Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Dominic J. Marshall - Spirit Speech
by Peter Bacon, The Jazz Breakfast
Remember when the references you most commonly picked up from a piano trio were to the oblique harmonies and subtle rhythms of Bill Evans. Now it's the hip-hop groove and the sliding Robert Glasper phrases that most often stand out.
Of course there is nothing wrong with either form of sincere flattery and I haven't heard many pianists not use such influences to good effect. Dominic Marshall, originally from the UK but now working out of... read more
Jim Norton Collective - Time Remembered: Compositions of Bill Evans
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
Hmm, a big band tribute to Bill Evans without a piano or "Waltz for Debbie"? A former Bay area sax man heads back into town to hook up with old bandmates for a tip of the hat to Evans that takes his music in a whole other direction with quite satisfactory result. Feeling almost like a jazz into classical session, the whole crew must have loved Evans because the results certainly sound like it. A world away from the trio dates most of these... read more
Sean Michael Giddings - Red Willow
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
A piano trio led by a neo hippie that doesn't look like he would make originals that sounds like Charlie Brown music. If his opening Charlie Brown riffs don't grab you (and they will), there's plenty more stuff here that will. Spending the last decade as sidekick to a host of biggies, the pandemic forced him to realize it's time to shine his own star. Taking the chops he honed in the 1 a.m. Lab Band and pointing them toward the future, he... read more
John Wojciechowski - Focus
by Georges Tonla Briquet, Jazzmozaiek (Belgium)
Saxophonist John Wojciechowski's been active on the jazz scene in Chicago for nearly a decade. On hearing this CD, the immediate question is why he has remained under the radar outside of the "Windy City" for so long. The opening track from his second album was an instant hit. Balanced elaborated, saxophone solo in the right place, perfectly dosed with a clear knowledge of the tradition (from swing to bop and beyond), yet with a contemporary... read more
Marlene Rosenberg - Bassprint
by Bill Milkowski, JazzTimes
A fixture on the Chicago scene, versatile bassist-composer-bandleader Marlene Rosenberg is joined on the smart, eminently swinging set by three Windy City transplants: guitarist Scott Hesse, Parisia-born drummer Makaya McCraven and the fine saxophonist Geof Bradfield. Rosenberg reveals key influences -- namely Thelonious Monk and Wayne Shorter -- on "Tale of Two Monk Keys," which points up her woody, robust upright tone, and on the mysterious... read more
Thomas Marriott - Urban Folklore
by Andrew Luthringer, Earshot Jazz
"The job of a musician is to illustrate the human condition." On his latest album, ace trumpeter Thomas Marriott lays out his musical ethos. Marriott conceived the nine original tunes on Urban Folklore as musical story-telling, evocations of shared human experience.
While knowing the underpinnings behind Marriott's musical concepts may deepen the experience, it's not required to revel in the music itself - vigorous post-bop,... read more
Don Lanphere - Year 'Round Christmas
by Carol Swanson, christmasreview.com
Don Lanphere's Year 'Round Christmas arrived in my mailbox a few days ago as a delightful surprise. I had requested a different holiday release, and this pleasurable CD came along as an unexpected companion. I'm certainly glad it did.
Lanphere, a beloved jazz great who played with legends like Charlie Parker and Artie Shaw, was known as the "Seattle Jazz Grandpop." Sadly, the artist passed away in October 2003, but the fine music of this... 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
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