Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Chris Walden Big Band - No Bounds
by Jim Santella, All About Jazz
For his sophomore release, trumpeter Chris Walden has written big band arrangements for several old chestnuts, several fresh originals and a few rare gems. His program sparkles with an accessible ambience. The combination of several vocal selections, a balance of orchestral instruments and big band sounds, and stellar soloing from this lineup of Los Angeles all-stars ensures that No Bounds will compare favorably with Walden's highly successful... read more
Scott Hesse - The Stillness of Motion
by Dave Sumner, Bird is the Worm
Enjoyable straight-ahead jazz guitar trio. Hesse develops a pleasantly talkative mode on his guitar. The bass and drums duo of Clark Sommers & Makaya McCraven clearly speak Hesse's... read more
Chris Walden Big Band - No Bounds
by Jack Bowers, All About Jazz
Any way you slice it, it's not easy for a big band to earn a Grammy Award nomination. Composer/arranger Chris Walden's debut album, Home of My Heart, received not one but two, for Best Large Jazz Ensemble and Best Instrumental Arrangement. One year later, Walden returns with another strong contender, No Bounds, showcasing eleven of his exemplary charts performed by an all-star ensemble of Los Angeles-area studio/big band musicians.
Walden,... read more
Peter Epstein and Idée Fixe - Abstract Realism
by David Kane, Cadence
Aptly titled, Abstract Realism plies the interesting waters that lie between conventional Jazz and the Avant-garde. This is the sort of progressive Jazz I find interesting: Jazz that employs both tonality and atonality; where written material serves to propel the performers into improvised flights of fancy and where the music is replete with dynamic contrast. Just a quick com parison of two tracks, "Simple" and "Center" for instance, cover quite... read more
Marcos Varela - San Ygnacio
by Scott Albin, Amazon
Although Marcos Varela was born and raised in Houston, his roots go back to the tiny Texas town of San Ygnacio and the family ranch that dates back to at least the 1750's-- hence this album's title. From Varela's New York City base of the past 12 years, the active bassist has performed with such artists as Jason Moran, Geri Allen, the Mingus Big Band, and Kendrick Scott, while also composing music for film and TV. For his first CD as a... read more
Michael Waldrop - Native Son
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect
The inestimable drummer Michael Waldrop is aligned with some excellent company, as Vasil Hadžimanov and Martin Gjakonovski accompany him across 8 cultured tracks, where Brad Dutz, Jose Rossy and Chris Symer are also in attendance.
The title track leads with Waldrop's precise drumming amid Dutz's lively percussion and Hadžimanov's pretty key progressions that add much melody, and "Vasconcelos" follows with Gjakonovski's meticulous bass that... read more
David Friesen - Structures
by Dave Rogers, WTJU - Richmond
Double disc release from bassist / pianist / composer arranger Friesen offers two duo performances on this set: he plays bass and piano with Joe Manis (tenor, soprano sax) on the first disc and bass with Larry Koonse (electric guitar). All compositions were written by Friesen. The textures are notably different as you might expect, but the suppleness of the players stands out either way. The softness of the guitar tone gives that disc a mellower... read more
Jack Mouse - Range of Motion
by Tim Willcox, Oregon Jazz Scene
Mouse is a veteran of the Chicago jazz scene. A quick gander at his bio reveals a sideman?s dream. Mouse has spent decades performing with a who?s who of jazz greats. His newest album is collection of 10 originals, mostly written by Mouse himself. His drum style lies somewhere between Shelly Manne, Paul Motian and Joe Morello. Loose, painterly and swinging are adjectives that come to mind on hearing him. His writing style is a smorgasbord, from... read more
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