Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Pharez Whitted - For the People
by Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz
Indianapolis-born trumpeter Pharez Whitted has kept a low profile in the new millennium. He's busied himself with teaching, attending to his duties as Director of Jazz Studies at Chicago State University, performing live and appearing as a sideman on a scant number of under-the-radar albums, but none of this has helped to boost his reputation beyond his Midwestern home base. His fourteen year silence between Mysterious Cargo (Motown, 1996) and... read more
Jordan VanHemert - Survival of the Fittest
by Fred Bouchard, The New York City Jazz Record
The laconic Japanese adage "Fall seven times, stand up eight" underpins a subtext behind the title of Jordan VanHemert's fifth leader date, Survival of the Fittest. A hearty, adept, good-humored tenor saxophonist, the 30ish Korean-born Michigander here re-assembles, with trombonist-producer Michael Dease, the sextet of their slightly elder peers that, in last year's Deep In The Soil (Topic), first examined the resilience, self-reliance and... read more
Chris Walden Big Band - No Bounds
by Matthew Singer, Ventura County Reporter
THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN:
Composer Chris Walden never wanted to be a star, but with No Bounds he may have no choice
When Chris Walden was growing up in Germany, his mother, a choir singer, would often rehearse at home. Thus, musicians were always around. And where there are musicians, there are instruments. That is where the future Grammy-nominated composer, ar-ranger and performer first laid eyes on his future. The natural reaction in... read more
Doug Beavers 9 - Two Shades of Nude
by Tim Taylor, Audiophile Audition
Trombonist Doug Beavers produced the album and is the leader of this nine piece band of New York musicians. Beavers played with the Mingus Big Band and Eddie Palmieri establishing a good reputation amongst the musical community there. Beavers indicated he enjoys arranging and leading this type of group with his arrangements. He comes with an impressive education in music.
The beginnings of this group were in 2000 with the players getting... read more
Sarah Partridge - Bright Lights and Promises: Redefining Janis Ian
by Simon Redley, Music Republic Magazine
4-STARS Janis Ian. Folk legend. Singer. Songwriter. A star for five decades. A songwriter's songwriter. It takes a brave soul to set out to "redefine" her songs at all, but in another genre and style altogether requires a giant leap of faith.
US jazz artist Sarah Partridge is that person who dreamed up this project; to reinterpret some of Janis' well known and lesser known songs in her own style. She has Janis appear on the record... read more
Hugo Fernandez New Grounds Quartet - Ozean
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect
The guitarist and composer Hugo Fernandez brings his Berlin based quartet to these 8 rich tunes that embrace folk, classical and even pop into the memorable jazz formula.
"Spark of Desire" starts the listen with Fernandez's smooth guitar alongside the soulful trumpet, as light drumming complements the introspective climate, and "Imaginary Geometry" follows with a firm drum presence amid strategic bass work to complement the agile, stylish... read more
Michael Dease - Found in Space: The Music of Gregg Hill
by Jeff Becker, Jazz Sensibilities
Listening to Found in Space: The Music of Gregg Hill is akin to stepping into an astral observatory. It's an expedition of sound, and at its helm are the genre-bending compositions of Gregg Hill, shaped into a constellation of creativity by trombonist Michael Dease and his dynamic ensemble. Dease serves as the captain of this vessel, but the true gravitational force here is Hill's writing imagination—a strength that beckons listeners into jazz... read more
Thomas Marriott - Urban Folklore
by Stefano Merighi, All About Jazz - Italia
The quartet of Thomas Marriott in question is a beautiful synthesis of American jazz: Marriott Seattle, Eric Revis Californian, Orrin Evans heir to the school of Philadelphia, finally Donald Edwards from New Orleans. But the sources do not affect that much an ecumenical music, which lives on technical brilliance, on an "esperanto" if little jazz has to say again, confirms a wisdom and a listening pleasure beyond doubt.
Thomas Marriott lived... read more
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