Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Greta Matassa - The Smiling Hour
by Jay Collins, Cadence, Jan-Mar 2008
The thrid release from Seattle-based Greta Matassa, who delivers her ten-song opus on "The Smiling Hour," favors a smoky, whisper-like delivery that matches the ambiance of this mostly laid-back affair, though several tracks demonstrate her considerable breadth. Matassa's stated goal is to take the listener through a "pleasant day," with bright beginnings and a reflective quietude at its conclusion. Contemporary songwriters are an obvious... read more
Zem Audu - Spirits
by Dave Rogers, WTJU, Richmond
Nigerian-born, London-raised, tenor sax player Zem Audu presents his own take on funky soul or fusion jazz. Having first explored piano and guitar, Audu eventually settled on sax and studied with Courtney Pine as well as with Jean Toussaint at Trinity College of Music. This is his second release as a leader. He composed all of the songs on the disc, which also features Mike Stern (guitar), Benito Gonzales (piano), Ben Williams (bass) and John... read more
Kevin Deitz - Skylines
by Jerome Wilson, Cadence
On Skylines bassist Kevin Deitz leads a number of small combos that alternate between straight ahead Jazz and more rhythmic Latin numbers. On the straight side Deitz compositions like "Uncle Ray" and "Sunny Side Up" are slinky Bop heads that let soloists like Paul Mazzio, Renato Caranto, and Tony Pacini shine. Mazzio's and Caranto's slow-swinging two horn attack on " Sunny Side Up" is a particular highlight and "New Beginnings" and "Romance... read more
Chris Walden Big Band - Full-On!
by Scott Yanow, Downbeat
A busy arranger-composer in Los Angeles for the studios, films and television, Chris Waldon has also been leading a worthy if part-time jazz big band. On Full On! six singers are featured on seven selections, but Walden's orchestra is never merely in the background. In fact, with a few exceptions, the singers can be thought of as guest soloists who take their turns in the spotlight along with the instrumental soloists and the... read more
Bobby Broom - My Shining Hour
by Stephen Graham, Marlbank.net
The very coolest jazz guitarists can burn when it's not obvious. They don't need to show off. But somehow there's a tipping point, the rhythm changes and tentative narrative forays up and down the frets turn into paragraphs, pages and chapters, the characters are created and the music speaks to you via the guitarist's imagination in real time. Eddie Lang, Django, and Charlie Christian started the ball rolling in this regard but thankfully... read more
Thomas Marriott - Urban Folklore
by David Cohen, Jazzenzo (Netherlands)
A deserted intersection in nocturnal Seattle, and on the back, a trumpeter blowing in the dark on the pavement. The content of Thomas Marriott's "Urban Folklore" is less somber than the album cover leads one to suspect. From beginning to end, the quartet provides the American trumpeter with swift, great-sounding straight ahead jazz.
In the fast opener "Apophis," the rhythm section of bassist Eric Revis (known from the Branford... read more
David Friesen - Day of Rest
by Dam McClenaghan, All About Jazz
4-STARS Boasting a forty-year career in music, bassist & composer David Friesen found a home at Origin Records in 2014, with his Where The Light Falls, featuring his Circle 3 Trio and guest guitarist Larry Koonse. He has, in the ensuing years, created his finest art for the label, mostly in small groups—duos and trios, and also a solo outing—in addition to his masterpiece, Testimony (2020), featuring his quartet along with the... read more
Bobby Broom - Upper West Side Story
by Neil Tesser, Chicago Examiner
On his new album "Upper West Side Story" (Origin), guitarist Bobby Broom focuses entirely on his own hard-to-categorize compositions. That?s not a new trick in jazz. But it?s something Broom avoided for decades.
"I purposely waited to make a record of all originals," states Broom, who leads his trio (bassist Dennis Carroll and drummer Makaya McCraven) in a CD-release celebration this weekend at the Jazz Showcase. "But, you know, I've... read more
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