As a composer, arranger, leader, and guitarist, Shawn Purcell original works layer instruments, forming a massive conglomerate that quakes, rattles, simmers, thrusts, roars, and reels on his 2025 project Oblivity. Performing alongside tenor saxophonist Walt Weiskopf, trombonist Ben Patterson, keyboardist Chris Ziemba, acoustic bass player Jeff Reed, drummer/percussionist Steve Fidyk, and vocalist Darden Purcell, his material jumps out at... read more
About the album from the label's point of view: "Well known throughout Europe for decades, the virtuoso Serbian pianist Vasil Hadžimanov only became known to drummer Michael Waldrop while performing in a Belgrade club that Waldrop dropped into during one of his yearly visits with in-laws. Later, stuck in his Pacific Northwest home during the pandemic, Waldrop thought to include Vasil in a remote recording session of his tune "Belgrade," which... read more
Playing keyboard, piano, accordion and hammered dulcimer, Chuck Owen creates rural Cumberland Gap tones with a team of Sara Caswell/vi Jack Wilkins/sax, Corey Christiansen/g, Mark Neuenschwander/dr, Danny Gottlieb-Matt Wilson/dr, guest vocalist Kate McGarry/voc and a cameo horn section. The feel is a mix of Nashville and Tedeschi-Trucks with McGarry rich and bluesy around the slide guitar on "Spinning Wheel" and rural on the open plains on... read more
Pianist Hal Galper calls his music "Rubato Style." It's free yet formal, lyrical yet rhythmic, soloist-centered yet collectively-based. But beyond all that, it's an intriguing and colorful concept that draws you in and carries you away. In this 2016 performance Galper and three protégés — alto saxophonist Nathan Bellott, bassist Dean Torrey, drummer David Frazier — dig deeply to mine musical riches from three originals and Gordon Jenkins'... read more
With a lineup this strong, drummer/composer Hall has made a very impressive debut. This ensemble has been together for some three years, and the empathetic give-and-take provides another example of how musical strength can be nurtured through playing together regularly. All but three of the nine songs are by Hall. The disc's opening number, "I Have a Dream," however, is by Herbie Hancock, and the band conjures up a Mwandishi brew. As the CD... read more
Saxophonist Alon Farber founded his sextet Hagiga twenty years ago, so when his band performed live in June 2023 at the Israeli Museum for the Jerusalem Jazz Festival, you could expect a solid show of layered sonics. It took its improvisational power a step higher by inviting trumpeter Dave Douglas into the collaborative zeal. Together they capture the robust energy of the live setting. Dave transcends the sax clashes on his swinging composition... read more
When listening to Bobby Broom's Trio perform on his new CD, Song and Dance, one is immediately struck by how much s-p-a-c-e there is. With lesser musicians that could be a problem, but Broom and stalwart Dennis Carroll on bass and relative newcomer Kobie Watkins on drums, do an excellent job of presenting the necessary notes, pauses and attacks to frame the music for the listener, a feat not to be taken lightly. The majority of the disc is... read more
Few guitarists these days possess an identifiable tone; Bobby Broom's one of the guys who does. He's been a perfect foil for tenor guys like Stanley Turrentine and Sonny Rollins, as his #2 pencil thin tone mixed with a duster of a strum is like a signature from a fountain pen.
Most of the standards here are taken at a joyful and midtempo lilt, making "My Ideal" more wistful than longing and "My Shining Hour" brimming with hope.... 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