Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
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
Sam Yahel - Truth And Beauty
by Matt Collar, Allmusic Guide Interview
From Jimmy Smith to Dr. Lonnie Smith, Larry Young and beyond the Hammond B-3 organ has a long and funky tradition in jazz. Taking this tradition to the next level is NYC-based keyboardist Sam Yahel. From his stellar work with such varied artists as singer-songwriter Norah Jones, trumpeter Ryan Kisor, vocalist Madeleine Peyroux and others Yahel is bringing a fresh sound to organ-based music. Recently, AMG's Matt Collar spoke with Yahel about his... read more
Michael Zilber - Originals for the Originals
by Paul Rauch, All About Jazz
4 1/2 STARS Saxophonist/composer Michael Zilber is better known by fellow musicians than by the jazz public, this is an unfortunate truth. The Vancouver, B.C., native moved to Boston in his late teens, then to New York City to begin his musical odyssey. Musicians there recognized his prodigious talent, resulting in recordings with jazz royalty such as Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Stitt, the Brecker Brothers and Dave Liebman.
Zilber has... read more
Les DeMerle - Cookin' At The Corner, Volume 1
by Adam Greenberg, All Music Guide
Recorded at a club in Hilton Head, Les DeMerle puts together an extensive set of standards for a jumping instrumental trio with the inclusion, from time to time, of singer Bonnie Eisele. Though there is a pair of original compositions from pianist Michael Levine, the vast majority of the album hails from the American songbook and slightly later jazz and bossa classics. The songs are largely nothing you haven't heard before (of course, that's why... read more
Hal Galper - O's Time
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
It's hard to be innovative in the piano trio format. The last big change happened in the late fifties and early sixties, with pianist Bill Evans' groundbreaking trio featuring bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian. The democratization of input and interplay changed the trio game, and countless groups have worked on refining that Evans approach ever since. A more recent development has been bombast and the inclusion of rock and popular... read more
Ben Thomas Tango Project - The Hat with the Grin and the Chuckle
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect
The multi-instrumentalist Ben Thomas treats us to 8 songs that are rooted in the traditional rhythms of Argentine tango, and he's got some excellent help for the unpredictable affair.
"The Promise Of Morning" opens with Thomas' animated bandoneon and Gabe Hall-Rodrigues' lively keys making for a unique energy, and "Sonia's Mask" follows with Eric Likkel's rich clarinet helping cultivate beauty amid the bandoneon and piano.
The middle... read more
Cuong Vu - Leaps of Faith
by Phillip McNally, Cadence
Trumpeter Cuong Vu's 4-tet appears to be bottom-heavy too, what with two electric bassists. And Takeishi and Bergman are really playing electric too; not the kind of bass work that tries to sound wooden through the amp. But Leaps of Faith is not the funk affair that it might make it seem. there are lost of electronics used on this live recording, on all four instruments, and every bit of it is remarkably musical and tasteful. There is never... read more
Thomas Marriott - Trumpet Ship
by George W Harris, Jazz Weekly
Thomas Marriott floats his horn with modern ellipticism on this quartet date with Orrin Evans/p, Luques Curtis/b and Mark Whitfield Jr/dr. The team hovers on a dainty "All the Things You Are" while the team shows its rapid fire with Marriott going mano a mano with Whitfield on the loose "Funny Uncle". Dark hues by Evans meld with Marriott's muted horn on the richly hued ballad "148 Lexington" as well as on the sepia toned "Behind The Beard"... read more
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