Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Michael Waldrop Big Band - Time Within Itself
by Jack Bowers, All About Jazz
4 1/2 STARS Drummer Michael Waldrop has named his inaugural album as leader of a big band Time Within Itself. An even more appropriate name might have been It's About Time. Waldrop, who has taught for the past decade or so at Eastern Washington University, boasts a resume as long as one's arm. It includes a master's degree from the University of Memphis and a doctorate from the University of North Texas where he was a member of the... read more
Scott Neumann Neu3 Trio - Blessed
by Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader
Track of the Day - Over the last decade and a half or so one of my favorite jazz saxophonists has been Michael Blake, the Vancouver native who first made his name as a member of one of the final lineups of John Lurie's Lounge Lizards. That's not the context where I first heard Blake, and to be honest I've enjoyed his work on his own much more. He's rooted in hard bop tradition, but over the years he's measuredly deployed interesting... read more
Greta Matassa - The Smiling Hour
by John Henry, Audiophile Audition
We get many female jazz vocal albums sent in for review. Most don't make the cut, so when I review one it has to be rather special. This one is special. Don't know how I missed Ms. Matassa all this time - she's appeared on five previous Origin CDs. I knew she was big in the Seattle area, but hadn't heard a CD. This is a voice with real personality, range, control, and good humor. It's a package that features a lot more than just singing in... read more
Michael Zilber - East West: Music for Big Bands
by Marco Cangiano, The New York City Jazz Record
Michael Zilber's resumé is rich and varied, deserving much wider recognition. Originally from Canada, he spent the first part of his career in New York then moved across the country to San Francisco, where he now resides. This is by far his most ambitious project and first recording with big bands, following the very successful Originals for the Originals and the quartets he shared with guitar great John Stowell. Zilber's writing reflects a... read more
Rodney Whitaker - All Too Soon: The Music of Duke Ellington
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
Released in time for Ellington's centennial plus 20, Ellington proves how timeless his work was. In the hands of a bass ace that earned his Ellington spurs over 9 years with LCJO, he assembles a murderer's row of contemporary players that bust such smoking moves, Ellington will remain relevant for at least another century. A stone cold master class in a master's works that's so heart felt and spirited it just transcends all boundaries. Killer... read more
Nanami Haruta - The Vibe
by Ferell Aubre, The Jazz Word
With her debut album, The Vibe, trombonist Nanami Haruta confidently steps onto the jazz scene, marking herself as an exhilarating player on the jazz scene. Released February 28, 2025, on Origin Records, the album circles Haruta's exceptional talent. Mentor and producer Michael Dease presence on trombone and baritone saxophone imbues the project with energy.
The album opens invitingly with Renee Rosnes' "Girlie's World," arranged by Chris... read more
Scenes - Trapeze
by Paul Rauch, All About Jazz
4-STARS The storyline for the Pacific Northwest-based band Scenes began in 1983, when drummer John Bishop and guitarist John Stowell began playing together in Portland and Seattle. When bassist Jeff Johnson arrived in Seattle in 1989, he began playing a weekly trio gig with Bishop and tenor saxophonist Rick Mandyck. Stowell, already frequently traveling abroad to play and teach, would drop by every so often to play.
The quartet... read more
Matt Otto - Red
by David Franklin, JazzTimes April 2006
If Paul Desmon was, as he proclaimed, the "world's slowest alto player," then Matt Otto may be the world's quietest tenor man. On the eight originals that comprise Red, Otto's dynamics rarely rise above the level of an intimate conversation. His delivery is so relaxed and subtle that even the intake of breath is sometimes audible. But although Otto doesn't strut, he does quietly demonstrate an admirable control of his instrument and of chord... read more
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