Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Shawn Purcell - 180
by C. Michael Bailey, Wild Mercury Rhythm
Dr. Shawn Purcell, originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a jazz guitarist, educator, arranger, and composer living in the Washington DC region. Purcell earned a BS from Duquesne University, an MA in Music from Middle Tennessee State University, and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Jazz Performance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He managed to do this after a career in the US Air force where he performed with a number of... read more
Jared Hall - Hometown
by Dee Dee McNeil, Making A Scene
An original composition by Jared Hall is the title tune, "Hometown." It has a warm, beautiful melody. Ben Markley begins the song with a piano bass line that sets mood and tempo. Born in Spokane, Washington, this project by Jared Hall celebrates memories of places, people and the family that shaped him. Musically and physically, he returns back to his West Coast roots.
Hall was lured home by a university teaching position offered from his... read more
Clarence Penn - Monk: The Lost Files
by George W. Harris, Jazz Weekly
Drummer Clarence Pann shows some guts by not only tackling the Thelonious Monk Songbook, but using a tenor saxist (Chad Lefkowitz-Brown) that sounds alarmingly like Monk teammate Charles Rouse. Except for the use of a Rhodes keyboard by Gerald Clayton on "I Mean You", the rest of the songs are with an acoustic piano, so you can't help but make comparisons with the original. "I Mean You" comes off the best, as it's the most variant,... read more
Bobby Rozario - Spellbound
by Robert Silverstein, Roots Music Report
Seattle-based Origin Records is one of the most prolific jazz-centric recording labels in the world today and they keep the hits coming with the 2023 CD release of Spellbound, the second album to date by NYC-based guitarist Bobby Rozario. Drawing on the melting pot of incandescent sounds that is New York City, the 11-track album makes for an enthusiastic fusion romp that often sounds very influenced by guitar giants like Al DiMeola and... read more
Andrew Rathbun Large Ensemble - The Atwood Suites
by Frank Griffith, London Jazz News
Toronto native, saxophonist, composer and bandleader Andrew Rathbun has just released his large ensemble debut CD for Origin Records entitled Atwood Suites. Two of the three pieces, Two Islands and Power Politics are set to the poetry of the renowned Canadian novelist Margaret Atwood. Recorded in New York City in 2017, Rathbun's ensemble boasts top-drawer personnel such as trumpeter Seneca Black, trombonist Mike Fahie and Birmingham UK-based... read more
Oscar Hernández & Alma Libre - The Art of Latin Jazz
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
This guy is a major figure in modern Latin jazz. So, what does he do? He makes a Latin jazz album the average, two left footed gringo can relate to and love. Not too Ricky Ricardo, not too ethnic, not to street, this is a set that takes the best of Latin jazz and slides it right down the middle for a set that can even find klutzes tapping their toes along to it. A solid gateway date for the gringo too intimidated to enter the Latin jazz tent,... read more
Shawn Purcell - Oblivity
by Editor, Modern Drummer
Oblivity (both the song and the entire record) comes out of the gate screaming, saxophonist Walt Weiskopf and pianist Chris Ziemba set the tone, and drummer Steve Fidyk is manning the ship at every twist and turn. By the time Purcell's guitar enters the mood has been set, and Purcell takes it into fifth gear, while Fidyk's solo over a vamp ups the ante. Purcell's guitar tone is different on "Lazy Day Reverie," "Oblivity," it walks a fine line... read more
James Moody - 80 Years Young: Live at the Blue Note, March 26, 2005
by Ted Panken, DownBeat
Centennial Concert Celebrates All Things James Moody
In the spring and summer of 2000, while reporting a DownBeat profile framed around James Moody's 75th birthday concert with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, I asked him to explain how he made the tenor, alto and soprano saxophones, and flute, each sound like his primary instrument.
"I need to practice them," Moody responded crisply. "You play one horn because you like its... read more
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