Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Jack Perla - Enormous Changes
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
A very personal album from a cat that has had his share of enormous changes over the last few years, Perla takes a break from his opera world commissions and heads back to late 60s jazz rock for a mental and spiritual cleansing that finds him right in the pocket of pre-fusion where the seeds were being sown. This feels much like the kind of post civil rights jazz "Stan" Clarke was recording for Polydor prior to Return to Forever coming... read more
Matt Otto with Ensemble Iberica - Iberica
by Dave Sumner, Bird is the Worm
Otto's collaboration with the Ensemble Ibérica is a series of languid expressions, each possessing the potent combination of a stunning beauty and a disarming gentleness. The delicate accents of Spanish and chamber add some compelling textures, and the inclusion of instruments like oud, steel guitar, cavaquinho, cello and Cuban tres brings a liveliness to the conversation that serves to emphasize the serenity, not threaten it. And while Matt... read more
Scenes - ...But Not Heard
by George W. Harris, Jazz Weekly
The trio Scenes consists of John Stowell/g, Jeff Johnson/b and John Bishop/dr, who are joined by the sax and flute of Hans Teuber for a collection of subtly swinging originals. Tunes such as "C Minor Waltz" and the bluesy "Nanti Glow" have Teuber's tenor softly blowing on the gently flowing melodies, while the more kinetic fast spotlights deft interplay between Stowell and Johnson. Bishop's rumbling drums serve as a rich underflow for... read more
Christopher Icasiano - Provinces
by Robert Silverstein, Roots Music Report
**** 4-stars
Washington State based Origin Records steps out of their comfort zone with the 2020 release of Provinces from composer and multi-instrumentalist Christopher Icasiano. Very unusual sounding yet rewarding as a musical experience, the eight part CD is a fine showcase for Christopher's drumming, percussion and keyboard skills. Sounding like a modern day horror film soundtrack, bordering on avant-garde instrumental music and even... read more
Benjamin Boone with the Ghana Jazz Collective - Joy
by Dr. Debra Jan Bibel, Amazon
Benjamin Boone, saxophonist and composer, is also a Ph.D. scholar. He previously released the two distinguished musical volumes of The Poetry of Jazz, and as a Fulbright Senior Specialist Fellow he has traveled to Moldova, Ethiopia, and most recently Ghana for study and music exchange. While in Accra, Ghana, he was astonished to hear mainstream American jazz but with West African tinge. In this album, The Ghana Jazz Collective — a quartet of... read more
Richard Sussman - Live at Sweet Rhythm
by Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz
Life has few certainties, but the constant and ever-moving nature of time is one of them. Events, both miniscule and monumental, pass by and usually leave nothing more than a memory or, in the case of music, a record. Such was the case with pianist Richard Sussman's Free Fall (Inner City Records, 1978). Joined by some burgeoning young talent in 1978, Sussman's album became an underground classic and that seemed to be the end of it. All the... read more
Darren Johnston - Life in Time
by Georges Tonla Briquet, Jazz'halo (Belgium)
Trumpeter Darren Johnston likes variety and challenges. He recorded with both Fred Frith and Marcus Shelby while traveling to Chicago for 'Life In Time' to form a quartet with Geof Bradfield (tenor & soprano saxophones, bass clarinet), Clark Sommers (bass) and Dana Hall (drums) .
They only bring their own songs completely soaked in a narrative tradition and then frame them in an updated version of post bop. Certainly also for fans of Rob... read more
Hadley Caliman - Gratitude
by Joseph Blake, Times Colonist, Vancouver, B.C.
Tenor saxophone veteran Hadley Caliman has been a fixture on the Seattle jazz scene since moving to the Emerald City from California where he played with everyone from his mentor, Dexter Gordon, to high school classmate, Art Farmer, to recordings with Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard and Santana. Now in his 70's, Caliman is a regular at Seattle's Second Avenue jazz club, Tula's and a long-standing member of the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra,... read more
Looking for a specific review?
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.
Search Reviews:
Recently Added Reviews:
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