Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
John Stowell | Michael Zilber - Live Beauty
by Martin Z. Kasdan Jr., Louisville Music News
Guitarist John Stowell was a regular visitor to Louisville during the Bellarmine Jazz Guitar Festivals (RIP). Best known for his quietly elegant work, he is, in his own words, "playing with more energy" here with his friend, saxophonist Michael Zilber. They're joined by bassist John Shifflett and drummer Jason Lewis for just over an hour's worth of music, five originals from band members, plus "My Funny Valentine" and John Scofield's... read more
David Friesen - My Faith, My Life
by Doug Ramsey, Rifftides
Friesen's virtuosity brought him to prominence as a bassist nearly fifty years ago. He has remained one of the instrument's most adventurous players through a career including associations with Duke Jordan, Marian McPartland, John Handy, Denny Zeitlin, Paul Horn and other major jazz artists. This two-CD album presents him on the first disc playing his compositions on the Homage bass, an instrument he developed. On some tracks in that CD he... read more
Idit Shner & Yumiko Endo Schlaffer - Fissures: 20th Century Music For Saxophone And Harp
by C. Michael Bailey, All About Jazz
Multi-reedist Idit Shner made quite a splash with her debut recording, Tuesday's Blues (OA2, 2009). On that album, Shner led a straight- ahead quartet through some not so straight-ahead arrangements of traditional Jewish music. On Fissures she joins harpist Yumiko Endo Schlaffer in presenting 20th century compositions for saxophone and harp. The format is not so different from the classical violin sonata (pairing the violin with piano). That... read more
Geof Bradfield - African Flowers
by Ken Dryden, All Music Guide
Geof Bradfield received a grant from the Chamber Music America's New Works: Creation and Presentation Program to compose the music heard in African Flowers, his fourth CD as a leader. The money invested in the multi-reed player proved to be an excellent investment. Prior to writing the music, Bradfield traveled to Africa and like many jazz musicians who have journeyed overseas to hear other forms of music, absorbed what he heard and... read more
John La Barbera Big Band - Grooveyard
by Ruud Jonker, FWD Magazine (Netherlands)
*Top 11 CDs of 2024* A number of arrangements or inspired works created by John La Barbera, based on the material or performances of Dave Brubeck, Henri Mancini, Carl Perkins, John Coltrane, Kenny Dorham, Elvin Jones and others. They are played by a big band. The special thing about this formula is that not the entire band is constantly in the picture. There is a nice variety of solo instruments and conversations between those... read more
Milan Verbist Trio - Time Change
by Ferdinand Dupuis-Panther, BelgienInfo (Belgisch-Deutsches Netzwerk)
Carried and with "Nordic heaviness" - one thinks of composers such as Grieg and Sibelius - the trio around pianist Milan Verbist opens the current album. Listening to the melodic lines and harmonies, you might think that a wintry night in Scandinavia is being musically sketched, as if the Nordic winter is coming to life, in which in some places the sun shines only rarely or not at all. "Time Change" is the title of the piece. Truly, the... read more
Benjamin Boone with the Ghana Jazz Collective - Joy
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
When you think of a Fulbright Scholar heading off to deepest darkest Africa, do you picture a white boy that understands funk? Pairing here with his pals, Ghana Jazz Collective, the two cultures collide in a jolly mash up that proves once again that music is the universal language and how easy it is to resolve any conflict if you really want to. Upbeat, badass stuff that's a gasser throughout, it's too bad more white boys can't have this much... read more
Marc Seales - American Songs, Volume 3: Time & Place
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
The jazz man brings the funk with his third set of his version of jazzy Americana where Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder and Isaac Hayes' take on "Wichita Lineman" figure prominently. Showing why his piano is one of the leading light of Pacific Northwest jazz, Seales makes one of those last word statements that speaks loudly. Check it... read more
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