Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Abate Berihun & The Addis Ken Project - Addis Ken
by Richard Kamins, Step Tempest
Saxophonist and vocalist Abate Berihun emigrated from his native Ethopia to Israel in 1999. He had been a busy working musician in his native country, playing in the Military Band, having his own group at the age of 21, and touring Europe on numerous occasions. His move to Israel was marked by menial non-music related jobs before he began to make connections. He was introduced to Israeli pianist and composer Yitzhak Yedid in 2002, with whom... read more
Storms/Nocturnes - VIA
by Ken Dryden, All Music Guide
Storms/Nocturnes consists of pianist Geoff Keezer, vibraphonist Joe Locke, and multi-reed player Tim Garland. While they have worked together in the past, this is the first time they have recorded under this new name. The beauty of this release is due in part to the Impressionist nature of each musician's originals, as it is easy to conceive images to every track. The trio fleshes out each composition with brilliant solos and tight ensembles.... read more
Chuck Deardorf - Perception
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
The bass ace takes kind of a busman's holiday by digging into jazz and rock chestnuts he likes and wants to leave his imprint on in the company of fine company. A first class jazz listening date, this is the perfect companion for when you want to sit back and take it all in.... read more
Hal Galper - Live at the Berlin Philharmonic, 1977
by Editor, BBC Music Magazine
5-STARS This two-disc release has come about as a result of Galper sifting through his archives a couple years ago. It was a session well worth rescuing. Although dating back 44 years, it recalls when Galper was already established as a highly-regarded player, almost part of the jazz-scene furniture and thus sometimes unfairly overlooked. This concert (plus one track recorded just a few months later in January 1978) finds him on... read more
Marc Seales - People & Places
by Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move
5-STARS A Dream Album of People, Places, and Time: Marc Seales and Ernie Watts Deliver a Jazz Masterpiece for the Ages.
The title, and even the opening notes, of this album might initially evoke the laid-back sophistication of a Michael Franks project. And indeed, there is something unmistakably refined, almost architectural, about this collaboration. In an era when melodic clarity is too often sacrificed for trend or abstraction,... read more
Charlie Ballantine - East by Midwest
by Geoffrey Himes, Hard Rain & Pink Cadillacs
There are jazz guitarists who can play melodic themes and lyrical precision, and there are those who make use of the harsh and surreal sounds an electric guitar is capable of. Indianapolis's Ballantine is one of the rare youngsters who can do both, much as Bill Frisell and John Scofield did in an earlier generation. Ballantine proved this on his 2018 album of Dylan covers, and he proves it again on this even better project, which includes tunes... read more
Carlos Vega - Bird's Up
by Jeff Cebulski, Chicago Jazz Magazine
Every region of this country has jazz talent that lacks more national attention, for reasons that may be linked to the general dearth of radio exposure or major label finances. Very gifted musicians with remarkable chops play on in front of appreciative audiences, sometimes releasing an album, hoping but not too-hopeful for a Break. One of these, a quintet, has just released its second album.
Miami-bred, Tallahassee-operating saxophonist... read more
Jack Perla - Enormous Changes
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
A very personal album from a cat that has had his share of enormous changes over the last few years, Perla takes a break from his opera world commissions and heads back to late 60s jazz rock for a mental and spiritual cleansing that finds him right in the pocket of pre-fusion where the seeds were being sown. This feels much like the kind of post civil rights jazz "Stan" Clarke was recording for Polydor prior to Return to Forever coming... read more
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Abate Berihun & The Addis Ken Project - Addis Ken
by Hanna Kay, Cult News (Paris)
Abate Berihun & The Addis Ken Project - Addis Ken
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Abate Berihun & The Addis Ken Project - Addis Ken
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