Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Clarence Penn - Behind the Voice
by Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz
4-STARS Drummer Clarence Penn, a serious force on the scene for more than three decades, has worked with a who's who of vocalists—Betty Carter, Kandace Springs, Luciana Souza, Kate McGarry, Nellie McKay, Claudia Acuna, Paula Cole, Melissa Walker and Nneena Freelon, to name just a few. He knows more than a thing or two about history and creativity behind the voice, and he's here to show it with this sharply-constructed date. Working... read more
Mark Colby - Reflections
by Adam Greenberg, All Music Guide
He's been playing for quite a while, largely as a sideman, but Mark Colby makes his Origin debut here, part of a series of Chicago musicians who the label quietly picked up bit by bit, all with excellent and individual sounds. On Reflections, Colby takes aim at a tribute to the various musical influences he began with, leaning heavily on the Great American Songbook, but also including a few items from elsewhere in the jazz realm (an excellent... read more
John Stowell and Ulf Bandgren - Throop
by Ken Dryden, All Music
Guitarists John Stowell and Ulf Bandgren have been friends for several years, having played together in workshops and a few concerts. These sessions feature just the two of them, with Stowell using a nylon-stringed acoustic instrument and Bandgren a steel-stringed guitar, mostly focusing on Bandgren's originals. The contrast between the sound of the two instruments makes it easy to tell the players apart, and they way they accompany one another... read more
Mark Zaleski - OUR TIME: REIMAGINING DAVE BRUBECK
by Jay N. Miller, The Patriot Ledger
Saxophonist Zaleski, a native of Boylston, studied as a teen at the Dave Brubeck Institute and now teaches at the New England Conservatory. His sextet includes brother Glenn Zaleski on piano, Mark Cocheo on guitar and Jon Bean on tenor sax, along with Mark Zaleski's alto and soprano saxes. Re-doing Brubeck music is a tall order, not least because of his long association with Paul Desmond, who had arguably the best tone of any saxophonist. They... read more
Deep Blue Organ Trio - Folk Music
by Dr. Judith Schlesinger, All About Jazz.com
With the first two bars of Folk Music, you can tell that things are going to get greasy. Few people want greasy hair or greasy food, but greasy music is a whole other story: it means soulful and swinging and played with the kind of laid-back confidence that signifies true mastery. "Blues is the preacher, jazz is the teacher," says the group's website. This approach is one reason this CD is a pleasure from beginning to end.
Another is the... read more
Chris Walden Big Band & The St. John's Choir - Kurt Marti Suite
by Jack Bowers, All About Jazz.com
It's hard to wrap one's arms around this CD by composer/arranger Chris Walden. On the one hand, Walden has coupled his intrepid ensemble of talented southern California sidemen with the 100-member St. John's Choir from Hamburg, Germany (his hometown), to set to music works by the renowned Swiss poet/lyricist Kurt Marti. On the other, the playing time is only 36:55?less than half a disc's worth?and that includes a five-minutes-plus "bonus" track,... read more
Les DeMerle Sound 67 - Once in a Lifetime
by Michael van Gee, Jazz'N'More (Switzerland)
5-STARS What a surprise: The first recordings of drummer Les DeMerle, previously thought lost, have now finally been released. Recorded in 1967 for the Atlantic label, the acetates were in the drummer's home. His band, Sound 67, featured a highly prominent lineup, including the young Randy Brecker (*1945), the outstanding Alan Gauvin and Lanny Morgan (as), as well as singer Genya Ravan ("Ten Wheel Drive").
A total of eight tracks were... read more
Laurie Antonioli - Songs of Shadow, Songs of Light
by Dr. Debra Jan Bibel, Amazon.com
Joni Mitchell certainly has gone far since June 1968 when I listened to the then emerging composer sing at New York's The Bitter End. Having become one of the honored greats of music, her numerous songs have been covered by many singers and instrumentalists. This includes jazz artists, which is appropriate since Mitchell herself wrote and performed jazz crossovers. The latest is from vocalist Laurie Antonioli, whose new album, Songs of... read more
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