Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Rodney Whitaker - Oasis: The Music of Gregg Hill
by George W Harris, Jazz Weekly
Detroit native Rodney Whitaker creates another songbook album of fellow Michigan man Gregg Hill on this enthusiastic album with Terell Stafford/tp-fh, Tim Warfield/ts-ss, Bruce Barth/p, Dana Hall/dr and vocalist Rockelle Fortin. Fortin holds her own on the rapid charge of "Betty's Tune" as Stafford blows out Butanes, and is fragrant with Warfield's soprano on "Interlude". Hall is big and bold as he rides the whip on "S'cool Days" and creates... read more
Bill Anschell - Improbable Solutions
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect
The legendary jazz pianist Bill Anschell finds himself in a larger setting here, where the acoustic jazz trio allow for electronics for a very unique 9 tracks.
The atmospheric "Ambulator" leads the listen with Anschell's lively keys and Brian Monroney's precise guitar in the stylish climate, and "Nimbus" follows with the dreamy keys and Chris Symer's agile bass making for a reflective mood of beauty.
Moving into the middle, "Naked Truth"... read more
Paul Marinaro - Mood Ellington
by Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move
4-STARS In an era when most jazz vocalists seem to chase innovation through phrasing acrobatics or pop-inflected crossovers, Paul Marinaro's new double album feels almost radical in its restraint. The Chicago baritone approaches Duke Ellington's canon not as a museum piece but as a living, breathing songbook, reimagined through thirteen of today's leading arrangers, yet rendered with a reverence that evokes the golden age of the American... read more
Joachim Mencel - Brooklyn Eye
by Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz
4 1/2 STARS Growing up under the weight of communism in Poland in the late '60s and early '70s, Joachim Mencel dreamed of the freedoms and wonders of America. Stateside relatives sent food parcels, offering him his first tastes of Hershey's chocolate and the inviting aromas of Maxwell House coffee; and Polish public radio station Trójka filled his ears with jazz, gifting the sounds of Miles Davis, among other greats. By the time Mencel... read more
Joe Locke - Subtle Disguise
by Jay N. Miller, Patriot Ledger (Boston)
Jazz vibraphonist Joe Locke tackles big concepts with his music, so it's not surprising that he describes his latest work, "Subtle Disguise," as the "total expression of who I am as a musician and human being." It also probably unavoidable that such an admittedly autobiographical concept would also touch upon life in America in 2018.
Those are good reasons why Locke's latest effort, which will be released on Origin Records next week, is so... read more
Dick Reynolds - Music & Friends
by Ric Bang, Jazz Scan
I've not heard a real "dance band" for quite some time. This organization, headed by pianist Dick Reynolds, falls very nicely into that category.
In the 1960s, Reynolds was the house pianist at Mr. Kelly's Jazz Club, in Chicago; in that capacity, he worked with the likes of Mel Torme, Sarah Vaughn, Carmen McCrea and many others. Reynolds subsequently started his own commercial endeavor (Com Track) in Chicago, where he wrote, filmed and... read more
Mark Taylor - Spectre
by John Barron, All About Jazz.com
Saxophonist Mark Taylor was announced Northwest Instrumentalist of the Year at the 2009 Earshot Jazz Awards. Such esteemed recognition may be due to his high profile supporting roles on Origin Records releases by Thomas Marriott and Matt Jorgensen + 451. For Spectre, his first recording as a leader in six years, the Seattle, Washington-based Taylor presents an inventive set of original, progressive jazz. The quartet setting features Taylor on... read more
Big Neighborhood - Neighbors
by Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
On Neighbors, Big Neighborhood, a quartet based in the Pacific Northwest, perform nine songs by either guitarist David White or bassist Doug Miller plus Jobim's "Triste" which, due to the eccentric rhythms and accents used in this interpretation, has been renamed "Tristed." Throughout the set, Big Neighborhood make their unusual playing with time and rhythms sound second-nature and logical. Guitarist David White is often the lead voice and the... read more
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