Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Carlos Vega - Art of the Messenger
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
The Latin jazzbo makes a case for music being the international language by springing from his salsa roots into a tribute to Art Blakey and his hard bopping Jazz Messenger days. Showing his chops by doing a tribute through all original material, these messengers here are real crusaders that play the whole jazz and nothing but the jazz. Right on throughout, this set is a first class... read more
Bill Anschell - Rumbler
by Hobart Taylor, KUCI - Irvine, CA
Bill Anschell is a pianist arranger who provides here that subtle miracle of jazz performance, making an elephant walk on stilts. Deep in tone and soul his tunes and a couple of covers, (most notably Monk's "Misterioso" with a super performance from Seattle's Richard Cole on sax),have solidity and assuredness, and yet seem casual and airy at the same time.... read more
Benjamin Boone | Philip Levine - The Poetry of Jazz, Vol. 2
by Raul da Gama, Jazz da Gama
In his second of two volumes celebrating the collaborative work between the inimitable American Poet Laureate Philip Levine and Benjamin Boone the improvisational language of Jazz continues its dancing, prancing relationship with free verse. More alluring is, of course, the fact that Mr Levine recites his work while Mr Boone plays empathetically along with the recitatives. Often his high and lonesome soprano saxophone lines entwines with the... read more
José Luiz Martins - Odyssey Mixtape
by George W Harris, Jazz Weekly
Playing piano, keys and synthesizers, Jose Luiz Martins mixes his own compositions with covers as he creates rich textures with a post-bop team of Alex Hamburger/fl-voc, Romeir Mendez/b, Dana Hawkins/dr and guests John Lee/g, Nakama/voc, Tyrone Allen/eb and Florian Haas/dr. The mix of Martins keys and Hamburger's beefy flute work wonders as on the upbeat and Latin'd "Cravo E Canela" while Lee joins in with the two for some tricky lines on the... read more
Jeff Johnson - My Heart
by George W Harris, Jazz Weekly
Bassist Jeff Johnson teams up with John Gross/ts, Art Resnick/p and Billy Mintz/dr for a collection of lyrical originals. He links well with Mintz, blending in with the brushes on the soft "My Heart" while adding textures around "Watercolors" and subtly soloing on a reflective "Companions". Resnick is in a Bill Evans mood on "Watercolors", while giving a rich intro to the supple "Leviathan" with Gross in a warm ember mood for the richly swinging... read more
James Moody - 80 Years Young: Live at the Blue Note, March 26, 2005
by Editor, Modern Drummer
For the last part of his life, the legendary James Moody chose to include Adam Nussbaum in his working band. Nussbaum was featured on the outstanding Moody studio recording with Hank Jones called Our Delight. For this live recording, Nussbaum is let loose behind the tenor sax legend. Nussbaum, bassist Todd Coolman, and pianist David Hazeltine set the mood for this all-star celebration featuring legends like Slide Hampton, Paquito D' Rivera,... read more
Darren Johnston - Life in Time
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
The New York trumpeter that's traded licks with Fred Frith comes to Chicago for some Chicago driven jazz with a mainstay trio that can pretty much play anything. With a Chicago take on loft jazz leading the way, this isn't exactly clove ciggy daddio jazz but it's loaded with the kind of stuff that gets you nodding appreciatively. This is the place to go for that late night... 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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