Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
The H2 Big Band - It Could Happen
by Rotcod Zzaj, Improvijazzation
Pianist Dave Hanson arranged all the tunes for this big-band smash-er-oo, & it totally will rock your jazz day! Tunes like the opener, "Hocus Pocus", will have you pining for those great ol' ballroom days (Maidenform or not)! The totally down & funky "B In C" merits numerous replays, & keeps the spirit of big band alive in today's musical miasma. Too many players to itemize here, but take my word for it, the energy levels this band are able... read more
Greta Matassa - All This And Heaven Too
by Matt Collar, All Music Guide
Greta Matassa has a sexy voice. Something like June Christy or Carmen McRae waking up from a nap. It's this beckoning, warm approach that undoubtedly had much to do with her being voted the best jazz vocalist four times in Seattle's jazz magazine Earshot. Like many regional performers, Matassa has relied mostly on live performances to shape her career and has developed a growing fan base in her native Pacific Northwest. All This and Heaven Too,... read more
Bill Anschell - More To The Ear Than Meets The Eye
by Thomas Conrad, JazzTimes, February 2007
More to the Ear Than Meets the Eye is a consistently rewarding piano-trio album. Its freshness and creative strength is different on every track. There are two guests, saxophonist Richard Cole (three tunes) and trumpeter/flugelhornist Thomas Marriott (two). The horns appear only on Anschell originals, whos melodies linger in the mind. "Humble Origins" could be a jazz standard, a stark frame erected on a haunting, dark piano ostinato and an... read more
Geof Bradfield - melba!
by Martin Z. Kasdan Jr., LEO Weekly, Louisville
Saxophonist/composer Geof Bradfield enlisted his longtime employer, pianist Ryan Cohan, to play in his suite honoring Melba Liston. She was one of the first African-American women to make her name as a jazz instrumentalist (trombone) and arranger, associated over four decades with pianist Randy Weston, among many other projects. (Weston himself rightly praises Bradfield's work.) Bradfield tells Liston's story in musical movements,... read more
The Acoustic Jazz Quartet - Organic
by George Fendel, Oregon Jazz Scene
With the exception of Alone Together, the AJQ, as they may one day be known, provides only original material here. I've heard tenor David Sills play bop and ballads and admire his warm, "reeled-in" sound. Playing mates Jamie Findlay, guitar; Zac Matthews, bass and Dean Koba, drums, all lend to a tightly knit quartet with a clean and precise approach. But where's the Monk, Miles and... read more
Jon Hamar - Hymn
by John Barron, The Jazz Word
Seattle bassist Jon Hamar utilizes a high-end sense of time, tone and taste to propel his drummerless trio on his solo disc Hymn. Pianist Geoffrey Keezer and alto saxophonist Todd DelGiudice contribute to this well-conceived collection of originals and jazz classics. Hamar pays homage to bass giants John Patitucci ("Blues for J.P.") and Ray Brown ("Comes Love"), yet the focus of the session is on the ensemble as a whole. The three interact... read more
Brent Jensen with David Sills - Stay Cool
by Adam Greenburg, All Music Guide
This is an exploration of the cool jazz movement from some 50 years later. Brent Jensen studied for a time under Lee Konitz, and is here accompanied by three quarters of the Acoustic Jazz Quartet (the missing member being guitarist Jamie Findlay). Tenor sax accompaniment is provided by David Sills (a student of Gary Foster) and the songs tend toward the realm of Lennie Tristano (although staying piano-less in full cool jazz mode). The roots of... read more
Greta Matassa - Favorites From A Long Walk
by Adam Greenburg, All Music Guide
A nice album of relatively unknown songs originally done by the great female vocalists of yesteryear. Matassa has a nice way with the music, alternately whispering softly and belting out cadences as the compositions require. Matassa doesn't quite mimic the classic singers, but she does have hints of their styles slyly embedded in her delivery. Ella comes out just a bit when she starts to scat. Carmen McRae comes through a bit on a Jobim number.... read more
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