Origin Records Reviews

Dee Daniels - Intimate Conversations
by Dusty Groove, Jazz Chill Corner

Dee Daniels is the kind of singer who really takes us back to our precious time spent in jazz clubs on the south side of Chicago a few decades back - during the days when the old school jazz singer seemed to be a dying breed, as few labels really understood how to capture their genius or present them to the public. Daniels has an easygoing, relaxed way of putting over a tune - yet still manages to come across with a rich, soulful vibe throughout... read more

Dominic J. Marshall - Spirit Speech
by Lance Liddle, Bebop Spoken Here (UK)

Gestating in the Womb.
a blind future which would destroy us.
a precocious potentiality
to elevate us toward the golden city walls of Ancient Egyptian demigods.
but it is the vibrations coming from outside.
celestial sound waves impinging on that foetal conciousness
that will make or break us.
and before we know if we want to be made or broken
time will pass us by like a shooting star,
leaving us alone again on this spherical blue... read more

Chad McCullough - Dark Wood, Dark Water
by Ken Dryden, All Music Guide

Like many artists who lead dates on Origin, Chad McCullough makes his recording debut for the label, joined by veterans like saxophonists Mark Taylor and Geof Bradfield, pianist Bill Anschell (whose career has flourished since relocating to the Pacific Northwest), bassist Jeff Johnson, and drummer John Bishop. McCullough's rich re-harmonized treatment of the Beatles' "Blackbird" barely touches on the melody before it progresses well beyond its... read more

Upper Left Trio - Ulternative
by John Barron, The Jazz Word

Portland's Upper Left Trio continues to bring a contemporary leaning to the traditional piano trio format with Ulternative, their fourth release for Origin Records. With a fresh batch of hip tunes by pianist Clay Giberson and bassist Jeff Leonard, this like-minded collaborative relish in progressive improvisational splendor with the willingness to dig in to a deep groove.

Giberson moves back and forth from acoustic and electric piano,... read more

Bongwool Lee - My Singing Fingers
by George W Harris, Jazz Weekly

Bongwool Lee forms a trio with Kendrick Scott/dr and Luques Curtis/b for a collection of mostly originals. The sole cover is a pastel themed "Bye Bye Blackbird" which as the leader sashay with Scott's brushes, while Lee goes elegiac on a solo "Burning Incense." The team gets assertive on "Repeating Nightmares" and is fun and quirky as Scott gets everyone snappy on "After the Black Dog" Taylor Eigsti brings his Fender Rhodes in for a soulful... read more

Jordan VanHemert - Survival of the Fittest
by C. Michael Bailey, Wild Mercury Rhythm

We needn't consider jazz as only a product of the Ease and West Coasts. The American interior also provides its share of splendid jazz music and musicians. An example is tenor saxophonist Jordan VanHemert. Born in Cheongju, South Korea and raised in Holland, Michigan, VanHemert took up alto saxophone at 11, eventually gravitating to the tenor saxophone in high school. Following a degree in music from Central Michigan University and graduate... read more

Christopher Icasiano - Provinces
by Max Level, KFJC 89.7FM

Drums and keyboards-everything played by Icasiano, a mainstay of the Seattle free music scene. There are two "suites" here and within each suite the pieces tend to track together. Several of the tracks have repeating-in some cases one could say relentless-drum patterns, augmented with simple keyboard/synth melodies, drones, and sounds. Field recordings pop up occasionally, some of them including voices. I really enjoyed Track 3, a jagged... read more

Piet Verbist - Zygomatik
by Frederik Goossens, Focus Knack (Belgium)

Het grote publiek leerde Piet Verbist kennen als de bassist van het Jef Neve Trio, maar de man is net zo goed gewonnen voor rock, soul en wereldmuziek.

Alles komt samen in deze eerste plaat onder eigen naam. De hoogdagen van de fusion zijn hier nooit ver weg. Inde opener PMS Alert! loert zowaar Miles Davis? In A Silent Way even om de hoek in de drumpartij van Herman Pardon. Cut The Crab kon zo in het repertoire van Headhunters. Verbist speelt... read more

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