Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Anthony Branker & Ascent - Spirit Songs
by Ed Sapiega, Jazz Views (UK)
Anthony Branker is a multi-talented artist who is known for his sophisticated approach to modern creative post-bop jazz. He is a composer, arranger, musical director, and educator.
Branker trained to be a trumpet player, however, he has focused on composing for much of his career due to health issues resulting from a brain aneurysm in 1999. Branker has been recognized as a "Rising Star Composer" in the 62nd and 63rd Annual Critics Poll by... read more
Giacomo Gates - Centerpiece
by Elliott Simon, All About Jazz/New York
A product of vocally imitating complex bop solos, vocalese grew into a respectable singular art form under its most famous practitioners, King Pleasure and Eddie Jefferson. On the swinging Centerpiece, Giacomo Gates uses these two giants as touchstones and makes the genre his own.
In addition to his deep, rich tonal quality, Gates' impressive vocal arsenal includes whistling, scat and mood-inducing intros. He uses these talents to lead us... read more
Nnenna Freelon - Time Traveler
by Paul Abella, WDCB (Chicago)
It has been entirely too long between albums from Nnenna Freelon. Discounting a Christmas album from 2012, the last we heard from Freelon was in 2010. She's back in 2021 with Time Traveler, an album recorded in the wake of her husband's long term illness and death in 2019. Considering the tragedy and heartache surrounding the album, it's an astonishingly upbeat affair. Even the songs that could have been maudlin, like "Time in a Bottle," instead... read more
Thomas Marriott - Urban Folklore
by Ric Bang, Jazz Scan
Origin Records and trumpeter Thomas Marriott are among this blog's "old friends"; both were featured in some of my earliest reviews. If you scan through the site's listing you'll find 7 CDs where they're featured together. Origin was among the first of the "new breed" jazz labels founded in the very late 20th century, and Marriott was - and still is - a frequent leader or sideman on the company's albums.
Marriott is a West Coast artist,... read more
Maja Jaku - Blessed & Bewitched
by Joseph Ross, Amazon
5-STARS Recorded in Brooklyn, NY, and released on the Washington state-based Origin Records label in 2025, Blessed & Bewitched is a fine introduction to the music of Austria-based singer Maja Jaku. With her intriguing-sounding name and colorful background in her native Kosovo, Maja is sure to stir up interest with her Origin debut. Ostensibly free form jazz filled with a variety of jazz and pop influences, Blessed & Bewitched is... read more
Bobby Broom - Song And Dance
by Doug Collette, Glide Magazine
The erstwhile guitarist (for Sonny Rollins among many others) mixes original songs and covers of unusual sources?the Beatles' "Can't Buy Me Love," Jimmy Webb/Glen Campbell's "Wichita Lineman"-- in a way that features the strengths of the compositions as well as those of the trio. Uncluttered production emphasizes a clarity of sound that further highlights how it's possible to take a straightforward approach to recording and playing and in so... read more
Cuong Vu - Leaps of Faith
by Peter Margasak, Downbeat Magazine
★★★★
Trumpeter Cuong Vu moved back to his native Seattle in 2006 to teach, but five years later he's still working with the members of his long-running New York trio, drummer Ted Poor and electric bassist Stomu Takeishi. But on Leaps Of Faith, a gorgeous live recording made in Seattle in April 2010, he brings in second electric bassist Luke Bergman?a former University of Washington student of his who's now a regular... read more
Clipper Anderson - The Road Home
by Tom Ineck, Berman Music Foundation
It is evident from the first lines of the opening track, Bill Evans' "Twelve Tone Tune Two," that this is the bassist's record. Despite the considerable talents and sensitive interplay of pianist Darin Clendenin and drummer Mark Ivester, Anderson's prodigious playing skill and booming, woody tone have an immediate impact on the listener.
The leader also impresses as the composer of six of the 11 tracks, including the lovely and lyrical... read more
Looking for a specific review?
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.
Search Reviews:
Recently Added Reviews:
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