Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
New York Voices - Reminiscing in Tempo
by C. Michael Bailey, All About jazz
What the quartet New York Voices achieves with their performance of Dave Brubeck's "Blue Rondo Á La Turk" disguised as "Round, Round, Round" by lyricist Lauren Kinhan is nothing short of a schizophrenic jazz "Carmina Burana." Lithe, muscular, and smart, the performance is dense and thought-provoking, deftly navigating between its disparate 9/8 and 4/4 sections.
The 9/8 sections are presented in almost astringent counterpoint, the vocals... read more
Corey Christiansen - Factory Girl
by Rick Anderson, CD Hotlist
Here's another take on source material from unlikely places: guitarist Corey Christiansen leads a quintet through a solid set of jazz adaptations of traditional folk and fiddle tunes like "John Hardy," "Shenandoah," and "Factory Girl." What's particularly impressive here is the way he manages to craft genuinely interesting jazz arrangements of harmonically dead-simple tunes like "Cluck Old Hen" and "Old Joe Clark." One of his secret ingredients... read more
Tim Davies Big Band - The Expensive Train Set
by Hobart Taylor, KUCI - Irvine, CA
Composer/arranger Davies's day job is Hollywood... film scores, arranging a symphonic performance of Kendrick Lamar's "To Pimp a Butterfly", etc. Here he gets to show his own capacity to write and arrange big band music as high art. Like the late '40's Kenton bands, or even more like say Sauter-Finegan, Davies explores the complex possibilities inherent in coordinating so many moving pieces. The title of the CD refers to the fact that big... read more
John Stowell and Dave Liebman - Blue Rose
by Chris Lunn, Ancient Victorys
Stowell, for the mid-late 70s jazz shows at the Tracks in Auburn, is on a roll of CD releases. We reviewed another duet in the Fall 2013 issue with Throop, and in April he tours the Northwest with our Kendra Shank to support a duet CD they are completing. Here, he teams with Dave Liebman on soprano, tenor, piano, and wood flute. They did a trio thing in Banff Jazz Workshop with Don Thompson, and that is captured and also available on... read more
Ryan Shultz - Hair Dryers
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
You'd have to be a hard core jazzbo to get the significance of this but Shultz is one of the few bass trumpeters out there. And he's right here in Chicago pushing the envelope of innovation right in our backyards. With a bunch of locals backing him that locals would do well to get more familiar with, this music of big shoulders is not full of smelly onions. This crew had to spend a fair bunch of time digging the sounds of AACM and they... read more
Bill Anschell - Rumbler
by Hobart Taylor, KUCI - Irvine, CA
Bill Anschell is a pianist arranger who provides here that subtle miracle of jazz performance, making an elephant walk on stilts. Deep in tone and soul his tunes and a couple of covers, (most notably Monk's "Misterioso" with a super performance from Seattle's Richard Cole on sax),have solidity and assuredness, and yet seem casual and airy at the same time.... read more
David Sills - Down The Line
by Brian Soergel, JazzTimes, September 2006
Tenorist David Sills, despite being in his mid-30's, could pass for a Lester Young disciple of the late 1940s or 1950s. Not that he sounds like any one Young follower in particular, as he possesses a personal tone and constructs his solos in a distinctive manner. His thoughtful improvisations catch the ear with unexpected phrasing that swings comfortably along. Sills shares the frontline with altoist Gary Foster, another saxophonist whose pure... read more
Collier & Dean - Duets
by Harvey Siders, Jazz Times
Tom Collier and Dan Dean show up again-this time up close and personal-on Duets (Origin). Joined at the hip (very hip) for four decades, they boast a passion for exploration and curiosity greater than Lewis and Clark's. This release, culled from four Seattle sessions recorded between 2001 and 2004, reveals a rich, swinging tapestry woven by vibraphone and electric bass.
The leaders contributing two originals apiece, with the remaining seven... read more
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