Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Michael Waldrop Big Band - Time Within Itself
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
A vet of the North Texas Lab Band, you don't argue with Waldrop's chops. Leading a modern big band like it was something he was born to do, Waldrop has his eye and ear on the proceedings like a mother hawk watching over her young 'uns making sure everything stays straight and true for them. Disregarding any elements that made big band corny in the 50s and 60s as it tried to stay hip, this is first call instrumental music no matter what... read more
Marc Seales - A Time, A Place, A Journey
by Marius Nordal, All About Jazz
University of Washington professor Marc Seales has been an active part of the Northwest mainstream jazz scene for over thirty years. He has appeared on dozens of recordings and has worked with many players including Benny Carter, Joe Henderson, Eric Alexander, Don Lanphere, Mark Murphy and Slide Hampton.
In addition to leading his own group "New Stories" and pursuing his teaching duties at the University, Seales has been pretty much the... read more
Q.E.D. - yet what is any ocean...
by Jerome Wilson, Cadence
A lineup of vibes, trombone, and piano sounds like it has the potential to go strange places but the group on 'Yet What is Any Ocean...' does not. INstead this trio goes over well-worn Latin/Exotica patterns with Chris Stover's trombone braying and laughing over a dancing vibes and piano rhythm, but does it with a quiet class, best displayed on the rocking samba rhythm of "Prize and Battlefield." It's not all danceable stuff though. "Waltz"... read more
Dmitri Matheny - Cascadia
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
An incredibly lyrical player, Matheny and his flugelhorn guide a crew of Seattle pals through a set of grace and dignity that seems almost classical in it's elegance. A real jazzbo that understands the purely instrumental side of things as well, this is the kind of enchanting recording that was made for... read more
John McLean - Better Angels
by Ric Bang, The Davis Enterprise
Thursday, July 3, 2008
A lot of good guitarists are recording these days, and John McLean is one of the better ones.
McLean, who works the Chicago area these days, has been performing for more than 25 years and has been involved in more than two dozen releases by other artists during that time. This is just his second album as a leader/composer/arranger.
Like so many of today's musicians, McLean is a multi-degreed artist; he earned his bachelor of music... read more
Josh Nelson - The Sky Remains
by Sean J. O'Connell, Los Angeles Times
Pianist Josh Nelson's Fairfax District home is squeezed from all sides by the lore of old Los Angeles, and he is a student of the city's many tales.
For Nelson's newest release, "The Sky Remains," out now on Origin Records, he invokes a handful of Southern California ghosts for an homage to the complicated past and promising future of his hometown with the help of some of L.A.'s best young jazz musicians, including vocalist Kathleen Grace,... read more
Florian Hoefner - Coldwater Stories
by Bill Milkowski, Downbeat
***1/2
For his fourth recording overall and first solo outing, the German-born pianist sets a reflective tone with generous use of space, glistening ostinatos and a tender touch. Inspired by the maritime landscape of his new home base of Newfoundland, the large Canadian island off the east coast of the North American mainland where he moved three years ago from New York City, Coldwater Stories is, ironically, more luminous than... read more
ZurHub - Countryside Motorways
by Edward Blanco, All About Jazz
Israeli flautist Mattan Klein and fellow Jerusalem native guitarist Ezequiel Hezi Jait, based in both Tel Aviv and New York, present a stunning musical portrait on Countryside Motorways, blending the rhythms of Brazil with Israeli folk and classical music while drawing influence from legendary composers such as Hermeto Pascoal and the incomparable Chick Corea. The co-leaders are joined by three other fellow countrymen, including pianist Itay... read more
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