Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Hadley Caliman - Gratitude
by Doug Ramsey, Rifftides
I wrote in Jazz Matters about Caliman in a 1979 performance with Freddie Hubbard's band:
As the evening progressed, Caliman's playing took on much of the intensity and coloration of John Coltrane's work, but he is a more directly rhythmic player than Coltrane was toward the end of his life and from that standpoint is reminiscent of Dexter Gordon. Whatever his influences, Caliman is an inventive and cheerful soloist.
Caliman recently... read more
Brent Jensen / Rob Walker Quintet - Art of the Groove
by Jack Bowers, All About Jazz
The Brent Jensen/Rob Walker Quintet opens in a mellow groove and stays there much of the way on this backward- glancing yet quite contemporary album that wouldn't have been out of place in the bop-based Blue Note / Prestige catalogs of the late '50s - early '60s. Alto saxophonist Jensen and trumpeter Walker offer an earnest tribute to their musical predecessors -- especially the legendary Miles Davis -- without imitating them, choosing instead... read more
Darren Johnston - Life in Time
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
The New York trumpeter that's traded licks with Fred Frith comes to Chicago for some Chicago driven jazz with a mainstay trio that can pretty much play anything. With a Chicago take on loft jazz leading the way, this isn't exactly clove ciggy daddio jazz but it's loaded with the kind of stuff that gets you nodding appreciatively. This is the place to go for that late night... read more
Ziggurat Quartet - Calculated Gestures
by Jerome Wilson, Cadence Magazine
Calculated Gestures is by a group of veteran musicians from the Pacific Northwest who experiment with a gamut of sounds, using complex hip-hoppish beats on "XoBoX," snaky Indian melodies on "Vindaloo" and minimalist phrase repetition on "Oregonian Monkey Chant." These pieces often have the piano, bass, and drums locking into angular and fragmented rhythms while saxophonist Barber picks his way through on the top like he's climbing over barbed... read more
Meridian Odyssey - Second Wave
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
A bunch of musical pals from Seattle wind up under lock down in Alaska learning to fly planes and live streaming nu jazz when the mood strikes. With a throw back to some of the groovy stuff that came out of the Midwest in the 70s like Sweetbottom, Matrix, Ross Traut and others, it represents the easier side of fusion with the feel of Oregon, but from the streets, not from the co-op. Tasty stuff that has old enough roots to sound new, it's a... read more
Aaron Immanuel Wright - Eleven Daughters
by Dick Crockett, AccessSacramento.com, "The Voice" 88.7FM
Bassist Aaron Immanuel Wright's debut CD indicate a cool rendering where music is demanding, melodic and confrontational, alternating competitive dissonance with translucence. Wright's bass lines are direct with a heavy distinct convulsive sound, learned from playing in many different environments, and with a degree in philosophy and music, performing and composing among the best jazz musicians in the world. Accompanied by mentor, educator and... read more
Matt Otto - Red
by Kevin Cox, Jazz Review
Tenor saxophonist Matt Otto's latest release, Red, is an intriguing collection of 8 original compositions. Otto, now based in Los Angeles, is joined here by a trio of friends from his years on the New York scene. On this disc, Otto and his band have crafted a sound that is immediately enjoyable, and increasingly impressive with each subsequent listening. Mid-tempo grooves and pensive ballads, all of the songs share a certain haunting,... read more
Bill Anschell | Brent Jensen - We Couldn't Agree More
by Harvey Siders, JazzTimes
The art of intelligent conversation requires intelligent listening, as well as a certain give and take. What we have here is precisely that: unrehearsed, non-arranged, spontaneous conversation between a piano and a soprano sax, or rather, between the fertile minds of Bill Anschell and Brent Jensen. They are in such command of their respective instruments that, instinctively, at a millisecond's notice, they can duplicate each other's phrases and... read more
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