Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Big Neighborhood - Neighbors
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
This sax/bass/guitar/drums quartet struck me on first listen as a group that Steely Dan might hire for a recording session. The sound is crisp and clean, modern, with sharp lines and well-defined, ear-grabbing tangents. And democratic, as opposed to a sax-in-front-of-a-rhythm section affair. Then I heard some Pat Metheny shadings when guitarist David White brings the guitar synthesizer into the mix; but the sound is friskier than Metheny's, the... read more
Thomas Marriott - Flexicon
by Dick Crockett, The Voice, Sacramento
Thomas Marriott demonstrates one of the most active and strong clear blue trumpet tones in jazz, so overt and apparent on his new "Flexicon" CD, and with Mark Taylor's hard edged saxophone play, Bill Anschell's particulate sound on both acoustic piano and Rhodes, along Jeff Johnson, the best bassist from the Great Northwest and versatile power drummer Matt Jorgensen.
They're terrific, right off the mark, in a tribute to the great Freddie... read more
John Moulder - The Eleventh Hour
by Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune
If Chicagoan John Moulder had decided to become a full-time jazz guitarist rather than a Catholic priest who plays guitar, he probably would be quite famous, for his virtuosity as an instrumentalist is matched by his ferocity as a performer. Then, again, he wouldn't be the man he is now, an artist who views faith and music as expressions of the same spirit, which may help explain why he sounds like no one else in jazz. That's clear once again... read more
Hal Galper - Live at the Berlin Philharmonic, 1977
by Paul Simpson, The Answer is in the Beat (WCBN)
Alright, so here's a previously unreleased live set performed by a bunch of artists I should probably be more familiar with. This concert was recorded after Galper had just finished a tour with Cannonball Adderley, and he's joined by Randy and Mike Brecker, Wayne Dockery, and Bob Moses. All six songs are around 10-25 minutes each, and all five musicians simply go off. Opener "Now Hear This" is just nonstop energy for 14 minutes. "Speak with a... read more
Matt Otto with Ensemble Iberica - Iberica
by Dave Sumner, Bird is the Worm
Otto's collaboration with the Ensemble Ibérica is a series of languid expressions, each possessing the potent combination of a stunning beauty and a disarming gentleness. The delicate accents of Spanish and chamber add some compelling textures, and the inclusion of instruments like oud, steel guitar, cavaquinho, cello and Cuban tres brings a liveliness to the conversation that serves to emphasize the serenity, not threaten it. And while Matt... read more
John Stowell | Michael Zilber - Live Beauty
by Bill Milkowski, Downbeat
4-STARS The potent partnership of guitarist John Stowell and saxophonist Michael Zilber plays out on this highly interactive and adventurous set recorded before a live audience at the California Jazz Conservatory in Berkeley. Fueled by the remarkably empathetic Bay Area rhythm tandem of bassist John Shifflet and drummer Jason Lewis, Stowell and Zilber take their time and follow their muse quite freely throughout this intimate concert.... read more
John Moulder - Decade: Memoirs
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
Culled from sessions recorded since 2009, the Chicago guitarist rounds up the Chicago time keeper contingent, adds some Brits and turns up the heat on this smoking straight ahead jazz date that shows you how cooking is done. With solid blowing from all hands on deck adding to the whole, it's listening jazz that makes it hard not to bounce in your chair. A delightfully wild ride that's e ticket all the... read more
Clay Giberson - Pastures
by Hobart Taylor, KUCI - Irvine, CA
Pianist/composer Giberson is elegant and eloquent, both on his own charming earworms, but also on a jazz reworking of elder Joseph Brackett's Shaker hymn, "Simple Gifts". He is joined by Donny McCaslin on various reed instruments, and occasionally a string quartet.... read more
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