Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
John Stowell | Michael Zilber - Shot Through With Beauty
by Andrew Gilbert, KQED Arts
As the title suggests, East Bay saxophone master Mike Zilber and redoubtable Portland, Ore. guitarist John Stowell share an unabashed love of sumptuous melodies. Accompanied by the invaluable rhythm section tandem of bassist John Shifflett and drummer Jason Lewis, they investigate tunes like Kenny Wheeler's "Kayak" and Dizzy Gillespie's "Con Alma" and finely wrought originals (Zilber's deceptively pacific 10-minute title track is the album's... read more
Hugo Fernandez - Cosmogram
by Rotcod Zzaj, Improvijazzation Nation
You need look no further if it's passion-filled guitar jazz your ears are thirsting for! Hugo and his pals (antonio Sanchez on drums, Antonio Miguel on acoustic bass and Ariel Bringuez on tenor & soprano sax) play with all the gusto you'd expect for their all-original release. Though this is my first listen (as well as yours, since it's a debut), tunes like the 8:24 "Reconciliation" blend the players' talents together for a spectacular & very... read more
Geof Bradfield - Urban Nomad
by Jan P. Dennis, Audiophile Audition
Geof Bradfield's debut, Rule of Three, was widely praised in such places and by such critics as The New York Times' Ben Ratliff, Nate Dorward of Cadence Magazine, Downbeat, Howard Reichs in The Chicago Tribune, noted sax player and critic Jay Collins, and by many other media and reviewers. Though I haven't heard it, I believe them, based on the music contained in this spectacular disc. Working with a standard jazz quartet and pretty much... read more
Ben Patterson Jazz Orchestra - Mad Scientist Music
by Jack Bowers, All About Jazz
4 STARS
Trombonist Ben Patterson's high-powered Jazz Orchestra from the Washington, D.C. area returns virtually intact from 2024's well-received Groove Junkies (Origin Records) with another bold and hard-hitting session that is all but guaranteed to please anyone whose musical antenna leans toward fresh and exciting big-band jazz. Its title, Mad Scientist Music, coined by Harry Schnipper, owner of the D.C. jazz club Blues... read more
Eric Jacobson - Heading Home
by Paul Abella, WDCB, Chicago
Trumpeter Eric Jacobson has a new album out, Heading Home, and I'm digging this one a whole lot. The Milwaukee native put together an outstanding band to play eight of his compositions on the disc, with the excellent pianist Bruce Barth, as well as familiar faces in saxophonist Geof Bradfield, bassist Dennis Carroll, and drummer George Fludas. Jacobson gets right down to business with the opening cut, "Survival" which burns pretty hot. Barth... read more
Chris Walden Big Band - No Bounds
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
Chris Walden has been on a heck of a roll lately, with two Grammy nods for last year's Home of My Heart, one of the finest big band efforts of the year. He also in did the orchestrations for the acclaimed Michael Bolton set Bolton Swings Sinatra.
Home of My Heart deserved all the accolades that came its way; No Bounds is an even stronger disc. Walden is a genius at freshening up the big band genre with sparkling arrangements, whether in the... read more
Peter Erskine & the JAM Music Lab All-Stars - Bernstein in Vienna
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect
The inimitable drummer Peter Erskine and his excellent company celebrate the work of Leonard Bernstein, where his fondness for Vienna is front and center across these 8 in depth songs.
The frisky "Somewhere" starts the set started with Erskine's fluid drums amid Danny Grissett's glowing keys and Andreas Varady's warm guitar, and "I Feel Pretty" follows with a playful spirit via Bertl Mayer's upbeat harmonica and Robert Unterkofler's lively... read more
Benjamin Boone with the Ghana Jazz Collective - Joy
by Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz
4-STARS When saxophonist Benjamin Boone took a sabbatical from his teaching position at California State University Fresno to travel to Ghana as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar, he envisioned a yearlong educational immersion in the music, arts and broader culture of the region. What he couldn't have imagined, which became reality, was connecting with a set of Accra-based musicians who would welcome him into the fold as a band mate. Eager to... read more
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