Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Hadley Caliman - Gratitude
by Adam Greenberg, All Music Guide
For his first album as a leader in a couple of decades, Hadley Caliman returns with a bang. Though released by Seattle's Origin label, it's not strictly Northwest jazz, and though containing a couple of players from the California scenes, it's not strictly West Coast jazz. It's something different, tangible, with ties to the classics but explorations well into the new beyond. For someone who's played with everyone from Dexter Gordon to Santana,... read more
Nancy Kelly - Be Cool
by Scott Yanow, L.A. Jazz Scene
Nancy Kelly, who recorded her debut album in 1987, recently released her seventh recording, Be Cool. She has a strong and appealing voice, swings even when sticking close to the lyrics of a song, and is not afraid to stretch herself.
Be Cool is Nancy Kelly's second recording with an organist and her first with William Gorman whose powerful and at time dominant playing is a throwback to Wild Bill Davis along with the 1960s giants... 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
Rob Lockart - Parallel Lives
by Charles Winokoor, Cadence, April-June 2008
Fans of hard-hitting, finely-crafted post-Bop will want to check into "Parallel Lives," the first release from tenor sax player Rob Lockart.
With support from an A-list cast of characters this veteran of big bands, ranging from Woody Herman to Doc Severinsen and Tom Harrell to Chris Walden, shows that he's equally at home generating heat in a quartet setting.
The collection of eight songs, six of them original, are not simply an excuse to... read more
David Friesen Circle 3 Trio - Triple Exposure
by , Ancient Victorys
This is the second CD of Friesen with his current Circle 3 Trio with Friesen on bass, Greg Goebel, on piano, and Charlie Doggett on drums, with all the music created by David Friesen, almost seventy minutes of creative improvisation.
This trio plays around the Portland, Oregon area (when Friesen is not on international or national tour or instructional events) with regular weekly gigs, and they have a tight sound, are well aware of each... read more
Les DeMerle Sound 67 - Once in a Lifetime
by Editor, Dusty Grooves
Rare lost work from funky drummer Les DeMerle - a set of tracks that were recorded for Atlantic Records in 1967, two years before DeMerle's classic Spectrum album - yet which finally appear here for the first time ever! Les is rock-solid, right from the start - definitely one of those younger players really helping to shift the sound of the larger jazz group at the end of the 60s - with fresh arrangements that bring in plenty of currents... read more
Nnenna Freelon - Time Traveler
by Mandalit Del Barco, NPR Weekend Edition
Nnenna and Phil Freelon were a power couple: He was the lead architect for the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African American History & Culture, and she was a Grammy-nominated jazz singer, composer, actress and playwright. They enjoyed an exciting, full life of work, travel, friends and family.
Phil Freelon died in 2019. Now, Nneenna has started new podcast to share her grief, and recorded a new album dedicated to her late... read more
Anthony Branker & Ascent - Spirit Songs
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect
The inimitable composer and director Anthony Branker enlists some excellent musicians for this 9th album on the Origin label that is actually a reissue of his 2006 debut for Sons Of Sound Records.
The 7 minutes of "Chant For Peace Eternal" opens the listen with Jonny King's fluid piano and flowing sax from Ralph Bowen and Antonio Hart for the graceful jazz presence, and "Parris In April" follows with a dreamy demeanor that uses John... read more
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