Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Walt Blanton / Tony Branco / John Nasshan - Monuments
by Forrest Dylan Bryant, JazzTimes, July/August 2008
Listeners who associate the concept of free improvisation with harsh chaos or impenetrable obscurity will be pleasantly surprised by this Las Vegas-based trio, which wanders amiably through seven open-ended yet even-tempered pieces. This grounding is largely due to drummer Johhn Nasshan, who sticks closely to bop-based rhythms and keeps even the knottiest excursions in the pocket. Branco's piano pulls in the opposite direction, with deep... read more
Amit Friedman - Sunrise
by George W. Harris, Jazz Weekly
Here's a guy that keeps with the jazz groove and sounds, but adds some exciting new ideas along the way. Amit Friedman plays tenor, soprano and flute, and teams up with a band that sounds fairly normal, with a pianist (Omri Mor), bassist (Gilad Abro), drummer (Amir Bresler) and percussionist (Rony Iwryn), but stirs the pot a bit with the addition of Amos Hoffman, who includes the guitar and oud, the Middle Eastern acoustic guitar. The mix of... read more
Oscar Hernández & Alma Libre - The Art of Latin Jazz
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
This guy is a major figure in modern Latin jazz. So, what does he do? He makes a Latin jazz album the average, two left footed gringo can relate to and love. Not too Ricky Ricardo, not too ethnic, not to street, this is a set that takes the best of Latin jazz and slides it right down the middle for a set that can even find klutzes tapping their toes along to it. A solid gateway date for the gringo too intimidated to enter the Latin jazz tent,... read more
May Okita - Art of Life
by Dave Rogers, WTJU
This is vocalist May Okita's first release. She is accompanied by Josh Nelson (piano) moved to Los Angeles in 2013 to study clinical psychology and added voice studying with numerous performers, including Josh Nelson who plays piano on this disc. Larry Koonse (guitar) also plays on several songs. The songs range from Irving Berlin's "Let's Face The Music And Dance" and Cole Porter's "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye" to Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now"... read more
Jordan VanHemert - Survival of the Fittest
by Jack Bowers, All About Jazz
Although the title of saxophonist Jordan VanHemert's fifth album, Survival of the Fittest, may elicit images of a crash course in self-defense, that is not at all what he had in mind. The music is thematic, he says, and represents the twin lodestars of adversity and resilience. Even that, however, becomes largely irrelevant once VanHemert and his supporting cast launch what is at its heart a narrative of contemporary post-bop... read more
Rob Lockart - Parallel Lives
by Jim Shulstad, jazzreview.com
Refreshing, engaging, and stimulating only begin to describe Rob Lockart's debut CD Parallel Lives. Lockart's inventive solos reveal the style, class, and soul of a finely polished musician. He says more in one chorus than the rest of us say all day. Parallel Lives is a solid winner!
Lockart's saxophone is not new to our ears. He is a regular in the Los Angeles scene where he has recorded for TV, movies, and commercials. He has performed with... read more
Xose Miguélez - Ontology
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
Ethnic, but not world jazz, inspired by his great aunt and some motifs that run through it all, this is solid sitting down, listening jazz that flows like the river in a Zen koan and never blows a false note. You don't have to be an egghead to love it, just someone that appreciates sax blown right starting with some blue prints on the artist's DNA. Tasty stuff made for grown up... read more
Clarence Penn - Monk: The Lost Files
by Tim Wilkins, WBGO - New York
No, Monk: The Lost Files isn't a master tape drummer Clarence Penn found stuck behind the stacks at the Library of Congress. But the story is just as good.
The way Clarence tells it, a glass of wine at his son's second birthday party led to a computer dysfunction that ate some tape he desperately wanted to keep. Penn had recorded a rhythmic reimagining of Monk tunes, as an experiment with his Penn Station colleagues Chad... read more
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