Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Kelly Brand Nextet - The Door
by Neil Tesser, JazzIs
The latest and best album by Chicago pianist and composer Kelly Brand. Brand brings an understated beneficence to her music: when she backs other players, she offers dark full chords, while her own solos are thoughtful, uncluttered affairs ? good stories told simply and well. Her narratives have another advantage in that they are always backed by Kelly Sill, one of the finest bass players of his generation ? and also Kelly Brand's husband. The... read more
Josh Nelson - Exploring Mars
by Editor, The Jazz Page
Composer-pianist Josh Nelson takes us on a journey to the red planet in his concept-driven new recording. Exploring Mars was inspired by the four robotic rovers exploring the planet and Ray Bradbury's "The Martian Chronicles". The sounds and feeling of the music certainly reflects the interstellar journey on which the listener embarks from the very first cut. The production quality lives up to the objective. Likewise, the musicianship is... read more
Laurie Antonioli and Richie Beirach - Varuna
by Thomas Cunniffe, Jazz History Online
Varuna is a dwarf planet located near Pluto, and although it was only discovered about fifteen years ago, it has already become the subject of an original song by vocalist Laurie Antonioli and pianist Richie Beirach. The lyrics touch upon the mythological and astronomical meanings of both the planet and its namesake, and the song's mystical, out-of-time setting is a perfect opener for the second duet album by Antonioli and Beirach. "Varuna" (the... read more
Tom Rizzo - Imaginary Numbers
by Rob Young, The Urban Flux
Through the richly textured arrangements of longtime collaborator Nick Lane and a stellar new ensemble of some of LA's finest, veteran guitarist and composer Tom Rizzo creates a swinging and wide-ranging new recording of interesting standards and provocative originals. The top-flight band, including Joe La Barbera, Bob Sheppard & Bob Summers, digs deep on the swinging original opener "B-Like," paints a lush landscape on the gorgeous J.J. Johnson... read more
Trio East - Best Bets
by Terry O'Mahoney, Percussive Notes
New York-based Trio East includes Eastman School of Music faculty members Clay Jenkins (trumpet), Jeff Campbell (bass) and Rich Thompson (drums). This unconventional jazz trio configuration challenges the myth that one needs a chordal instrument to complete an ensemble. Their skillful and melodic soloing, intuitive interaction, and compositional prowess more than compensate for the lack of a piano or guitar.
The nine tunes on the recording... read more
Peter Erskine & The JAM Music Lab All-Stars - Vienna to Hollywood: Impressions of E.W. Korngold & Max Steiner
by Luca D'Alessandro, Jazz'N'More (Switzerland)
4-STARS The film music composers Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Max Steiner left their hometown of Vienna in the early 1930s to seek their fortunes in California. Many years later, in the late 1970s, Weather Report drummer Peter Erskine encountered Korngold's work for the first time when Joe Zawinul suddenly played a Korngold melody on tour. This sparked a fascination in Erskine that continues to this day. Peter Erskine, with the all-star... read more
Dmitri Matheny - Cascadia
by Jack Bowers, All About Jazz
4-STARS Cascadia encompasses an hour of amiable, even-tempered jazz from trumpeter Dmitri Matheny who, like several of his predecessors—Chet Baker, Chuck Mangione, Guido Basso and his mentor, Art Farmer, among them—focuses exclusively on flugelhorn (that and his alert and able-bodied quintet). Matheny uses his gorgeous tone and remarkable lyricism to paint exquisite portraits in sound throughout a program whose ten engaging numbers... read more
Trio East - Best Bets
by Thomas R. Erdmann, www.jazzreview.com
If not for Origin Records, questing ensembles, such as Trio East, would not be able to find label homes. Origin continues their fine tradition of focusing on less well known, to general jazz public audiences, musicians who want to work in free and more open musical environments. This is certainly the case here.
Trio East is made up of three music professors from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. While each of the three are more... read more
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