Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Bruce Williamson - Standard Transmission
by David Kane, Cadence Magazine
Fortunately, I don't have to end this batch of reviews on a down note thanks to (13), a new CD from saxist Williamson. This is in part due to the presence of the chronically under-appreciated talents of pianist Art Lande. More than just a celebrity sideman (as with the previous CD), Art contributes several arrangements to the proceedings as well as his incisive pianism. The CD largely consists of standards but thankfully, this is no routine... read more
Various Artists - The Cool Season: An Origin Records Holiday Collection, Vol. 2
by Ken Dryden, All Music Guide
Christmas jazz albums are always a challenge because there is a relatively small repertoire of songs chosen and difficulty in finding fresh approaches to them. But this quartet that regularly records for the Origin label has risen to both tests.
Thomas Marriott, a fine trumpeter and flugelhornist, and pianist Bill Anschell make a strong front line, while bassist Jeff Johnson and drummer John Bishop provide perfect backing. While the... read more
Michael Waldrop - Native Son
by Olivia Peevas, Jazz Blues EU
Drummer, vibraphonist, and composer Michael Waldrop's on Native Son is an ambitious and diverse representation of his work, highlighted by a wide-ranging, cross-genre aesthetic and his wildly dynamic big band.
Inspired by the earthy and primal works of Cuban artist Wilfredo Lam, arranger Jack Cooper transformed three of Waldrop's compositions into an evocative and epic "Native Son," with the movements titled after three of his paintings.
A... read more
Jeff Johnson - Tall Stranger
by Larry Cosentino, Signal To Noise
It's rare to experience music that seems to strive toward complete immobility. Jeff Johnson's "Tall Stranger" has a staggering, strung-out pace that may drive some people crazy, but will surely delight others who resist our world's accelerating rate of input. All three legs of this trio (Johnson on bass, plus reedman Has Teuber and drummer Billy Mintz) have tireless storytelling chops. Johnson drawls out his solos like a grizzled... read more
Greta Matassa - Favorites From A Long Walk
by Don Heckman, Los Angeles Times
SEATTLE'S HIDDEN GEM
If the vision of Seattle as grunge city and the spawning ground for acts such as Pearl Jam, Nirvana and the Foo Fighters suggests that the only form of music with a significant presence in the city is rock, think again. Sunday's performance by Seattle singer Greta Matassa in Beverly Hills at a fundraiser for the Rising Jazz Stars Foundation offered convincing evidence of the high-quality jazz in the Northwest's largest... read more
Alan Jones & François Thèberge - Another View
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
Two long time musical kindred spirits decide to go for it on an all original date for jazz orchestra that's heavy on the art jazz so much so that it's almost like a ricochet from the 50s. Programmed almost like a show, this is a set that colors widely outside the lines defying expectations swinging for the fences in the way that records that don't worry about being hits but worry about being good often do. Quite the urbane listening... read more
Anthony Branker & Word Play - Dialogic
by David Franklin, Cadence
Anthony Branker teaches music composition at Princeton and leads a couple of Jazz groups on the side. Dialogic is the second release by his quartet, Word Play. He himself no longer performs, but he composes the group's material and serves as its musical director.
His compositions are more than mere tunes, but they are tuneful and they serve ably as vehicles for the consummate improvisations of his fine cadre of musicians, all of whom boast... read more
Andrea Brachfeld - Brazilian Whispers
by George W. Harris, Jazz Weekly
Andrea Brachfeld plays both C and alto flute with a galloping team of Bill O'Connell/p-key, Harvie S-Lincoln Goines/b, Jason Tiemann-T. Portinho/dr, Roni Ben-Hur/g and Chembo Corniel/perc on this mix of Jobim and originals. O'Connell's keyboards give a vintage CTI soul feel to the rich read of "Double Rainbow" and "Ligia" as Portinho's brushes glide to the rich "Triste E Solitaria". Brachfeld is dreamy on "Passarim" and blends with Ben_hur" on... read more
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