Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Chicago Jazz Orchestra with Cyrille Aimee - Burstin' Out!
by Matt Marshall, All About Jazz
Covering the Great American Songbook can be tricky, thankless work for a singer. The options for handling the material just aren't as numerous (i.e., nigh infinite) as they are for instrumentalists. Severely warping a melody, chopping it up or getting rid of it altogether work perfectly well if you're blowing through a horn. But such abstractions of voice can seem forced or simply too weird within a straight-ahead format. There's scatting, of... read more
Kiki Valera - Vivencias en Clave Cubana
by Tom Ehrlich, Timba
Kiki Valera, a member of a well known Cuban son family, Familia Valera Miranda, was born, raised, and attended conservatory in the eastern part of Cuba. He currently resides in Seattle, Washington, USA. He has just released his first recording as a leader, "Vivencias en clave cubana", an outstanding project with wonderful music, exquisite mastering, and great packaging.
Among the standout features of this project are Valera's skillfully... read more
Jessica Williams - Billy's Theme: A Tribute to Dr. Billy Taylor
by Jim Santella, Cadence
The solo piano performance on Billy's Theme features Jessica Williams with a loving tribute to Dr. Billy Taylor. With her program of original compositions, she's captured the essence of his appreciation for pure melody and all the other simple pleasures found in good music. Like Taylor, Williams prefers to let her heart sing these musical praises instead of relying on muscular technique or some other tool that raises awareness through... read more
Inbar Fridman - Time Quartet Project
by Ian MacGregor, Jazz Guitar Society of Western Australia
Inbar Fridman is an Israeli jazz guitarist who studied at William Patterson University in the US and is now based back in Israel. She has teamed up with some fine French musicians including pianist Camelia Ben Naceur, bassist Laurent Chavoit and drummer Stefano Lucchini to produce a very nice album. She has shared the composing of half the original tunes with pianist Camelia Ben Naceur. She plays a Gibson 335 on all the tunes except ?No Palm... read more
Eric Jacobson - Heading Home
by Paul Rauch, All About Jazz
4-STARS Trumpeter Eric Jacobson has settled in on the Chicago club scene, making musical alliances along the way that include the very top tier of that talent rich scene. For his latest venture into the studio, he employs the talents of master tenorist Geof Bradfield, Chicago first call bassist Dennis Carroll and the always swinging George Fludas on drums. At first glance, this session looks like a cannot miss proposition. After one... read more
Collier & Dean - Duets
by Jonathan Herrera, Bass Player
While bass-oriented CDs are not always the most musical affairs, this vibraphone-and-bass-guitar duet disc is a refreshing surprise. Collier & Dean cover an eclectic selection of jazzy material, delivering it with sophisticated skill and musicality. Dan Dean, who is well known in the audio production world for his sample CD collections, is a phenomenal player. He demonstrates a highly evolved pick technique and a fluency in harmonically advanced... read more
Dawn Clement - Tandem
by Paul de Barros, Downbeat
Last fall, when Seattle's Earshot Jazz Festival invited pianist/vocalist Dawn Clement to serve as artist-in-residence, she knew immediately what she wanted to do.
"How about some duos?" she asked.
The result was a dazzling series of duets with vocalist (and fellow Cornish College of the Arts instructor) Johnaye Kendrick; saxophonist Mark Taylor, with whom Clement co-leads the expandable duo Lineup!; veteran trombonist Julian Priester; and... read more
Scenes - ...But Not Heard
by George W. Harris, Jazz Weekly
The trio Scenes consists of John Stowell/g, Jeff Johnson/b and John Bishop/dr, who are joined by the sax and flute of Hans Teuber for a collection of subtly swinging originals. Tunes such as "C Minor Waltz" and the bluesy "Nanti Glow" have Teuber's tenor softly blowing on the gently flowing melodies, while the more kinetic fast spotlights deft interplay between Stowell and Johnson. Bishop's rumbling drums serve as a rich underflow for... read more
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