Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Various Artists - The Cool Season: An Origin Records Holiday Collection, Vol. 2
by John Barron, All About Jazz
With no shortage of holiday music blasting through shopping malls and restaurants this time of year, it's easy to understand why some might want to escape the incessant bombardment of the overdone and out-of-date. If one looks hard enough, however, hope for Christmas music burnout can be found. One place to look is Origin Records' The Cool Season: An Origin Holiday Collection, Vol. 2. With fresh and swinging vitality, trumpeter Thomas Marriott,... read more
John Stowell - Solitary Tales
by Doug Ramsey, Rifftides
The CD's title suits the guitarist, a peripatetic performer who roams the world. I recently heard a musician say, "You never know where he'll show up." Although Stowell often plays with others, some of his most stunning work, as here, is unaccompanied. He alternates acoustic and electric guitars, but when he is plugged in he keeps his amplifier volume low and his attack subtle. The listener is more likely to be involved with the gentle... read more
Harvie S - Bright Dawn
by Thierry De Clemensat, Paris-Move
5 STARS
Few bassists in contemporary jazz combine diplomatic stature, compositional ambition and melodic authority as convincingly as Harvie S. A former Jazz Ambassador for the United States, a touring artist across Europe and Southeast Asia, and co-leader of the influential Double Image, which recorded for ECM Records and Enja Records, Harvie S brings decades of global experience to Bright Dawn. But this album is not a... read more
Nnenna Freelon - Time Traveler
by Matt Silver, WRTI (Philadelphia)
Jazz Album of the Week: Vocalist Nnenna Freelon Remembers Late Husband Through Music They Shared
In 2019, Grammy-nominated vocalist Nnenna Freelon lost her husband Phil, the man she called her soul mate, after a years-long battle with ALS. They'd been married for 40 years. Phil was a renowned architect and had been one of the lead executives at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture. They shared a... read more
Michael Zilber - Originals for the Originals
by George Harris, Jazz Weekly
Michael Zilber uses his compositional skills as well as his soprano and tenor saxes to give tribute to some of his musical inspirations. The core team of David Kikoski/p, James Genus/b and Clarence Penn/dr is used for all of the songs except one, the darkly swinging "Hen House" dedicated to Joe Henderson. Other Selmer stars include a Wayne Shorter, who is shown by the leader's soprano in the Weather Report fashion on the exciting and propulsive... read more
Michael Dease - MSU Jazz Trombones: Spartan Strong
by Jack Bowers, All About Jazz
4 STARS
Michael Dease, widely admired as one of the world's foremost jazz trombonists but rather less-known as an educator, dons his professorial garb on Spartan Strong, supervising a splendid session by a special corps of undergrads (and students in his trombone studio) who together comprise the MSU (Michigan State University) Jazz Trombones, twenty-three members in all when one counts Dease and the group's half-dozen bass... read more
Michael Zilber - Originals for the Originals
by Dave Rogers, WTJU, Richmond
Leader Michael Zilber (tenor, soprano sax) pays homage to jazz greats Mike Brecker, Sonny Rollins, Dave Liebman, Wayne Shorter, Joe Henderson, John Coltrane and Paul Desmond with his own compositions dedicated to each player's spirit and Zilber's own deeply felt connection to each. Zilber is supported by David Kikoski (piano), James Genus (Bass), Clarence Penn (drums) and with the latter three being replaced by Matt Clark, Peter Barshay and... read more
Dee Daniels - Intimate Conversations
by Dusty Groove, Jazz Chill Corner
Dee Daniels is the kind of singer who really takes us back to our precious time spent in jazz clubs on the south side of Chicago a few decades back - during the days when the old school jazz singer seemed to be a dying breed, as few labels really understood how to capture their genius or present them to the public. Daniels has an easygoing, relaxed way of putting over a tune - yet still manages to come across with a rich, soulful vibe throughout... read more
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