Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Chris Walden Big Band - Full-On!
by Scott Yanow, Los Angeles Jazz Scene
While Chris Walden has arranged and composed music for films, television shows and other artists' records, he is most significant to jazz as the leader of his own big band. Full-On is his sixth CD as a leader and fifth since 2005.
Full-On is an exciting album from start to finish. Walden contributed all of the arrangements, wrote five of the 12 selections, and produced the diverse but consistent set. Six different singers are... read more
David Friesen and Glen Moore - Bactrian
by Chris Lunn, Ancient Victorys
This is the third recorded collaboration of these musical giants known for their compositions, bass playing, and associations with each other and other major players and groups. They have toured the United States as a duo and have graced Europe with concerts, clinics, and workshops. Both bass players in a 2006 jazz poll were voted in the top twenty bass players of all time. In this recording, they both play bass (Friesen a Hemage and Moore an... read more
Brad Wheeler - The Future Was Yesterday
by Jim Santella, Cadence, December 2006
Brad Wheeler's original compositions fill The Future Was Yesterday with the kind of tension and release that drives much of modern Jazz. The walking bass and ride cymbal provide release, while the leader's tight saxophone lines and the pianist's forceful harmonic landscapes color the session with a balanced palette. Guitarist John Moulder, who appears on four tracks, delivers an equally forceful array of harmonic textures that drive Wheeler's... read more
Chris Walden Big Band - No Bounds
by Tony Augarde, MusicWeb International
Too many big band recordings sound the same, using hackneyed techniques and voicings. But this album sounds different right from the very start -- an imaginative arrangement of David Foster's Winter Games. The ensemble sound is a knockout, possibly because Chris Walden uses six trumpets and five trombones, creating a rich and rare depth to the music.
The solos in between the ensembles are more conventional but all skillfully played,... read more
Anthony Branker & Ascent - Dance Music
by David Kane, Cadence
Composer/trumpeter/arranger Branker doesn't actually appear on [Dance Music] but his compositions do and they provide effective showcases for the talents of his band. In this instance, his talent for choosing top quality sidemen equals or surpasses his talent for composition. That's not to knock his writing which is solid and well-crafted in a Modern Mainstream mode (as all the CDs reviewed in this grouping are). As good as the tunes are... read more
Rich Thompson - Less Is More
by Dave Sumner, emusic Review
Nice straight-ahead session with an appealing accent on the blues. Featuring Terell Stafford on trumpet and Gary Versace on piano, drummer Thompson bundles up a quintet into a warm ball of music. This is the kind of jazz you want drifting out into the street just before you step into the club? strong musicianship, tight compositions, and the room for each artist to stretch out and add something slightly unexpected. An album of one solid tune... read more
Geof Bradfield - melba!
by Robert Ratajczak, LongPlay: RadioJAZZ - Poland
[translated from Polish] Melba Liston (1926-1999) is one of the icons of American jazz. Composer and arranger since the early 1960s, she collaborated with many including Randy Weston, Dexter Gordon, Dizzy Gillespie (Dizzy Gillespie at Newport), Art Blakey and Charles Mingus (the famous album The Complete Town Hall Concert). Despite the enormous contribution to the sound of countless jazz standards, she always remained in the... read more
Matt Jorgensen +451 - Hope
by Brian Kidd, North Seattle Herald
With the March 16 release of their latest album, "Hope," Matt Jorgensen+451 stand on the border of nostalgic reflection and future aspiration, peripherally looking back and forward. They pay tribute while propelling original compositions into innovative, cosmic sounds.
Behind the drum kit is Matt Jorgensen, but it is the entire band that is behind this evolving and warm music.
Following "The Road Begins Here" and "Quiet Silence"... read more
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