Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Jaiman Crunk - Encounters
by Scott Yanow, scottyanow.com
Part of a musical family, guitarist Jaiman Crunk grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, spent years living in Europe, and is now based in Seattle. Encounters is his recording debut and it is a particularly impressive effort for Crunk, both as a guitarist and as a composer.
The personnel and instrumentation change from song-to-song on Encounters. But although many all-stars are scattered throughout the eight selections, the program has a... read more
John McLean - Better Angels
by Brad Walseth, Chicagojazz.net
Guitarist John McLean opens up his sophomore effort as a leader sounding somewhat like Pat Metheny on the original title track. Grazyna Auguscik's lovely wordless vocals float through, accompanied by Jim Gailloreto's soprano sax, before Zach Brock enters with a choice violin solo. McLean answers with a burning solo of his own, while bassist Larry Kohut and drummer Eric Montzka tear up everything in their path underneath. Very cool stuff,... read more
Corey Christiansen - Dusk
by John Gilbreath, Jazz at the Library (Anacortes)
Guitarist Corey Christiansen has an innate skill at bridging traditional Americana music with jazz. This wonderful recording is as much a showcase for his emotive and fluid band, as it is for Christiansen's prodigious chops and laser sharp focus. As a suite of original compositions, plus one traditional, "Didn't Leave Nobody But the Baby," Dusk is evocative of feelings, people, and places, both imagined and... read more
Chad McCullough - Dark Wood, Dark Water
by Elliott Simon, All About Jazz
As illuminating as new views of familiar landscapes can be, a vibrant jazz scene is best measured by its ability to foster young artists creating new music. Dark Wood, Dark Water's compositions employ advanced harmonics and are all originals, save for the band's lovely and unique take on Lennon-McCartney's "Blackbird." Joining Chad McCullough and Jeff Johnson are Bishop himself, saxophonists Mark Taylor and Geof Bradfield and pianist Bill... read more
John Stowell & Dan Dean - Rain Painting
by Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz
4-STARS Now here's a uniquely compelling set from two of the Pacific Northwest's great individualists on one of jazz's most stalwart imprints. Guitarist John Stowell and multi-hyphenate Dan Dean have each made their respective marks on many Origin dates in the past. The former's instruments have figured into more than 25 recordings there, from solo sets to duo meetings with Dave Liebman and sideman appearances to a string of albums with... read more
Doug Lofstrom with Misha Rachlevsky & the Russian String Orchestra - Music for Strings
by Daniela Ziemann, WDR3 Radio (Berlin)
(Radio Broadcast) The American composer Doug Lofstrom spent five years working on his opera "Two soldiers". After that he was burned out and started an experiment to get his creativity back to life. In August 1989 he wanted to write one piece of music - for a lunar cycle. As he himself says, the results were widely different. From the best ideas he later formed his composition "August Diary" - August diary. A four-movement and catchy piece for... read more
Florian Hoefner - Luminosity
by VINCENZO ROGGERO, All About Jazz Italia
Il quartetto di Florian Hoefner -origini tedesche, residenza da anni a New York - è con Luminosity alla terza uscita discografica e si sente. L'intesa fra i musicisti è perfetta -Seamus Blake è subentrato a Mike Ruby ma sembra membro del gruppo da sempre -la musica ha la precisione di un orologio svizzero, fluisce senza scossoni e senza impedimenti. Vi è inoltre una chirurgica successione di brani dall'andamento lento e riflessivo con... read more
Chenxi Pan - This Very Moment
by Dee Dee McNeil, Making A Scene
Chenxi Pan is a storyteller. She has a pleasing tone and has composed all thirteen songs on this album. Her vocals are tenor saxophone-smooth. In fact, on the first song "Hymn for the Spring" she and sax man, Nathan Nakadegawa-Lee blend sweetly, like chocolate and caramel. The bluesy guitar of George Rykova adds another texture to the arrangement.
Born and raised in China, Chenxi Pan changed her path of study from literature to music,... read more
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