Effectively interpreting the songs of Joni Mitchell is a great challenge. Bay Area native Laurie Antonioli is more than up to the task. After starting out in the singer-songwriter-vein, she became an accomplished jazz singer. Now Antonioli triumphantly returns to her roots for this gorgeous exploration of Mitchell's fascinatingly complex songs. Antonioli displays a tremendous range. She can use her vocal power, but also knows how to rely on... read more
Tokyo-based singer/songwriter Emi Meyer released her first U.S. album Monochrome in September with Origin Records, a Seattle-based jazz and classical music record label. For her debut U.S. recording, Emi combines music from a set recorded in Paris with Belgian pianist Eric Legnini's French quartet, and new originals recorded in Seattle and featuring guitarist Dan Balmer and pianist Dawn Clement. Born to a Japanese mother and American father, Emi... read more
Five BLAZING Stars!! Master guitarist Bobby Broom has cranked up a winner of a guitar trio recording. With longtime Broom associates bassist Dennis Carroll and his supple stylings and Kobie Watkins' muscular, inventive drumming, this is a tight musical trio that knows where it's going and there is lots of musical ESP between the players. There are some marvelous moments awaiting the listener on this CD. With song choices like the Beatles "Can't... read more
Mouse is a veteran of the Chicago jazz scene. A quick gander at his bio reveals a sideman?s dream. Mouse has spent decades performing with a who?s who of jazz greats. His newest album is collection of 10 originals, mostly written by Mouse himself. His drum style lies somewhere between Shelly Manne, Paul Motian and Joe Morello. Loose, painterly and swinging are adjectives that come to mind on hearing him. His writing style is a smorgasbord, from... read more
Best so far in 2020... Intense and hard-hitting ... socially and politically conscious, often beautiful, work that will make you think and that never shirks from challenging and confronting societal wrongs in a way that transcends the polemics of the newspaper opinion writers and the power grab of politicians... Boone's vision surpasses all... read more
5-STARS Seattle-based Origin Records will blow the minds of electric guitar fans with their 2025 CD release of East By Midwest by recording artist and composer Charlie Ballantine. The nine-track, 40 minute album sounds quite scintillating in spaces and the guitarist does his best with effective backing by Quinn Sternberg (bass) and Dan Weiss (drums). With the artist having already released a number of albums under his name,... read more
Grand Prize: Michael Orenstein / Title: "Ode to Manuel"
"Ode To Manuel" is Orenstein's tribute to one of his favorite pianists, Manuel Valera. It was written when Orenstein was still in his undergrad at Oberlin Conservatory, and after playing it for years, Orenstein recorded it for his debut album, Aperture (Origin Records 2022). The listener will hear grooves inspired by Cuban music intertwined with colorful modern harmonies, performed... read more
One of the great things about jazz is that there's always room for persuasive new voices, especially those who've mastered the vocabulary and know how to swing. Saxophonist David Sills, now in his mid-thirties, qualifies easily on both counts, as he shows consistently on Down the Line, evidently his second album as a leader of his own group, although Sills has recorded with a number of other first-rank musicians.
Sills has enlisted a clever... read more
This is just a small collection of the Origin Records reviews. Click here to view all reviews or try to Search for your favorite CD title.
Abate Berihun & The Addis Ken Project - Addis Ken
by Hanna Kay, Cult News (Paris)
Abate Berihun & The Addis Ken Project - Addis Ken
by Budapest, Rudolf Radnai
Abate Berihun & The Addis Ken Project - Addis Ken
by Editor, Bman's Blues Report
Jared Hall - Hometown
by Editor, Bman's Blues Report
Dawn Clement - Dear Ms. Dearie
by Editor, Bman's Blues Report
Jared Hall - Hometown
by Dee Dee McNeil, Making A Scene
Affinity Trio - New Outlook
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect
Michael Dease Big Band - Return Trajectory
by Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move
Brad Goode Quintet Feat. Ernie Watts - Live Your Dream: Live at North Street Cabaret
by Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move
Maja Jaku - Blessed & Bewitched
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect