Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Purna Loka Ensemble - Metaraga
by Geetanjali Tiwari, Amazon
This outstanding musical journey bridging the east and the west, compares with Ravi Shankar's Sitar concerto (with the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by André Previn, premiered at London's Royal Festival Hall in 1971). Nothing came even close to that well-known sitar concerto by Maestro Ravi Shankar since the 70s till now. But now Purnaloka's MetaRaga has done it!! Completely breathtaking, this album touches the very heart of music. Its... read more
Rodney Whitaker - All Too Soon: The Music of Duke Ellington
by Rick Anderson, CD Hotlist
Doing an album of Duke Ellington tunes isn't a tough decision, and any number of fine artists have made perfectly lovely Ellington tribute albums. But from the very first track, bassist and arranger Rodney Whitaker makes it clear that while he's operating in a mode of love and reverence for America's greatest jazz composer, he's not going to be a slavish imitator. Leading a crack sextet, he instead puts his personal imprint on every selection,... read more
Rodney Whitaker - Common Ground: The Music of Gregg Hill
by Editor, Jazz Chill
Common Ground is the first of five CDs that bass maestro Rodney Whitaker intends to release in 2019 in acknowledgment of his fiftieth birthday year. It's his seventh album, and embodies the musical values that Whitaker has projected on antecedent dates like When We Find Ourselves Alone, from 2014; such turn-of-the-century gems as Winter Moon, Ballads and Blues: The Brooklyn Session and Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow; and the critically acclaimed... read more
Scenes - ...But Not Heard
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
ECM Records has been noted for its "Nordic Cool," school, from its many recordings of Scandinavian artists, with pianist Tord Gustavsen coming most readily to mind. Seattle's Origin Records has what can be called its "Northwest U.S. Cool" with recordings from bassist Jeff Johnson, saxophonist Hans Teuber , and the collective trio Scenes, with guitarist John Stowell, drummer John Bishop and, again, Jeff Johnson on bass.
Scenes' eponymous... read more
Harvie S - Bright Dawn
by Editor, Modern Drummer
After a long career in modern jazz, then playing (and studying) Afro-Cuban music for the last 30 years, bassist Harvie S is combining everything on his
new recording Bright Dawn, although the record does lean more towards modern jazz. Drummer Matt Wilson, pianist Miki Hayama, and Harvie create an elastic trio that is augmented by Peter Bernstein's lyrical guitar. Wilson and Harvie break up the time with panache', while Bernstein floats atop... read more
Chad McCullough & Bram Weijters - Abstract Quantities
by Dave Sumner, Bird is the Worm
There is a workmanlike quality to the magic this quartet creates with each recording. Abstract Quantities is the third album from the quartet led by pianist Bram Weijters and Chad McCullough, and much like the two that preceded it (2011's Imaginary Sketches and 2012's Urban Nightingale) they go about their job of crafting expert melodies and seamlessly fusing them into place with logical rhythms and harmonies that achieve their function... read more
Chris Walden Big Band - Full-On!
by Carol Banks Weber, AXS
Chris Walden's been so busy scoring and arranging other people's projects, he barely has time for his own music. The five-time-Grammy-nominated, German composer/arranger hasn't put out his own record in seven years, not since the wonderfully received Kurt Marti Suite. He's been too busy writing arrangements for stars like Diana Krall, Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand, Michael Bublé, Neil Young, Stevie Wonder, Christopher Cross,... read more
Tim Jensen - A Mind For The Scenery
by Marty Hughley, The Oregonian
Not horning in on fame
The best-known musicians on the Portland jazz scene tend to be those who've achieved a good measure of national notice (Tom Grant), kept their names out front as bandleaders (Thara Memory) or served for decades as reliable if low-key masters of the craft (Phil Baker). But name recognition can sometimes take a while to catch up with talent. So if you're not yet familiar with Tim Jensen, don't presume that's... read more
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