Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Geof Bradfield - melba!
by Ric Bang, Jazz Scan
Unless you're a senior jazz fan, or you "cheated" and checked Geof Bradfield's website, you probably don't have any idea who "Melba" is, or was ... which is a shame.
Melba Liston was born in 1926, loved jazz, became enamored with the trombone ("chose it because it's such a pretty horn") and became a professional musician at age 16. She didn't merely play; she became one of the finest copyists and arrangers during the Big Band years, and... read more
Barry Greene - Giants
by Mike Gates, UK Vibe
5 STARS
Delivering exactly what its title promises, Barry Greene's Giants is a deeply felt, expertly executed homage to the lineage of jazz guitar, delivered by a musician fully capable of standing alongside the figures he honours. It's an album that makes me feel nostalgic while, at the same time, rewarding me as a modern, living, breathing statement that bridges eras with intelligence and soul.
Greene has long been... read more
Corey Christiansen - Outlaw Tractor
by Michael G. Nastos, All Music Guide
Warmth oozes out of the music on this CD created by guitarist Corey Christiansen and his quartet, a comfy blend of contemporary jazz, bop or post-bop, and soul-jazz. Organist Pat Bianchi and saxophonist David Halliday create that feeling, playing unison lines that, between the three instrumentalists, give the listener a comfort zone that is both refreshing and accessible, given the more complex music modern jazz usually offers up. To say it's... read more
Nnenna Freelon - Time Traveler
by Brenda Nelson-Strauss, Black Grooves
Like many over the past couple of years, jazz vocalist Nnenna Freelon has been confronting grief. The singer's beloved husband and partner of 40 years, Philip Freelon, passed after a long battle with ALS, shortly before the pandemic caused millions of untimely deaths and left bereaved families across the globe in mourning. Freelon's new album, Time Traveler, was created through this lens of suffering, grief and loss. Recorded both before and... read more
Phil Kelly & The SW Santa Ana Winds - My Museum
by Adam Greenberg, All Music Guide
Switching from his usual partners, the NW Prevailing Winds, Phil Kelly takes on a new collective of musicians here, the SW Santa Ana Winds. The move is from Seattle to Los Angeles physically, and similarly for the musical aesthetic. Despite the core sound being determined by Kelly's arrangements, the players surrounding him (with the exception of NW trumpeter Jay Thomas) change to a slightly more dramatic tone. The compositions are an intriguing... read more
Big Neighborhood - 11:11
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
The liner note explanation of the title of Big Neighborhood's second CD release, penned by the group's guitarist/leader, David White, sounds sort of loopy and New Age weird. White claims that "in some circles 11:11 is a wake-up code as seen on digital clocks designed to reach the subconscious mind and trigger genetically encoded memories showing us that we are higher spirits...."
Claptrap. Go hug a crystal. That's my take on it. But when you... read more
Rich Thompson - Less Is More
by Mark S Tucker, Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange
Luckily, I'd received Jack Mouse's "Range of Motion" at the same time I got Rich Thompson's "Less is More" and stacked them together in my slush pile. Reviewing the two, one right after the other, afforded a sharp contrast in drumming styles even though the two have played in much the same genre of ensembles as they now solo in smaller format CD releases. Mouse is an ambient sort of cat who creates environments for the rest of the band to... read more
Ryan Shultz - Hair Dryers
by Paul Abella, Music Lounge - WDCB, Chicago
Hailing from Chicago is the cast of characters assembled for Ryan Shultz's latest album, Hair Dryers (also Origin Records). This is an exciting album, with half the time spent exploring the outer edges of Miles Davis' 60s quintet and half going for broke with sounds and ideas right out of the mid-70s fusion era. While during the daytime on 'DCB Jazz, we'll be spending almost all of our time with the acoustic music, you can expect to hear... read more
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