Seattle based pianist Bill Anschell has created a tremendous body of work over the the past 30 years, as a composer, musical director, and pianist. He returned to Seattle in 2002 after 25 years abroad and formed a relationship with Origin Records, releasing more than a dozen records both as a leader and co-leader. Whether composing and performing original pieces, or interpreting standards ranging from Cole Porter to Lennon/McCartney, Anschell... read more
With his latest record Continuation, multi-talented guitarist Peter Lerner continues to make a case for himself as Chicago's very own jazz authority. The nine-track, nearly 80-minute record showcases his creative versatility as a composer, arranger, and performer. Lerner manages to season each track with a different flavor--from Latin to blues to funk--without compromising the record's identity or natural flow. He shines not only when... read more
Folksy-voiced Grete Skarpeid mixes originals, poetry and a standard together on this album that has her backed by Aruan Ortiz/p, Rob Waring/vib-perc, Cameron Brown/b and Gerald Cleaver/dr. Her delivery and style is reminiscent of 70s singers, as she gets elliptical like Joni Mitchell on "Like A Bird" and "Holding" while is ethereal like Judy Collins during "Singing Again" and the ethereal "Adam and Eve". Cleaver lays down a military beat to set... read more
Piet Verbist is far more off the radar than he should be. The bassist has a real talent for creating modern works that balance expertly between new- and old-school forms of expression. The axis of this meeting point is where deeply melodic forays and from-the-heart blues occupy the same space, unconflicted. His latest is yet another example, and well worth scooping up. Note that Bram Weijters is the pianist in Verbist's quintet; Weijters is... read more
Stan Getz is tenor saxophonist Mark Colby's stylistic model, and on previous recordings his debt to Getz has been obvious. It's not a bad model - everyone doesn't have to sound like Coltrane - especially when you, like Colby, have a strong lyrical bent and can inhabit a ballad like Johnny Mandel's "Close Enough for Love" or Cole Porter's "So in Love" as convincingly as Colby does here. But he also tries to change things up a bit, so the... read more
Speaking of duos, here's another one you don't run into every day. Collier started his career early, playing the marimba on the Lawrence Welk Show at age 9. Tom and Dan's families ended up in Seattle, where the two began performing and recording together. Later at the U. of Washington Tom met and worked with clarinetist Bill Smith, heard on many Dave Brubeck recordings. Bringing in Dan on bass made the Bill Smith Trio. Both also spent time in... read more
Many of the more progressive jazz types these days boast diverse ethnic/world music bonafides that they creatively infuse into their music that broadens the jazz vernacular. Saxophonist Zem Audu 's brand of jazz is internationally flavored, too, but he didn't get that way out of mere curiosity; he's lived that kind of life.
Born in Nigeria and raised in England, Audu made his way to the jazz epicenter New York seven years ago. Along the... read more
The seductive arrangements of multi-Grammy-winning Latin-jazz arranger Oscar Hernandez and eight-time Billboard-charting singer-songwriter Margo Rey are undeniably beautiful. The Roots of Rey is an intimate, well-timed album comprised of 13 tunes from the Latin and American songbooks, re-imagined for contemporary times.
Take Rey's version of "Angel Eyes," which receives a sultry update courtesy of a gyrating clave-based rhythm and some... read more
This is just a small collection of the Origin Records reviews. Click here to view all reviews or try to Search for your favorite CD title.
Abate Berihun & The Addis Ken Project - Addis Ken
by Hanna Kay, Cult News (Paris)
Abate Berihun & The Addis Ken Project - Addis Ken
by Budapest, Rudolf Radnai
Abate Berihun & The Addis Ken Project - Addis Ken
by Editor, Bman's Blues Report
Jared Hall - Hometown
by Editor, Bman's Blues Report
Dawn Clement - Dear Ms. Dearie
by Editor, Bman's Blues Report
Jared Hall - Hometown
by Dee Dee McNeil, Making A Scene
Affinity Trio - New Outlook
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect
Michael Dease Big Band - Return Trajectory
by Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move
Brad Goode Quintet Feat. Ernie Watts - Live Your Dream: Live at North Street Cabaret
by Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move
Maja Jaku - Blessed & Bewitched
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect