Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
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
The Spin Quartet - In Circles
by Don Lerman, Cadence
The Spin Quartet consists of top-notch musicians who carve out an interesting group identity. The absence of a piano or guitar from the instrumentation of two horns, bass, and drums gives clarity and an open quality to the music, aided by the fine writing from mostly band members.
Trumpeter/flugelhornist Chad McCullough wrote five of the pieces, with the subdued "Oranges Are Supposed to be Orange" and bright-eyed "Haberdasher" among his... read more
Chad McCullough - Dark Wood, Dark Water
by Elliott Simon, All About Jazz
As illuminating as new views of familiar landscapes can be, a vibrant jazz scene is best measured by its ability to foster young artists creating new music. Dark Wood, Dark Water's compositions employ advanced harmonics and are all originals, save for the band's lovely and unique take on Lennon-McCartney's "Blackbird." Joining Chad McCullough and Jeff Johnson are Bishop himself, saxophonists Mark Taylor and Geof Bradfield and pianist Bill... read more
Darrell Grant - Truth And Reconciliation
by Steve Leggett, All Music Guide
Pianist Darrell Grant showcases some of neo-bop's strengths on this ambitious two-disc set from Origin Records. Looking back to the bop era for inspiration, Grant also astutely mixes in classical elements, folk themes, flirts with light R&B, and walks surely and boldly into pop territory, all through a bop lens from the vantage point of the 21st century. Working with guitarists Bill Frisell and Adam Rogers, saxophonist Steve Wilson, vibist Joe... read more
Jared Hall - Hometown
by George Harris, Jazz Weekly
Trumpeter Jared Hall delivers a vintage sounding hard bop session with Troy Roberts/ts in the frontline and Ben Markley/p, Michael Glynn/b and Kyle Swan/dr supplying the grooves. The session comes across like Horace Silver or Art Blakey was watching in approval, as Hall's velvety horn bops over Markley on "Step By Step" and is as sweet as apple cider for a melodic read of Thelonious Monk's "Ask Me Now"> Swan supplies a nice cantor for the warm... read more
Mimi Fox - Standards, Old & New
by John Barron, The Jazz Word
For her third solo guitar release, San Francisco-based Mimi Fox blends folk, pop and jazz standards into a collection of accessible, high spirited jazz. Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land" opens up the disc with bluesy inflections and impressive double time soloing with bass lines, chords and riffs spread out in even proportion. "Cry Me a River" by nature lends itself to soulful inflection and Fox turns the tune inside-out. A grand... read more
James Moody - 80 Years Young: Live at the Blue Note, March 26, 2005
by Scott Yanow, L.A. Jazz Scene
Everyone loved James Moody (1925-2010). He came to his musical maturity during the bebop era, playing tenor and alto including with the Dizzy Gillespie Big Band and in the 1960s with Gillespie's quintet. Moody continued to evolve through the years, taking up the flute and soprano while developing his own distinctive sound on all of his instruments. Always a good-humored and witty performer, particularly during his later years, Moody usually... read more
Joachim Mencel - Brooklyn Eye
by Sebastian Chosiński, Esensja (Poland)
Dreams are there to make them come true! Polish jazz pianist (also playing the hurdy-gurdy) Joachim Mencel dreamed of recording an album in New York for years, with American artists accompanying him. The assumption was that the music was also inspired by North America. All this was achieved in one fell swoop thanks to the publishing house "Brooklyn Eye".
In Poland, Joachim Mencel does not have to prove anything to anyone. For years,... read more
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