Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Tim Davies Big Band - The Expensive Train Set
by Hobart Taylor, KUCI - Irvine, CA
Composer/arranger Davies's day job is Hollywood... film scores, arranging a symphonic performance of Kendrick Lamar's "To Pimp a Butterfly", etc. Here he gets to show his own capacity to write and arrange big band music as high art. Like the late '40's Kenton bands, or even more like say Sauter-Finegan, Davies explores the complex possibilities inherent in coordinating so many moving pieces. The title of the CD refers to the fact that big... read more
Jordan VanHemert - Survival of the Fittest
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect
The always exciting saxophonist Jordan VanHemert is joined by Terell Stafford, Michael Dease, Helen Sung, Rodney Whitaker and Lewis Nash for these 9 rich and colorful jazz tracks.
The textured and melodic "Here And Now" starts with Stafford's soulful trumpet amid Sung's mature keys and Nash's light drumming, and "Tread Lightly" follows with scrappy drums and Whitaker's playful bass that suit VanHemert's bright sax bouts.
Landing the middle... read more
Lorin Cohen - Home
by Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune
Until three years ago, when he moved to New York, bassist Lorin Cohen was ubiquitous in Chicago, playing in uncounted bands and far-flung musical styles.
He returned here briefly over the weekend in the best way possible, celebrating the release of his first album as bandleader, "Home," the Green Mill packed on Friday night with his family, friends and even a few people he didn't know.
There was a palpable sense of return and reunion in... read more
2x2: Galvao/Santiago/Landais/Enouf - 2x2
by Editor, DiscUnion (Japan)
The saxophonist SERGIO GALVAO and the guitarist LUPA SANTIAGO met on a tour in 2014 and spirited up. Sergio Galvaon, who later moved to France, formed a trio with two French musicians, bass player CLEMENT LANDAIS, drummer FRACK ENOUF. While planning to record as a trio in the spring of 2017 I was planning to record together as Lupa Santiago will tour Europe in the same period.
The title "2 × 2" would be two Brazilians and two French people.... read more
Laurie Antonioli - Songs of Shadow, Songs of Light
by Doug Boynton, Girl Singers.org
Subtitled "The Music of Joni Mitchell," right out of the box, you know it's going to be a little bit of a tightrope act. It's not like "The Music of Cole Porter," or "Johnny Mercer;" songs that have been done a bazillion times, and no one (in my demographic, anyway) can remember exactly who did the original.
On these, there's no doubt. Joni Mitchell did the original. And mostly (in my demographic, anyway), we remember how... read more
David Friesen Circle 3 Trio - Where the Light Falls
by Scott Yanow, Downbeat
David Friesen is a superb bassist with a large attractive sound, superior technique and the ability to uplift any session he is on, whether as a leader or a sideman. On Where The Light Falls, the 2012 Jazz Society of Oregon Hall of Famer is accompanied by his regular trio, consisting of the fluent and consistently creative pianist Greg Goebel and the endlessly supportive drummer Charlie Doggett. Guitarist Larry Koonse, well-known for his... read more
Anthony Branker - Beauty Within
by Philip Booth, JazzTimes
Composer-arranger Anthony Branker, former longtime jazz studies guru at Princeton, turns to his new Imagine quintet for his latest set of forward-looking acoustic-electric pieces. From the titles to the haunting, sometimes meditative textures, a spiritual core seems to inform these imaginative compositions, brought to life via a band featuring saxophonist Ralph Bowen, a longtime Branker associate, and guitarist Pete McCann.
That yearning... read more
Thomas Marriott - Urban Folklore
by Andrew Luthringer, Earshot Jazz
"The job of a musician is to illustrate the human condition." On his latest album, ace trumpeter Thomas Marriott lays out his musical ethos. Marriott conceived the nine original tunes on Urban Folklore as musical story-telling, evocations of shared human experience.
While knowing the underpinnings behind Marriott's musical concepts may deepen the experience, it's not required to revel in the music itself - vigorous post-bop,... read more
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