Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Xose Miguélez - Contradictio
by Pepe Cunha, Abrete de Orellas (Spain)
Following the magnificent "Ontology" (2019) is linked to it through the piece that was titled and that here is reinvented in two versions: in quartet and duet with pianist Jean-Michel Pilc, co-producer of the album. Porén, if not a previous work or saxophonist composed from traditional melodies and oozed more from studio work, "Contradictio" aims more at live performance of a quartet that is completed with a Portuguese rhythmic base: Carlos... read more
Hal Galper - O's Time
by Marek Zając, Multikulti Project (Poland)
It is very difficult to innovate when playing in a classic jazz trio. The last big change was the democratization of the band's roles, but it happened around the turn of the 1950s and 1960s when Bill Evans invited Paul Motian and Scatt LaFaro to play together. Of course, there was then a free jazz revolution and Cecil Taylor's achievements that actually brought the trio music out of the jazz tradition, but it was rather a broadening of the... read more
Matt Otto - Umbra
by George W Harris, Jazz Weekly
Tenor saxist Matt Otto blows smoke like a Cohibo cigar on this album of smoky mellow madness. He's teamed with Jeff Harshbarger/b, John Kizilarmut/dr, while mixing and matching Herman Mehari/tp, Matt Villinger/key and Alex Frank/g.
In full band setting, he lets the tenor drift like a nimbus cloud on "Little Things" while showing his influences on the laconic "Hawk" and relaxed swing of "Prez". He creates embers around Harshbarger on "Paw Paw"... read more
Hal Galper - Live at the Berlin Philharmonic, 1977
by Jack Kenny, Jazz Views (UK)
Strange to think that the music on this album was recorded forty-four years ago. It does not seem like that: it has a freshness and immediacy. Pianist Hal Galper played for three years with Chet Baker. He also had a spell with Cannonball Adderley and Phil Woods. The group on this album was probably his most successful and most artistically satisfying. Galper's exciting technique of quickening or slackening the rhythm, usually without... read more
Kelly Sill / Jim McNeely / Joel Spencer - Boneyard
by Adam Greenberg, All Music Guide
An excellent trio session from pianist Jim McNeely, bassist Kelly Sill, and drummer Joel Spencer. The Chicago-based trio has been collaborating in various forms for years, and the tightness of the ensemble is apparent in the interplay between musicians here. McNeely takes the lead for much of the album (being the pianist, of course), and shows off some noteworthy chops on standards like "In Your Own Sweet Way" and originals (such as the... read more
Jordan VanHemert - Deep in the Soil
by Jean-Michel Schlosser, Couleurs Jazz (France)
Jordan VanHemert, multi-ring blower, usually on tenor, substitutes alto here (he also plays soprano, clarinet and flute), and appears as a sextet with, it has to be said, a line-up of exceptional class.
Our Korean-American saxophonist has already performed alongside Dmitri Matheny, Geri Allen and Rodney Whitaker, and this latest release marks his fifth album as leader.
From the outset, we're treated to an edgy, hard-bop jazz style, with... read more
Les DeMerle - Cookin' At The Corner, Volume 1
by Tom Hull, Jazz Prospecting
The setup is piano-bass-drums plus singer, but the leader is the drummer, and he sings some too. In fact, DeMerle and Eisele pair up like Louis Prima and Keely Smith, even if they play it straight most of the time. (But not all the time: DeMerle sings one about a sailor who comes home after three years to find his wife has a new baby named Bennie. Where'd he come from, the sailor wonders? "Bennie's From Heaven.") Eisele doesn't enter until the... read more
Andrea Brachfeld & Insight - Evolution
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect
An important artist in New York City's jazz and Afro-Cuban scene for 5 decades, Andrea Brachfeld spent much time thinking about children's issues during the pandemic, and that reflection is very apparent in these very diverse and thoughtful songs.
"What's Up" starts the listen with dreamy flute, crisp drumming and much warm piano in the fluid jazz climate, and "Decimation Of Transformation" follows with firm piano and cultured melodies... read more
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