For his fourth recording, organist Ben Paterson returns to the North West Coast Origin label with For Once in My Life. He employs a standard organ-guitar-drums combo for eleven standards and originals that allows the crack trio he shares with guitarist Peter Bernstein and drummer George Fludas to fully explore the more modern sonic aspects of this popular jazz- blues-funk format. Blending the musical traditions of his native Philadelphia... read more
On Spectre saxophonist Mark Taylor leads a quartet that plays straight ahead but with moody edge reminiscent of Wayne Shorter's Blue Note albums. There is spacious rhythm support on most pieces from Gary Fukushima, Jeff Johnson, and Byron Vannoy with Fukushima occasionally adding a layer of brooding electric piano. Taylor plays calm and lucid soprano on "Spectre" and "Fleeting" and unrolls expansive also lines over the rhythm section's slow... read more
The opening line of Grammy nominated composer/arranger Dave Slonaker's liner notes for Shifty Paradigms, his melodically and harmonically imaginative, rhythmically intense and stylistically diverse third album, says it all about his lifelong devotion to the realm: "Since my middle school days, the sound of big band has intrigued me."
One of Hollywood's most in demand arrangers and orchestrators for more than 30 years, his diversity is rooted... read more
Carrillo, celebrating the release of his debut album "Opening Statement" (Origin), has built on the hard-bop foundations of modern jazz to construct a strong and supple style that's at home in several of the city's most exciting current bands.
At the Green Mill, Carrillo's band stars most of the heavy hitters from his album - saxist Geof Bradfield, pianist Benjamin Lewis, and bassist Lorin Cohen - along with drummer Max Plaskota replacing... read more
I'm kinda glad Jack Mouse named this CD as he did, as I find more than a little Paul Motian in his playing. Motian's Conception Vessel was one of a handful of LPs that early turned me on to the inimitable ECM label, and what now attracts me to Paul's method is what I found in Jack's: a strong tendency to lay an entire environment beneath the rest of the band. Motian's a little artier while Mouse is swingin'er, but the two accomplish the... read more
The Trio East's new album, Best Bets, is a decidedly relaxed affair, and that is in no way a bad thing. Clay Jenkins is a smart, economical trumpet player with an exceptional, dynamic rhythm section behind him. Jeff Campbell on bass plays smoothly and dramatically, and works very well in conjunction with Rich Thompson on drums. Thompson is an amazing drummer, with a strong sense of tempo, and his excellent playing adds tension and drama to the... read more
Pianist Hal Galper's signature style involves bending and stretching pieces as far as they can go in the rubato style, and fully exploring where that strategy leads. For his sixth recording built on that approach, he again comes up with intriguing results, with the help of longtime collaborators Jeff Johnson and John Bishop on bass and drums, respectively.
The Trio's interpretations present an ever-engaging clash of form and freedom, with... read more
"Travel broadens the mind," says the ancient maxim. When the traveler is a skilled and sensitive artist ? such as Geof Bradfield, the relaxed and brilliant Chicago tenor saxophonist ? his travel can also broaden the minds of others. And at the very least, it will prove enormously entertaining.
Bradfield's newly released African Flowers (Origin Records) exploits these possibilities with inspiration and panache, and enough of each to make it... read more
This is just a small collection of the Origin Records reviews. Click here to view all reviews or try to Search for your favorite CD title.
Abate Berihun & The Addis Ken Project - Addis Ken
by Hanna Kay, Cult News (Paris)
Abate Berihun & The Addis Ken Project - Addis Ken
by Budapest, Rudolf Radnai
Abate Berihun & The Addis Ken Project - Addis Ken
by Editor, Bman's Blues Report
Jared Hall - Hometown
by Editor, Bman's Blues Report
Dawn Clement - Dear Ms. Dearie
by Editor, Bman's Blues Report
Jared Hall - Hometown
by Dee Dee McNeil, Making A Scene
Affinity Trio - New Outlook
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect
Michael Dease Big Band - Return Trajectory
by Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move
Brad Goode Quintet Feat. Ernie Watts - Live Your Dream: Live at North Street Cabaret
by Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move
Maja Jaku - Blessed & Bewitched
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect