Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Bongwool Lee - My Singing Fingers
by Dave Sumner, Bird is the Worm
Sometimes you just want to sit back with a piano trio recording that plays it nice and straight, and patiently dives into a melody to explore every inch. The debut from Bongwool Lee will definitely fit that need. The pianist straddles that middle ground where old-school jazz bleeds into the modern post-bop, and so the music is always plenty lively even when it grows increasingly contemplative. Bassist Luques Curtis and drummer Kendrick Scott... read more
Sarah Partridge - Bright Lights and Promises: Redefining Janis Ian
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
If Partridge wasn't the art chick with loads extra, we'd have to be scratching our heads wondering why a jazz tribute to Janis Ian. Well, Partridge brings in Allen Farnham to help with the music and brings in Ian herself to co-write some new ones. Take that homage makers! Long after you've taken Ian for granted, this revival does more than pump air into her lungs. Making music and taking risks? What a concept. Turn your ears Partridge's... read more
Brittany Anjou - Enamigo Reciprokataj
by Ken Micallef, JazzTimes
There's a wonderful sense of becoming, of exploration and playfulness on Minot, North Dakota-born pianist Brittany Anjou's debut recording. She crams so much talent and energy into the album's 10 songs that you wonder if she'll ever come up for air. Enamiĝo Reciprokataj (Esperanto for "reciprocal love") is the daring work of a 35-year-old visionary. Though Anjou sometimes seems about to spin off her piano seat, she's ultimately a channel, a... read more
Ray Vega & Thomas Marriott - Return of the East-West Trumpet Summit
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
Seattle-based trumpeter Thomas Marriott plays well with electricity. Specifically, with the Hammond B3 organ. The most memorable of his now nine CDs on Origin Records feature either the Hammond B3 or some serious Moog synthesizer/Fender Rhodes work: Crazy: The Music of Willie Nelson (2007), with Ryan Burns on electric keys; Human Spirit (2009), featuring Gary Versace on B3; and now Return of the East-West Summit, with the versatile George... read more
PJ Newman - The Hand Of Dog
by Craig Matsumoto, KZSU
Jazzy sax solos over odd synth soundscapes. Newman starts with sampled sounds and synth washes, overlaying a concretely jazzy soloist -- often Jessica Lurie, a saxophonist with an adventurous but accessible style (check out her pop/fusion band, Living Daylights). A mix of thoughtfulness and fun jamming.
This doesn't apply to Track 5 (see below).
1- Slow, pretty sax tones
2- Bright sax wanderings over synthy soundscape. Cool hand drums... read more
Thomas Marriott - Constraints & Liberations
by Peter Walton, Earshot Jazz
Released in November, Constraints & Liberations is trumpeter and flugelhornist Thomas Marriott?s second release of 2010, and it is his most satisfying disc to date. Marriott leads his quintet of saxophonist Hans Teuber, bassist Jeff Johnson, percussionist John Bishop, and pianist Gary Versace through seven original compositions, including Jeff Johnson?s ?Clues.? Hailed in Paul de Barros? liner notes as Marriott?s breakthrough album, Constraints... read more
Bobby Rozario - Healer
by Dee Dee McNeil, Making A Scene
A jazz/blues guitar opens this production. It saturates my listening room with a blues 'riff.' Then voices enter, chanting the title of this album, "Healer." Bobby Rozario plays guitar, timbales and is the lead singer on this tune. He is of Indian and Brazilian-Portuguese descent, as well as a third-generation musician. This is his second album recorded on the Origin Label. The first was called "Spellbound."
Mentored by his parents in... read more
Michael Vlatkovich Tritet w/ Jonas Tauber and Ken Ollis - Queen Dynamo
by Adam Greenburg, All Music Guide
A deeply interesting album of progressive jazz from the Portland trombonist Michael Vlatkovich. Abandoning his usual big band, Vlatkovich instead takes up a small trio (actually a "tritet" by his own account) of bass, drums, and himself on trombone. Joining Vlatkovich in the trio are Swiss classically-oriented bassist Jonas Tauber, and fellow Portland drummer Ken Ollis. The music is largely improvised, with some structure imparted by Vlatkovich,... read more
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