Twenty-first Century Orchestral Music. For a string orchestra named Scrape, this music is quite well behaved and well- integrated. Approaching Vyones is composed of ten short pieces, each independent of the other, yet melding well as a whole. Guitarist Bill Frisell contributes one piece, "Naomi" to the collection, while the remainder of the selections are Jim Knapp compositions. Traces of Barber and Piston can be heard among the... read more
Reed player Geof Bradfield's U.S. State Dept. sponsored trip across Africa in 2008 affected him greatly and resulted in his writing the music for his new album African Flowers based on his experiences. We covered his concert presenting this music at the Chicago Cultural Center last October (see our review and photos from that event here ) and were struck at the time at how the trip to the African continent had pushed Bradfield's writing... read more
This is the second CD of Friesen with his current Circle 3 Trio with Friesen on bass, Greg Goebel, on piano, and Charlie Doggett on drums, with all the music created by David Friesen, almost seventy minutes of creative improvisation.
This trio plays around the Portland, Oregon area (when Friesen is not on international or national tour or instructional events) with regular weekly gigs, and they have a tight sound, are well aware of each... read more
I was an only child born in Peoria, Ill., just a couple of stones' throw to Chicago, before we moved to Lincoln when I was one year old. My dad worked for my mom's family, selling jewelry and buying clothes for their store. He'd go to the market in New York semi-annually and fly to meet my mother and me in Chicago for our annual summer vacation. She and I would take the train to rendezvous there. When I was 10 and very much into baseball, they... read more
4-STARS What could possibly be so interesting about a thirty-two-year old session of first takes, recorded live to 2-track DAT by a quartet led by a Seattle- based bassist who is not exactly a household name? A quick answer would include superlatives such as "masterful," or "historic." A brief history of bassist and composer Jeff Johnson creates a better sense of understanding. Johnson is perhaps best known as a pioneering member of... read more
Elmo Hope was a contemporary of Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk. He only lived to be 43 and never achieved much fame or fortune, but he was a talented bop pianist and composer with a style of his own. New Stories, a trio consisting of pianist Marc Seales, bassist Doug Miller, and drummer John Bishop, revives 11 of Hope's better songs on this CD, including "Dee-Dah," the moody "Stars Over Marrakech," and "Carving the Rock." Although their playing... read more
The jazz guitarist Bobby Broom last album was Upper Westside Stories. He packed it with new music, and for the first time fans were able to take in the full range of his writing. It was a wonderful and a daring outing. For Broom's new album My Shining Hour, available August 19th on Origin Records, Broom drummer Makaya McCraven and bassist Dennis Carrol reworks some well-known tunes from the great American Songbook such as "My... read more
The team of tenor saxist Rick Mandyck, guitarist John Stowell, bassist Jeff Johnson and drummer John Bishop create sounds akin to vintage ECM sessions on this cool toned collection of mostly instrumentals. Stowell has a tone and approach similar to John Abercrombie, never overplaying his hand as he floats with Mandyck's lithe tenor on "All Day Pass", or rumbling together and creating ripples on "The Reckoning" with Mandyck creating subtones of... read more
This is just a small collection of the Origin Records reviews. Click here to view all reviews or try to Search for your favorite CD title.
Abate Berihun & The Addis Ken Project - Addis Ken
by Hanna Kay, Cult News (Paris)
Abate Berihun & The Addis Ken Project - Addis Ken
by Budapest, Rudolf Radnai
Abate Berihun & The Addis Ken Project - Addis Ken
by Editor, Bman's Blues Report
Jared Hall - Hometown
by Editor, Bman's Blues Report
Dawn Clement - Dear Ms. Dearie
by Editor, Bman's Blues Report
Jared Hall - Hometown
by Dee Dee McNeil, Making A Scene
Affinity Trio - New Outlook
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect
Michael Dease Big Band - Return Trajectory
by Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move
Brad Goode Quintet Feat. Ernie Watts - Live Your Dream: Live at North Street Cabaret
by Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move
Maja Jaku - Blessed & Bewitched
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect