Origin Records Reviews

Upper Left Trio - Ulternative
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz

Portland, Oregon's Upper Left Trio has been together nearly a decade. The group began its recording journey on Origin Records in 2003 with Cycling. Ulternative is the trio's fourth recording for the label, and continues to push its music forward.

The piano trio has, since pianist Bill Evans' late 1950s/early 1960s recordings with bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian, ridden the three-way interaction approach rather than the earlier... read more

Cathy Segal-Garcia - SOCIAL ANTHEMS, VOLUME 1
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect

The Los Angeles vocalist Cathy Segal-Garcia brings us back to songs from the '60s and '70s here, where the strong lyrical content suits the many problems we are dealing with in today's society, and she's got Anthony Wilson, Josh Nelson, Lorca Hart, Edwin Livingston, Paul Jost and Mon David to help her on the aptly titled album.

"For What It's Worth", by Stephen Stills, starts the listen with soft piano and warm guitar as Segal-Garcia's... read more

Geof Bradfield - Urban Nomad
by John Barron, All About Jazz.com

On Urban Nomad, Chicago saxophonist Geof Bradfield and his powerhouse quartet perform with tremendous spirit, maintaining a momentum that is vibrant and infectious. Bradfield's inventive, yet tightly-focused tenor and soprano playing is propelled by pianist Ron Perrillo, drummer George Fludas and bassist Clark Sommers, soaring through a mostly original set of charged-up progressive jazz.

Bradfield's compositions are full of shifting time... read more

Eva Cortes - Crossing Borders
by Raul da Gama, Latin Jazz Network

Editor's Pick · Featured Album Although the release of Crossing Borders by Eva Cortés comes just two years after In Bloom appeared on Truth Revolution Records, it feels like a much longer time since her sultry voice has been heard on record. Thankfully the wait is over and listeners can bask in the beguiling music of Eva Cortés once again. The smoky-voiced singer is in fine form throughout this disc, singing in Spanish and... read more

Hood Smoke - Laid Up In Ordinary
by Tim Seisser, Bass Musician Magazine

Born in Milwaukee, Bryan started playing bass at the age of twelve. Now in his tenth year based in Chicago, Bryan can be heard playing everything from modern jazz to authentic Latin to funk-dripped soul. Bryan?s versatile bass skills and compositions have brought him national recognition and solidified his reputation as one of music?s brightest stars.

Tim: So tell the readers a bit about your background in music and how you came to play... read more

Chris Walden Big Band - Home Of My Heart
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz

German-born, Los Angeles-based composer/arranger/flugelhornist Chris Walden looks way too young to be this good at a task as daunting as big band writing. He looks almost too young to be sitting in with the band, though he is pushing the ripe old age of forty. But he started early at the art, writing big band arrangements while he was still in high school, and later putting together the charts for the Frankfurt Radio Big Band and the RIAS Big... read more

speak - Speak
by John Barron, All About Jazz

The Seattle-based quintet Speak explores a multitude of musical moods with their eponymous recording debut. An exemplary model of genre-defying music, the disc features original compositions that delve into odd-metered progressive rock grooves and spontaneous bursts of improvised sound that are at times explosive.

The opening cut "Amalgam in the Middle" makes anthemic pronouncements with an extended section for Aaron Otheim's intensity... read more

Various Artists - Winter: An Origin Records Holiday Collection
by Carol Swanson, christmasreview.com

Winter is a solid jazz compilation by Origin Records, a label created in 1997 by Seattle drummer John Bishop. The label's focus is primarily on significant Northwest artists, and this CD is a perfect example of the burgeoning jazz community abounding in the Seattle area. Joining Bishop on this instrumental CD are Hans Teuber (saxophones, piano), Dave Peterson (guitar, piano), and Jeff Johnson (bass).

Slip this CD into the audio system, and... read more

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