Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Bridge Quartet - Day
by Joseph Blake, Times Colonist, Vancouver, B.C.
Qualicum Beach's Phil Dwyer and Portland-based drummer Alan Jones have had a long, fruitful musical relationship, and they team-up again on this recording also featuring another pair of musicians from Portland, pianist Darrell Grant and bassist Tom Wakeling. The quartet's repertoire includes originals by Jones and Dwyer and joyful, tender readings of standards like Wouldn't It Be Lovely and Where Or When and a gorgeous version of... read more
John Wojciechowski - Focus
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
Chicago has it's own brand of skronk and this set with a a stellar Chicago crew in tow might not sound like Sonny Rollins playing under a bridge but he certainly knows how to deliver the goods. Using mainstream jazz as a starting point rather than a destination, he marshals his chops to bring listeners into the tent and keep them on board. A tasty collective effort that hits all the right notes with loads of daddio and modern in the mix, Wojo... read more
Thomas Marriott - Trumpet Ship
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
4-STARS Spontaneity rules. Seattle-based trumpeter Thomas Marriott had a day off from touring with his quartet, so he decided to go into the studio and record an album: Trumpet Ship. His twelfth outing for Origin Records—all of them reaching for the stars, all of them getting there—this quartet album lines up after his stop-you-in-your-tracks gorgeous Romance Language (Origin Records, 2018). A tough act to follow. Marriott and his... read more
Dave Slonaker Big Band - Shifty Paradigms
by Scott Yanow, Los Angeles Jazz Scene
Arranger-composer Dave Slonaker has led his big band in Southern California for 15 years. The 16-17 piece orchestra is filled with major names who are not only impeccable section players but top-notch soloists. But while there is solo space on the eight selections on Shifty Paradigms for all but two of the musicians, it is Slonaker's arrangements that give this big band its own personality.
Dave Slonaker supplied all of the arrangements and... read more
Manzanita Quintet - Osmosis
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect
The assembly of Josh D. Reed, Peter Epstein, Adam Benjamin, Hans Halt and Andrew Heglund, as Manzanita Quintet the members bring much skill and experience to these creative, unpredictable and modern 10 tracks.
"Hansepts" opens the listen with Heglund's precise drums meshing with Epstein's lively sax prowess in the animated jazz climate, and "Pajaro Dunes" follows with Reed's bright trumpet alongside the animated drums and swift sax that's not... read more
Michael Waldrop - Time Frames
by Michael Ambrosino, 33third.org
Michael Waldrop skillfully explores the concentric circles of classical percussion and... read more
Carlos Vega - Bird's Ticket
by Chris Spector, Midwest Review
With a foot in several worlds at once, sax man Vega can tear it up in Chicago while teaching in Florida while going straight ahead with Doc Severinsen after tearing it up Latin style with Arturo Sandoval. This is one cat that can make your head spin. Here we find him with some local Chicago cats mixing improv with experimental with free form tying it all up in a nice left leaning bow. High octane stuff with loads of genre blending for those... read more
Rodney Whitaker - Mosaic: The Music of Gregg Hill
by Editor, JAZZIZ Magazine
To paraphrase iconic soul vocalist James Brown's shout-outs to his drummers, give the bassist some — if it's Rodney Whitaker. As is the case with rhythmic instruments, including drums, playing the upright double bass doesn't often result in celebrity. But the 57-year-old Detroit native has crafted a prolific 40-year recording career as a session musician and a leader, including on his latest release, Mosaic: The Music of Gregg Hill (Origin),... read more
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