Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
speak - Speak
by Brad Walseth, JazzChicago.net
Some of the most exciting music of the year has emerged from Seattle, where Saigon-born trumpeter Cuong Vu (Pat Metheny) teaches at the University of Washington; and on Speak, the faculty advisor sat in on this recording with some of his talented students on an album of their original compositions. Citing varied influences from Ligeti to Toto, Speak combines the energy of progressive rock and polyrhymic jazz. Straggering toward you like that... read more
Keigo Hirakawa - Pixel
by D.W. Long, Notes on the Beat
A pixel. The smallest addressable unit that can be manipulated by software. It's apt - and slightly ironic - that a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, who is also a vastly talented pianist, would choose the word for the title of his latest quintet release. The irony is two-fold: First, for most part, this is an acoustic project. Outside of guitarist Brandon Scott Campbell, all the musicians play acoustic instruments. So... read more
Anthony Branker and Word Play - The Forward (Towards Equality) Suite
by George W. Harris, Jazz Weekly
This session lead by composer and music director Anthony Branker can be approached one of two ways. Musically, it boasts of a horn section of David Binney/as, Ralph Bowen/ts-ss-fl and Conrad Herwig/tb that is second to none, with Bowers delivering a riveting tenor solo on "Our Dreams." The rhythm section of Renato Thoms/perc, Donald Edwards/dr, Kenny Davis/b and Jim Ridl/key is swinging yet flexible over things like post bop cookers like... read more
Marlene Rosenberg - MLK Convergence
by Matt Silver, WRTI, Philadelphia
Jazz Album of the Week: Bassist Marlene Rosenberg's MLK Convergence Captures Spirit of Protests
Inspired by the protest music of the '60s that helped dismantle the codified racism of that era, bassist Marlene Rosenberg's latest album, MLK Convergence, released almost exactly a year ago, presents a new catalogue of socially conscious compositions with the exigency of our current moment in mind, taking aim at the vestiges of... read more
Shawn Purcell - 180
by Scott Yanow, LA Jazz Scene
Guitarist Shawn Purcell, who is based in the Washington DC area, worked with the U.S. Air Force's The Airmen Of Note for 15 years and with the US Navy Band Commodores jazz ensemble. He has appeared on over 30 recordings including with singer Darden Purcell, tenor-saxophonist Chip McNeill and trombonist Ben Patterson. In 2019 he led his first album, Symmetricity, and the recent 180 (his debut for the Origin label) proves to be a giant step... read more
Upper Left Trio - Cycling
by Roman St. James, IndieMonkey
Cycling, the debut release by the Upper Left Trio, is an absolutely stunning CD. The piano trio is the most basic of the jazz group configurations, but its simplicity inherently increases the difficulty in producing music that is either particularly innovative or engaging, for all but the most casual jazz listener. However, with this recording the Upper Left Trio - consisting of Charlie Doggett on drums, Clay Giberson on piano and Jeff Leonard... read more
Meridian Odyssey - Second Wave
by Abe Beeson, KNKX, New Cool
If you've been following the Seattle jazz scene, no doubt you know a few of the musicians calling themselves Meridian Odyssey. They've played as sidemen with many of the city's top players and spent hours working together in each others' bands. Despite and because of the pandemic, the quintet of friends found room to collaborate in socially distanced Alaska, resulting in a great new album.
For Second Wave, Xavier Lecouturier, the band's... read more
Chris Walden Big Band - Full-On!
by Jack Goodstein, Blogcritics.org
It's been seven years since the last big band album from composer/arranger Chris Walden, the Kurt Marti Suite for big band and choir-much too long. But if it takes waiting that long for an album as fine as the newly released Full-On!, how can you complain? Los Angeles-based Walden has busied himself conducting and arranging for artists as diverse as Neil Young, Stevie Wonder, Diana Krall and Rihanna, and a raft of others - so... read more
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