Bassist Rodney Whitaker is both a highly talented instrumentalist and the director of Michigan State University's Jazz program. He and his band (made up mostly of fellow Michigan State faculty members) bring marvelous life to the work of Lansing, Michigan composer Gregg Hill. The band's (quartets and quintets) instrumentals swing hard, riveting the listener from Note One. When vocalist Rockelle Whitaker brings her vocals to the mix on four... read more
Composer and arranger Phil Kelly has written volumes of stuff during the past 40 years for recording artists, bands, symphony pops, film, television, and commercials and now at age 65, he has finally gotten around to write some music for himself. The fruit of his labors are on his debut CD for Origin Records, Convergence Zone: Phil Kelly And The NW Prevailing Winds.
Convergence Zone is an apt title for this project. A "convergence zone" is... read more
Taking ownership of a series of obscure Ornette Coleman songs, drummer Todd Bishop shines them through a facet of his own view of the music, while leaving the beating heart of the originals intact, not a scratch upon them.
Most strikingly, the album is an easy listen. Not in the sense that it's straight-forward, but instead, Bishop doesn't needlessly complicate matters. Due to his inventiveness, Coleman's music already comes with its... read more
Four decades into his career, Gene Argel has finally dropped his debut album. Recorded with some of Seattle's finest players, Luminescent is a bridging of Argel's original home -- he grew up in Tacoma -- and his adopted one, the island of Maui, where Argel has lived since 1982. There's a lot of catching up to do, and the album does its best to cover years of ground: some tracks are swinging, others funky, others haunting tributes to the... read more
CDs RECOMENDADOS
Abril de 2012
****1/2 Stars
Por motivos que, com toda a certeza, se prendem com o seu empenho na �rea do ensino e com o seu papel enquanto pensador do jazz - o sintomaticamente intitulado "Forward Motion", um manual da improvisa��o da sua autoria, resulta exatamente dessa sua dedica��o � aprendizagem do jazz -, Hal Galper �, quanto a mim, um dos m�sicos mais injustamente negligenciados nas �ltimas d�cadas.... read more
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
This new offering by the Tim Davies Big Band features all-new compositions and arrangements by Tim Davies (apart from a fresh re-imagination of the Ellington/Tizol Caravan and Faure's famous Elegy). Davies' eclectic, expressive writing features the didgeridoo, vocal rap performances, solo cello, and imaginative horn/rhythm section interplay. The first four compositions on the CD form a "Dream Trilogy," with each work musically... read more
There's a bunch of different kinds of things going on here as these two improvisers of long standing friendship sat down together with nothing thought out ahead of time except getting out of each others way and rolling tape on improvs about their personal devotion to Christ, not religion. Didn't know how much quasi crime jazz could be squeezed out of the body of the host. It's a very personal record they invite you to join them... read more
This is just a small collection of the Origin Records reviews. Click here to view all reviews or try to Search for your favorite CD title.
Abate Berihun & The Addis Ken Project - Addis Ken
by Hanna Kay, Cult News (Paris)
Abate Berihun & The Addis Ken Project - Addis Ken
by Budapest, Rudolf Radnai
Abate Berihun & The Addis Ken Project - Addis Ken
by Editor, Bman's Blues Report
Jared Hall - Hometown
by Editor, Bman's Blues Report
Dawn Clement - Dear Ms. Dearie
by Editor, Bman's Blues Report
Jared Hall - Hometown
by Dee Dee McNeil, Making A Scene
Affinity Trio - New Outlook
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect
Michael Dease Big Band - Return Trajectory
by Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move
Brad Goode Quintet Feat. Ernie Watts - Live Your Dream: Live at North Street Cabaret
by Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move
Maja Jaku - Blessed & Bewitched
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect