Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
John Wojciechowski - Focus
by Charles L. Latimer, I Dig Jazz
The jazz saxophonist John Wojciechowski is a native of Mount Clemens, MI, and a graduate of Western Michigan University. His dad was a sheet metal worker who moonlighted as a jazz organist, and who made sure music was a big part of his son's existence. After college Wojciechowski played briefly in New York, returned to Michigan, and when the worked there slowed to a crawl around 2002, he moved to Chicago and became a valuable player and jazz... read more
Harvie S - Bright Dawn
by George W Harris, Jazz Weekly
Bassist extraordinaire Harvie S does some delightful interplay with his adroit team Peter Bernstein/g, Miki Hayama/p and Matt Wilson/dr on this collection of mostly originals. He strums the strings to lead into a hip boogie groove with Bernstein on the classic "Devil May Care" while his digits pizzicato with pleasure with Hayama on the post-bop read of Chick Corea's "Humpty Dumpty". Wilson scratches and taps out a rich pulse on "Ghosts Of... read more
Ira Sullivan & Stu Katz - A Family Affair - Live at Joe Segal's Jazz Showcase
by Lloyd Sachs, JazzTimes
Ira Sullivan hasn't lived in Chicago since 1963, when he moved back to Florida to bask in the warmer climes, teach and perform with/mentor young players in the Miami area. But he is still regarded as a hometown hero in the Windy City, where he emerged as one of bebop's strongest voices alongside such peers as Johnny Griffin and Wilbur Campbell. When he comes back to town to play Joe Segal's Jazz Showcase - or, as he did last year, the Chicago... read more
The Spin Quartet - In Circles
by Don Lerman, Cadence
The Spin Quartet consists of top-notch musicians who carve out an interesting group identity. The absence of a piano or guitar from the instrumentation of two horns, bass, and drums gives clarity and an open quality to the music, aided by the fine writing from mostly band members.
Trumpeter/flugelhornist Chad McCullough wrote five of the pieces, with the subdued "Oranges Are Supposed to be Orange" and bright-eyed "Haberdasher" among his... read more
Triocity - I Believe In You
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
When do chestnuts not sound like chestnuts? When this trio of educators gets their hands on them and twists and turns them into sounds like you never heard before. Long time faculty members of Eastman School of Music, this doesn't sound like anything you ever heard on a Chuck Mangione record, even when he was leaning left in his Mercury days. This is a through left leaning set that'll have you wondering where the classics went and continually... read more
Jim Knapp Orchestra - It's Not Business, It's Personal
by Paul de Barros, Seattle Times
He was a band leader, composer, trumpet player and longtime faculty member at Cornish College of the Arts, but Jim Knapp, who died Nov. 13, will be remembered as the primary architect of Seattle's modern jazz scene. He was 82 and living in a senior care facility in Kirkland, where he died of congestive heart failure and complications from diabetes, which had prompted the amputation of a lower leg some years ago.
"He was the sound of this... read more
Tom Collier - Mallet Fantastique
by C. Michael Bailey, All About Jazz
Mallet percussionist Tom Collier finally educates listeners on the difference between the vibraphone and marimba: it is the sound. These mallet-driven instruments make a great alternative to the piano, both in solo and ensemble settings. They are rich instruments, the vibraphone with its resonant presence and the marimba with its organic woodiness. Mallet Fantastique houses six extended compositions for mallets that Collier recorded between 2004... read more
Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra - Sacred Music of Duke Ellington
by Evan Dobbins, Jazz Radio 247
In the jazz world, recreating much of Ellington's repertoire can be a touchy subject. Some feel that what Ellington's bands created is so unique, that to revisit it would be akin to repainting the Sistine Chapel -- that some things are meant to stand alone, admired but untouched. When it comes to attempting to simply imitate these works, I would have to agree. On their recent release, Sacred Music of Duke Ellington, The Seattle Repertory Jazz... read more
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