Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Bobby Broom - Upper West Side Story
by John Barron, The Jazz Word
Chicago-based Guitarist Bobby Broom pays tribute to his childhood upbringing in New York with Upper West Side Story, his first recording of all original material with longtime trio mates Dennis Carroll on upright bass and drummers Kobe Watkins and Makaya McCraven.
Broom is in top form throughout, unfolding horn-like lines that are full of surprise, yet characteristically soulful. The disc's nine tunes range from straight-eighth rock and Latin... read more
Cathy Segal-Garcia - SOCIAL ANTHEMS, VOLUME 1
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
Bob Lefsetz keeps saying things are messy these days because music doesn't drive the culture anymore. Part of the problem is that no one is driving the music. SoCal jazz vocalist Sega Garcia reaches back to the 60s to refashion some anthems the kids aren't punching up on You Tube anyway for a new airing with a new audience. Rounding up some real A teamers for her label debut, her renditions take you someplace different that's a place you need to... read more
Benny Powell - Nextep
by George Fendel, Oregon Jazz Scene
Benny Powell can hand you a resume with the likes of Basie, Jones-Lewis, Heath, and Benny Carter to name a few. This time out, however, it's Benny's own band with TK Blue on reeds, Sayuri Goto, piano, Essiet Essiet, bass, Billy Hart, drums. The group begins with a New Orleans-like street march called "Free to Be Me." It seems to set the pace for the remaining nine originals by various band members. For the most part, there's a nice, laid-back,... read more
Joel Miller - Swim
by David Franklin, Cadence
Since 2001, the Canadian tenorist Joel Miller has released six recordings under his own name, the 2011 Swim being the latest. On this album, as on earlier ones, Miller shows himself to be an extraordinary saxophonist able to execute the most difficult technical passages with apparent ease. But he employs his technique not for show but in the service of a well-developed, creative melodic sensibility enhanced by an attractive Mintzer/ Brecker-like... read more
Deep Blue Organ Trio - Wonderful!
by Hrayr Attarian, Chicago Jazz
Deep Blue Organ Trio's Wonderful! is much more than just another Stevie Wonder tribute. Covering nine songs from Wonder's "classic" period, the members of the trio dissect the music, get to the spirit of it and reconstruct it in their own, unique vision.
Although formed 11 years ago, the three have played together for almost 20 years now. This has generated a camaraderie that is obvious from the start on the interplay of "Tell Me Something... read more
Ben Thomas Tango Project - The Hat with the Grin and the Chuckle
by Eric Olson, Earshot Jazz
Not quite an accordion, nor exactly an oversized harmonica, coming off somewhere between a blown reed instrument and a bowed string, the indelible, somewhat nasally bandoneon — the melodic mainstay of traditional tango music — is frequently a clarion call to the dancefloor.
But not always! On The Hat with the Grin and the Chuckle, the newest album from the Ben Thomas Tango Project, the bandoneon functions as the most outspoken member of a... read more
Michael Waldrop - Origin Suite
by Brian Morton, Jazz Journal (London)
4-STARS The heart sinks a little at the threat of a concept suite celebrating the span of human history, then bucks a little with the thought that there have been some very good ones: Mingus's Pithecanthropus Erectus, Grachan Moncur III's Evolution, George Russell's The African Game...
This latest attempt, written in emulation of Buddy Rich's epic suites, actually only occupies the first 10 minutes of a long and richly varied CD and... read more
Corey Christiansen - Factory Girl
by Rick Anderson, CD Hotlist
Here's another take on source material from unlikely places: guitarist Corey Christiansen leads a quintet through a solid set of jazz adaptations of traditional folk and fiddle tunes like "John Hardy," "Shenandoah," and "Factory Girl." What's particularly impressive here is the way he manages to craft genuinely interesting jazz arrangements of harmonically dead-simple tunes like "Cluck Old Hen" and "Old Joe Clark." One of his secret ingredients... read more
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