Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
James Moody - 80 Years Young: Live at the Blue Note, March 26, 2005
by Michael van Gee, Jazz'N'More (Switzerland)
5-STARS Tenor saxophonist and flautist James Moody (*March 26, 1925) celebrated his 80th birthday at the legendary New York club Blue Note for a whole week with his quartet and numerous guests on March 26, 2005. Recorded for posterity, it was just released in time for his 100th birthday celebration during the Blue Note Jazz Festival in New York in May of this year.
The evening was opened by renowned impresario George Wein, before the... read more
Phil Kelly & The SW Santa Ana Winds - My Museum
by Robert Robbins, BBI Review
Three years ago, former Tonight Show Band arranger and BBI Elite subscriber Phil Kelly released his Grammy-nominated CD Convergence Zone, which featured his Seattle-based NW Prevailing Winds along with guest musicians from New York, Los Angeles, and Nashville. On My Museum, Kelly leads mostly the cream of LA musician, including four (trumpeter Jay Thomas, trombonist Andy Martin, tenor saxist and TSB alumnus Pete Christlieb, and baritonist Bill... read more
Thomas Marriott - Human Spirit
by Adam Greenberg, All Music Guide
Trumpeter Thomas Marriott has always been one of the brightest stars in the Origin Records stables, and his Human Spirit album wanders through extremities of both speed and composition before it's through. This is a rare album that showcases all of the players at their highest levels, in both solo formats and intertwined. Marriott and saxophonist Mark Taylor (who appears in many combination with Marriott) mingle their lines regularly, playing... read more
Michael Waldrop - Time Frames
by C. Michael Bailey, All About Jazz
Another marimba recording, this one very different from Kuniko's Tribute to Miyoshi (Linn, 2021). Also, another collaboration with Jack Cooper for percussionist and drummer Michael Waldrop, the two having previously released Time Within Itself (Origin, 2015) and Origin Suite (Origin, 2018). Cooper's contribution this time is "Three Mediterranean Views," a scampering island triptych pitting Waldrop's mallets against the piano in a breezy dance of... read more
Andrew Rathbun Large Ensemble - The Atwood Suites
by Friedrich Kunzmann, All About Jazz
In a way, the Atwood Suites have been in the works for almost two decades. When Kenny Wheeler approached Toronto native Andrew Rathbun in search for a band in 2001, the former furthermore inquired if the latter would like a composition of his own penning to be performed beside Wheeler's "Suite Time Suite." Consequently, the "Power Politics Suite," which makes for the second half of the first CD, was born, with Wheeler's and vocalist Luciana... read more
Chad McCullough & Bram Weijters - Abstract Quantities
by Paul Abella, Music Lounge - WDCB, Chicago
Trumpeter Chad McCullough made a big splash in Chicago a few months back with the debut album from his group The Spin Quartet and his album In Circles. For Chad's next release, he works with Bram Weitjers, who gets co-billing, on Abstract Quantities. Don't let the name scare you; this is a beautifully done mainstream jazz CD. "Glorious Traffic Jam" is a nice place to start, but the all-original program is really nice throughout. I think... read more
Charlie Ballantine - East by Midwest
by Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move
Charlie Ballantine is a guitarist whose instrumental finesse may well call to mind the delicate touch of Chet Atkins. In this album, he offers a jazz/picking blend, steeped in the lingering echoes of Wes Montgomery and Freddie Hubbard that still seem to float in the city's air. Since relocating to the East Coast a few years ago, the change in scenery, the new collaborators, and the vibrant atmosphere have infused his music with a fresh dynamic;... read more
Bill Anschell - Figments
by Adam Greenberg, All Music Guide
One of the more prolific exponents of the Northwest jazz sound, pianist Bill Anschell has figured in any number of excellent recordings, both as a bandleader and as an accompanist. In Figments, he takes a turn at solo piano, running through songs from pop, jazz, and the American songbook and reworking them into wandering (he describes it as stream of consciousness) arrangements that sometimes provide jazz underpinnings for classic pop, and... read more
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