Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
EEA - The Dark
by David Kane, Cadence
Highly original is the fine music to be found on The Dark. EEA is a trio of a slightly unusual configuration: piano, trumpet, and sax. In the hands of these fine musicians, this combination reveals itself to be a most agreeable one indeed. The music consists of a handful of excellent originals penned by pianist Ake together with two lesser heard Ellington pieces, "Heaven" and "African Flower" together with a moody retelling of Gismonti's... read more
Tom Collier - Across the Bridge
by Fred Bouchard, Downbeat
***1/2
Since 1997, Origin Records has stood steadfast as a bulwark for West Coast jazz and classical musicians, and mallet-meister Tom Colier splendidly fills both categories. As chair of percussion studies at Seattle's University of Washington, he's performed with major symphonies as well as Earl "Fatha" Hines, Frank Zappa, Peggy Lee and Cal Tjader. (He lately recorded mallet transcriptions of two-piano Mozart and Haydn pieces for... read more
Phil Kelly - Convergence Zone
by Jae Sinnett, Jazz Programmers List
"Convergence Zone" adds a much needed upgrade to what the jazz orchestras are dealing with today in terms of predictability. The arrangements are
challenging, fun and work only because of the quality of these musicians playing them. The sections are cohesive and beautifully in tune. The dynamic range of this band is refreshing. Jay Thomas is one of many standouts. Considering the overhead involved with making something like this work, give... read more
Lucas Pino - No Net Nonet
by Travis Rogers, Jr., The Jazz Owl
Lucas Pino is just getting started and we are fortunate to catch him early in his career and watch what he becomes. He is already an excellent composer—in fact, he was already composing great pieces in high school. His talents were sharpened at the Brubeck Institute, The New School and at Julliard.
Nothing hones skills finer, however, than playing with exemplary artists and Pino has played, and recorded, with some of the best. This nonet is... read more
Carlos Vega - Bird's Ticket
by Travis Rogers, Jr., The Jazz Owl
Carlos Vega, saxophonist and composer, was well-established in the Latin music scene of Miami and a student of Jazz when he made the move to Chicago in 2005. Having played with Arturo Sandoval and Tito Puente, he found a happy convergence of all his musical experiences and influences among the musicians of Chicago.
It was this that brought about Bird's Ticket (Origin 82708) and a collaboration with some of Chicago's first-call players. With... read more
Piet Verbist - Zygomatik
by Dustin Mallory, Cadence
Referring to either the muscle of facial expression or the paired cheekbone, this Zygomatik seeks to express a full range of emotional nuance. Verbist, the creative force behind this recording, displays his compositional abilities as well as his strength as a performer. His virtuosic technique on ?The Pale Blue Dot? (which also alludes to the swinging feel of John Coltrane?s ?Equinox,?) is contrasted by the simple, yet heavy, groove of tunes... read more
Thomas Marriott - Flexicon
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz.com
If Seattle, Washington-based Origin Records can be said to have a signature sound, trumpeter Thomas Marriott's Flexicon could be picked as an example. The music is mainstream, with two horns and a rhythm section, polished up and modernized with a nice edge, some luminous Fender Rhodes, a solid-yet-adventurous bassist, and a top notch, push-the-tradition-forward drummer. And everything small and large that the drummer does can be heard.... read more
Jessica Williams - Songs of Earth
by Dave Sumner, Bird Is The Worm Jazz Blog
Solo piano albums just leave me entranced. They have the ability to sound as expansive as the sea and just as deep, while also revealing an intimate fragility that can be as endearing as the former quality is awe-inspiring.
Culling recordings from solo performances recorded over a three year stretch at Seattle?s Triple Door, pianist Jessica Williams displays those same characteristics in the mesmerizing Songs of Earth.
There is an element... read more
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