Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Chris Walden Big Band - Full-On!
by Scott Yanow, Downbeat
A busy arranger-composer in Los Angeles for the studios, films and television, Chris Waldon has also been leading a worthy if part-time jazz big band. On Full On! six singers are featured on seven selections, but Walden's orchestra is never merely in the background. In fact, with a few exceptions, the singers can be thought of as guest soloists who take their turns in the spotlight along with the instrumental soloists and the... read more
Jeff Johnson - Tall Stranger
by Adam Greenberg, All Music Guide
For his fourth album as a leader, bassist Jeff Johnson sets an exploratory course. On Tall Stranger, Johnson works with sax player Hans Teuber (with a bit of a free jazz bent of his own) and drummer Billy Mintz. The trio spends a lot of its time, however, seemingly working less as a trio and more as a collection of three independent players who happen to be in the same room. This isn't accidental, or an effect of the group not working well... read more
Bobby Broom - Bobby Broom Plays for Monk
by Jon Regen, Billboard
Veteran guitar ace Bobby Broom has worked with an illustrious list of jazz luminaries, from the late organist Charles Earland to the legendary saxophonist Sonny Rollins. On Broom's latest release as a leader, he tackles the nearly sacrosanct works of renowned pianist/composer Thelonious Monk with an artful mix of grit and grace. Backed by the sympathetic rhythm section of Dennis Carroll on bass and Kobie Watkins on drums, Broom bluesifies Monk's... read more
Michael Waldrop - Native Son
by Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move
A Bridge Between Eastern Europe and the U.S. Michael Waldrop's Transatlantic Vision
4-STARS A bridge between Eastern Europe and the United States that's precisely what composer and drummer Michael Waldrop sets out to create with his latest album. To understand how this ambitious musical dialogue came to life, it helps to know the story behind it.
The virtuoso Serbian pianist Vasil Hadžimanov has long been a household name... read more
Sam Yahel - Truth And Beauty
by Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
As pianist Brad Mehldau mentions in his lengthy and well thought-out liner notes, organist Sam Yahel, tenor-saxophonist Joshua Redman and drummer Brian Blade each have the ability to sound like themselves no matter what the setting or the dominant style. Yahel is one of the most original organists of his generation for even when his tone recalls Jimmy Smith, his choice of notes does not. Redman and Blade also have original sounds and the three... read more
Xavier Lecouturier - Carrier
by Paul Rauch, Earshot Jazz
21-year-old drummer/composer Xavier Lecouturier has been making a definite impression on the jazz scene in Seattle. As a student at Cornish College of the Arts, he made his way to jam sessions, and acquainted himself with the best players in town, eventually landing in the quintet of trumpeter Thomas Marriott. His debut album as band-leader, Carrier is a collection of compositions forged during this period of rapid self-discovery.
Lecouturier... read more
Ron Di Salvio - Essence of Green, A Tribute to Kind Of Blue
by Adam Greenberg, All Music Guide
A fine group of musicians from the Michigan area gather for what appears at first glance to be a song-by-song response to Miles' classic. The album opens with "Six Shades of Green," following the structure and feel of "All Blues" relatively closely. "Crossing Lines" follows the tone of "Freddie Freeloader" similarly. The chord progressions continue to follow the course set by Kind of Blue as the album progresses, with interplay between Ron di... read more
Nick Finzer - The Chase
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
You have to love it when a cat can graduate from Julliard without letting it go to his head. Bone man Finzer takes his sweet time between releases and we are wise not to rush him. Charting some new courses that give us the opportunity to follow him without tripping, this fleet fingered, buoyant jazzbo makes his bone talk while supporting his composing and leading chops making the whole a real gasser. Inventive but keeping it's fun, spirited... read more
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