz faculty roster at Michigan State University, a program with Whitaker at the... read more
Ray Vega & Thomas Marriott - East-West Trumpet Summit
by George Fendel, Oregon Jazz Scene
The two-trumpet ensemble is not a new thing in jazz, but it sure is a good thing in the hands of New Yorker Ray Vega and Seattleite Thomas Marriott. Their paths had crossed on both coasts over recent years, and a friendship and mutual respect developed. Resulting, of course, in this recording. Former Seattle pianist (now New Yorker) Travis Shook leads a rhythm section that also boasts two Seattle aces, bassist Jeff Johnson and drummer Matt... read more
Bill Anschell | Brent Jensen - We Couldn't Agree More
by John Barron, All About Jazz
We Couldn't Agree More is a great example of what happens when two like-minded musicians gather for an impromptu session, playing through a list of well-worn standards. Pianist Bill Anschell and soprano saxophonist Brent Jensen deliver a relaxed, humorously inventive duo recording that happily swings from beginning to end.
Recorded in Boise, Idaho, during a break from a tour of the state (Jensen is an Assistant Professor of Music at... read more
Alex Graham - Brand New
by Ted Panken, Downbeat, May 2009
Big-sound alto saxophonist Alex Graham convenes pianist David Hazeltine, trombonist Steve Davis and trumpeter Jim Rotondi from One For All, and synchronous bass-drums tandem Rodney Whitaker and Carl Allen on Brand New ***. It's a rollicking, well crafted session comprised of "new standards" (Hazeltine's charts on "You Make Me Feel Brand New" and "For The Love Of You"), two grooving originals and three songbook charts by Graham. A careful,... read more
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