Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
The H2 Big Band - It Could Happen
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
It does happen! Who doesn't like contemporary big band when it's played right and tight with all the top LA jazz cats on board? Grabbing you right out of the gate, this super sweet session comes on like a self contained show with vocalist Rene Marie dropping by to lend a few trademark touches of her own. An air tight and water tight date that has no cracks that have to be sealed, this is as sweet as these sweet sounds get. Check it... read more
Jim Knapp Orchestra - Secular Breathing
by Adam Greenburg, All Music Guide
This is a somewhat grandiose outing of big band jazz from the composing hands of Jim Knapp. A collective of Seattle jazz players -- as well as a couple alums that had wandered to New York -- were called together for the sake of the album. The basic sound that's created here isn't necessarily what one would think of upon hearing the term "big band." It's a basic modern jazz setup for the compositions, with references to classical, world, and folk... read more
Dan McCarthy - City Abstract
by Tom McCarter, KZSU - Stanford
Vibraphonist McCarthy returns to his native Toronto after fifteen years in New York & creates an ode to the city. He works his way through originals & a few choice covers with a balanced approach that speaks both to strength and poise, & the romance embedded in the act of repatriation adds a touch of nostalgic allure to the music. He also pays tribute to two of his main... read more
John La Barbera Big Band - Grooveyard
by Michael van Gee, Jazz'N'More (Switzerland)
5-STARS The composer, arranger and leader of his Big Band John La Barbera has a "Grooveyard" rousing big band album released which gets your feet wet and is one of the best that's been published in recent years. His three previous albums, the Grammy-nominated "On the Wild Side" (2002), "Fantazm" (2005) and "Caravan" (2013), all on the Jazz Compass Label featured convincing first-class arrangements with fantastic soloists. John La... read more
Peter Epstein and Idée Fixe - Abstract Realism
by Stef Gijssels, Freejazz Blog
As a leader, saxophonist Peter Epstein released three modern jazz CDs, one Portuguese CD, a solo sax record with some classical music and some improvisations, a fantastic world jazz album ("Lingua Franca"), and all this in a quite irregular time span, of which most ten years ago and not much lately.
He is a musician with broad technical skills, open to many genres, and that seems to have been his problem in creating a specific profile.... read more
Michael Waldrop - Origin Suite
by Brian Morton, Jazz Journal (London)
4-STARS The heart sinks a little at the threat of a concept suite celebrating the span of human history, then bucks a little with the thought that there have been some very good ones: Mingus's Pithecanthropus Erectus, Grachan Moncur III's Evolution, George Russell's The African Game...
This latest attempt, written in emulation of Buddy Rich's epic suites, actually only occupies the first 10 minutes of a long and richly varied CD and... read more
Joel Miller - Swim
by Peter Hum, Ottawa Citizen
Ottawa International Jazz Festival Concert Review - For his concert Friday night in the TD Ottawa International Jazz Festival?s Great Canadian Jazz series, Montreal tenor saxophonist Joel Miller brought with him an A-list American ringer. The pianist in Miller?s quartet was not just any U.S. citizen. On the bench was no less than Geoffrey Keezer, a former wunderkind who has played at a world-class level for the last two decades. He and... read more
Scenes - Along the Way
by Marc Medwin, Cadence
Scene's newest release, the trio's second, is quietly engrossing. "Haiku" for example. A brief gem of a tune, is immediately disarming, introspectively clean guitar fourths frosting a bowed bass sustain atop rushing cymbals. An extreme moment, the disc is, by and large, similarly detailed if more rhythmically active. "Ghost in the Corner" gives a better flavor of the careful approach to space and placement that each player brings to the table, a... read more
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