Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Chris Walden Big Band - Full-On!
by Carol Banks Weber, AXS
Chris Walden's been so busy scoring and arranging other people's projects, he barely has time for his own music. The five-time-Grammy-nominated, German composer/arranger hasn't put out his own record in seven years, not since the wonderfully received Kurt Marti Suite. He's been too busy writing arrangements for stars like Diana Krall, Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand, Michael Bublé, Neil Young, Stevie Wonder, Christopher Cross,... read more
Thomas Marriott - Human Spirit
by George Fendel, Jazz Society of Oregon
I hope the people of Seattle are hip to the brilliance of Marriott. He plays with complete ease at the most brisk of tempos and displays the gift of a beautiful, pure tone. Along with Mark Taylor, alto saxophone, Gary Versace, B-3 organ, and Matt Jorgensen, drums, Marriott gets this CD off to a flying start on an up-tempo "You Don't Know What Love Is." Other highlights include an Ellington tune, completely new to me, "Low Key Lightly." Years... read more
Sam Yahel - Truth And Beauty
by Francis Davis, The Village Voice
As organ combos go, Sam Yahel's Truth and Beauty is unusual, first of all for including an Ornette Coleman tune: "Check Up," a rubato ballad wherein Brian Blade's drums carry the melody. The other departure from convention is no tenor honking?together with the minor-key mysterioso of Yahel's compositions and his light foot on the bass pedal, the swiftness and high-pitched yearning of Joshua Redman's solos and duos with the Hammond B-3 lift the... read more
John Bishop with Jeff Johnson, Rick Mandyck, John Stowell - Scenes
by Doug Ramsey, Rifftides
I've been meaning for some time to call your attention to this stimulating cooperative venture recorded in 2001. Hearing bassist Johnson and guitarist Stowell in separate appearances at the recent Portland Jazz Festival nudged me. They meld beautifully with saxophonist Ricky Mandyck and drummer John Bishop in a balanced program that draws on music by Jerome Kern, Wayne Shorter, John Scofield and Tom Harrell, among others. Stowell's solo on McCoy... read more
Dan Cray - Meridies
by C. Michael Bailey, All About Jazz
There is nothing iconoclastic about pianist Dan Cray. He derives his piano style more from Tommy Flanagan and Hank Jones than Matthew Shipp or Ran Blake. He has been driving a trio through four previous recordings: Who Cares (Cray Sounds, 2001); No One (Blujazz productions, 2003); Save Us! (Blujazz productions, 2005); and Over Here Over Heard (Crawdad, 2008). Cray has also provided movie music for actor Michael Keaton's The Merry Gentleman... read more
Jay Thomas with the Oliver Groenewald Newnet - I Always Knew
by George W. Harris, Jazz Weekly
Jay Thomas plays trumpet and flugelhorn as well as alto, tenor and soprano sax for tribute to blue pastels from masters ranging from Duke Ellington to Chick Corea. Fellow brass man Oliver Groenewald does most of the charts for the team that also boasts Brad Allison/tp-fh, Dan Marcus/tb, travis Ranney/as-fl-cl, Greg Sinabaldi/bs-bcl, John Hansen/p, Michael Glynn/b and Adam Kessler/dr. The moods and textures are highly in debt to Gil Evans, with... read more
Jessica Williams - The Art of the Piano
by Michael Steinman, Cadence
Jessica Williams' Art of the Piano music is different but equally rewarding. Like Rossano, she deeply understands the instrument. In fact, one of the great pleasures of this solo love recital is Williams' liner-note essay on the piano--wide awake and compelling. Here are two passages: "After Gould [a video of Glenn Gould playing the Goldberg Variations] I no longer wanted to play like most of the Jazz pianists played; left hand comping chords... read more
Harvie S - Bright Dawn
by Editor, Modern Drummer
After a long career in modern jazz, then playing (and studying) Afro-Cuban music for the last 30 years, bassist Harvie S is combining everything on his
new recording Bright Dawn, although the record does lean more towards modern jazz. Drummer Matt Wilson, pianist Miki Hayama, and Harvie create an elastic trio that is augmented by Peter Bernstein's lyrical guitar. Wilson and Harvie break up the time with panache', while Bernstein floats atop... read more
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