Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Wellstone Conspiracy - Motives
by Adam Greenberg, All Music Guide
The mostly Seattle-based quartet Wellstone Conspiracy originally formed from notables on the Seattle scene backing up Idaho-based sax player Brent Jensen on a 2006 album. With their sophomore release, the group formed a more democratic name and continued their deep presentation of Northwest jazz at its purest. There's a careful interplay between the classic sorts of sounds encapsulating the urban nightclub aesthetic and more open, smooth, and... read more
Carlos Vega - Bird's Ticket
by Chris Spector, Midwest Review
With a foot in several worlds at once, sax man Vega can tear it up in Chicago while teaching in Florida while going straight ahead with Doc Severinsen after tearing it up Latin style with Arturo Sandoval. This is one cat that can make your head spin. Here we find him with some local Chicago cats mixing improv with experimental with free form tying it all up in a nice left leaning bow. High octane stuff with loads of genre blending for those... read more
Les DeMerle - Comin' Home Baby
by Chris Spector, Midwest Review
The great thing about not being a hipster is that I can freely admit I like this record and this band. Here's a solid set without pretension where a piano trio with a vocalist is kicking out the jams on chestnuts on a cruise ship for people that would rather gorge themselves at the midnight buffet than dig the solid jazz being laid down. Certainly not the environment for breaking down walls and making statements, DeMerle and company's prime... read more
Matt Jorgensen - Tattooed by Passion: Music inspired by the paintings of Dale Chisman
by Kyle O'Brien, Jazz Society of Oregon
The title alone is enough to give this one a spin. On closer look and listen, drummer Jorgensen's disc is a musical exploration of the paintings of Dale Chisman. The title is taken from Chisman's abstract impression of an upside down bass viol. The accompanying tune doesn't have the immediate impact as the painting, but the light tune does evoke a sense of wonder, as if you're looking at the picture, not a part of it. Trumpeter Thomas Marriott... read more
Metropolitan Jazz Octet - The Bowie Project
by Brice Boorman, Chalked Up Reviews
In the vast world of jazz, where traditional sounds seamlessly meld with both classic and modern influences, the Metropolitan Jazz Octet (MJO), alongside vocalist Paul Marinaro, has redefined genre boundaries with their ambitious Origin Records endeavor, The Bowie Project. This album stands out for its excellence in various facets of music production, singing, and performance.
Take, for instance, MJO's rendition of David Bowie's "Changes,"... read more
Allison Adams Tucker - WANDERlust
by Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz
Many modern-day jazz vocalists have been known to touchdown in a few different locales over the course of an album, but few to none get their passports stamped in as many places as Allison Adams Tucker does on the aptly named WANDERlust. Tucker brings her multilingual brilliance and cultural savvy to the fore during this expertly planned travelogue.
Tucker's voice is a beautiful instrument - one that floats, flies, and seduces with its... read more
Jessica Williams - With Love
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
One of the magical things about Williams in performance is that she has the ability to take songs that countless piano bar players have beaten into the ground in various pummelings and make them sound fresh, new and distinct. With a set card here of almost all chestnuts that have been beaten to death in a million piano bars, Williams is playing just for you and like a grand master. Williams is one of those players that proves that she doesn't... read more
David Friesen - Structures
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
Unlike other cats that have been playing forever and like to push the envelop, Friesen doesn't do things just to do them and seems to only unleash his releases when they are ready. Here we find him at the center of a double disc set of duets, each disc having a different duet partner of high quality. Intimate stuff that could be a recital but has too much blood flowing through it to come off that way, let's call it a master class with a jazzbo... read more
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