Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Don Lanphere with New Stories - Home At Last
by Ben Ohmart, Muses Muse
This cd is getting hot in my computer drive. It's been spinning for the last five hours. That's because this is the sort of jazz that was made for minds like mine. First off, it's over an hour in length, and the long 10 tracks spin with a constant, but smooth buzz that speaks always at night. But more importantly, the mindset of contemporary, straight forward, mainstream jazz is ever present. None of this artistic, ground breaking trial by... 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
Andrew Rathbun Large Ensemble - The Atwood Suites
by Marc Myers, Jazz Wax
Setting poetry to music is nothing new. Setting Margaret Atwood's poetry to music is a different matter. Most people probably aren't even aware that novelist Margaret Atwood wrote poetry. She has. Toronto saxophonist and composer Andrew Rathbun has taken her We Are Hard on Each Other and Two Islands: Excerpt From Circle/Mud Poem and set the prose to music on the two-CD set Atwood Suites (Origin). But this isn't ordinary music. First, it's richly... read more
Doug Beavers 9 - Two Shades of Nude
by Kyle O'Brien, Jazz Society of Oregon
Trombonist Beavers is known for being a member of the Mingus Big Band and also for his association with Eddie Palmieri. On his second disc as a leader and composer, Beavers leads eight other fine musicians through a disc of originals and tightly arranged covers. It's a small, modern jazz big band that tackles the music with verve. The title track shows off Beavers' fortitude as a composer. Its long note theme soars over a bubbling bop, and his... read more
Dana Hall - Into the Light
by Kevin Whitehead, NPR Music Reviews
Dana Hall doesn't often hog the spotlight on his debut album, Into the Light. He doesn't need to; he plays more stuff behind other musicians than some drummers do in a solo. Hall stays busy back there, exhorting and swinging the band, playing contrary rhythms, shifting his patterns and punctuating everybody else's solos.
Here, Herbie Hancock's "I Have a Dream" is played more or less in the style of the Miles Davis quintet with Tony Williams... read more
Richard Sussman - Live at Sweet Rhythm
by Doug Simpson, Audiophile Audition
Usually magical moments only occur once. But sometimes, with luck, magic strikes twice. That's the glory of Live at Sweet Rhythm, which features the Richard Sussman Quintet, also known as the Free Fall Reunion Band.
First a bit of history to set the proper perspective: back in 1978 pianist Sussman was part of the New York City jazz scene and played at loft parties and in smaller clubs. He met and performed with other musicians his age, which... read more
Scott Reeves Quintet - The Alchemist
by Dee Dee McNeil, Musical Memoirs
This lost recording was originally performed 'live' at the City College of New York in 2005, sixteen years ago. During the 2020 pandemic, when Scott Reeves had time on his hands, like thousands of other musicians, out of curiosity, Scott Reeves gave this long shelved project a listen.
"I was excited to hear how the quintet played so well together and I felt this may have been among my own personal bests. During the time of this... read more
Chad McCullough - Dark Wood, Dark Water
by Bill Milkowski, JazzTimes
Seattle-based trumpeter-composer Chad McCullough offers some fresh, thoughtful originals on his fine debut, along with a radically re-harmonized balladic arrangement of the Beatles' "Blackbird." He turns in some warm, lyrical flugelhorn work on the affecting opener, "Three Pillars," which also features an outstanding deep-toned upright solo from bassist Jeff Johnson. The uptempo burner "Nightmare's Dance" has McCullough blowing some fast, bright... read more
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