Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Paul Marinaro - Mood Ellington
by Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move
4-STARS In an era when most jazz vocalists seem to chase innovation through phrasing acrobatics or pop-inflected crossovers, Paul Marinaro's new double album feels almost radical in its restraint. The Chicago baritone approaches Duke Ellington's canon not as a museum piece but as a living, breathing songbook, reimagined through thirteen of today's leading arrangers, yet rendered with a reverence that evokes the golden age of the American... read more
Dan Dean - Songs Without Words
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
Recording on Mercer Island and giving the first special thanks credit to Nancy Rumbel - do you think this is going to be your usual egghead classical date? The protean bass player surrounds himself with his ax and his voice and a mic taking warhorse repertoire to places you'd never imagine. Deciding to do it for himself this time around, the unquestionable bass ace takes it to church and everyplace else in the course of this sterling recital.... read more
Marcos Varela - San Ygnacio
by John D'Auria, Bass Player
The latest album by young New York-based doubler Varela shows he can swing with the best of them, as exhibited on the opening track, "I Should Care." Varela's solo at the halfway point bursts with harmony, as he speeds his way up and down the fingerboard with precision. While the album as a whole is a melting pot of styles and vibes, it all merges together perfectly, thanks to Varela's vibrant upright... read more
Marc Seales - American Songs, Volume 2: Blues...and Jazz
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
Talk about being in the right place at the right time! Why do you know the opening track on this set by the long time mainstay of Seattle jazz? Because it's a music file in Windows XP making it one of the most listened to pieces of jazz this side of Vince Guaraldi's Charlie Brown themes. With more meat on it's bones than Eno's ta da wave, he knowingly rolls out a set of mostly originals with a little reliance on Miles and Trane for a piano... read more
Darrell Grant - Truth And Reconciliation
by JON W. POSES, Columbia Tribune / Columbia, Missouri
Pianist Darrell Grant has carved out a worldwide trail from his Pacific Northwest base of operations. His latest release is "Truth and Reconciliation," a two-disc effort that is as honest and earnest as ever. If you ever cross paths with him, he will strike you as a gentle soul - and his musical approach tends to reflect that as well as fluidity. One reviewer said the recording "might be categorized as music to make the world a better... read more
Dominic J. Marshall - Spirit Speech
by Luc van Gaans, HiFi - Netherlands
Jazz pianists are like red wine, they should mature to taste mature and fuller. But Dominic J Marshall proves that rule does not always apply. Living in the Netherlands, the pianist came from Scotland in 2012, yielding a promising second CD with Icaros. Now he again makes a particularly strong CD, and while he is a young 24 years, at that young age he is already a very mature wine. To which grand cru does this lead?
Just like... read more
Karrin Allyson - A Kiss for Brazil
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect
The esteemed vocalist, pianist and percussionist Karrin Allyson adds to her catalog of Brazilian sounds with these 10 adventurous tracks that recruit Rosa Passos, Vitor Goncalves, Yotam Silberstein, Harvie S and Rafael Barata.
The playful and cozy "Flor de Lis" begins the listen with Silberstein's warm guitar and Barata's frisky drums that complement Allyson's flowing vocals, and "Month Of March In Salvagor (Dunas)" continues the worldly... read more
Benjamin Boone | Philip Levine - The Poetry of Jazz
by Michael Jackson, Downbeat
4-STARS Like a whiskey aged in charred casks, not a gin - which Pulitzer-winning poet laureate Philip Levine at first taste thought was hair tonic - this collection of world-weary words framed by quick-witted saxophonist/composer Benjamin Boone should be taken neat and steep sampled. Levine grew up in Detroit, and as a teenager during the '50s worked in car manufacturing plants. His general cynicism about the workplace is at odds with... read more
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