Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Purna Loka Ensemble - Metaraga
by Patrick Neas, The Kansas City Star
'A general communication of good will.' East and West unite in the album 'Metaraga'
"East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet," Rudyard Kipling wrote. But violinist Purnaprajna Bangere is out to prove that not only can they meet, they can become one.
Bangere, a mathematician and musician based in Lawrence, and the Purna Loka Ensemble have recently released "Metaraga," an album that uses... read more
Andrea Brachfeld & Insight - Evolution
by George W Harris, Jazz Weekly
Andrea Brachfeld plays a wide variety of flutes to create diverse moods, teaming up with Harvie S/b, Bill O'Connell/p and Jason Tiemann/dr-perc on this collection of originals. African moods are created with her wood flute and kalimba on the mystical "The Hut Song" while a trip to South America brings her clay flute to team with O'Connell on an alluring "Qingauitt". A vocal message is rapped out on the modal "Child of the Earth" and messages are... read more
Anthony Branker & Ascent - Blessings
by Ron Bierman, JazzReview.com
The musicians who have the greatest-longer term impact are the ones who have something new to say. But they are also usually harder to appreciate at first, because they're playing something we're not used to hearing. And so it will be for many who audition the compositions of Anthony Branker performed by Ascent, a jazz collective established to play his music.
The songs and arrangements not so much. They struck me as overly simple vehicles... read more
Kobie Watkins - Involved
by Mark F. Turner, All About Jazz
More recently recognized as a member of guitarist Bobby Broom's illustrious trio, Kobie Watkins has proven his savvy as a fearless drummer and now a leader on his debut Involved. Watkins is no neophyte. A native of Chicago who is also an educator, he was once dubbed in a newspaper article as "Teacher has Alter Ego as Jazz Musician" who has performed with the greats - Sonny Rollins, Arturo Sandoval, Fred Anderson and many others.
Mirroring his... read more
John Moulder - Earthborn Tales of Soul and Spirit
by Hyayr Attarian, Chicago Jazz Magazine
Guitarist John Moulder's multi-faceted and ambitious Earthborn Tales of Soul and Spirit derives inspiration from a variety of somewhat disparate sources. These include the works of legendary saxophonist John Coltrane, Trappist monk and social activist, Thomas Merton, and philanthropist Ruby Bridges.
The two-part "Ruby's Way" reflects the complementary duality of Moulder's sixth release as a leader. The expansive, almost symphonic... read more
Grete Skarpeid - Beyond Other Stories
by Camilla Slaattun, JAZZiNORGE (Norway)
JAZZ PROFILE: Grete Skarpeid just released her second album, "Beyond Other Stories", arranged and produced by Aruan Ortiz. A film team has followed Skarpeid and her collaboration with Aruan for four years, and this autumn the documentary Grete - and the Cuban pianist will be released.
Hi, Grete, how are you doing in these challenging corona times, and how has the last year been for you?
Last year started brilliantly... read more
Thomas Marriott - Individuation
by John Kelman, All About Jazz
All too often you hear that jazz is dead, that there is little of significance being created today. Maybe the playing field is just so large that it can be more difficult to identify major leaps forward than in past decades. Still, for a marginalized genre that is responsible for something like 3% of total CD sales in the United States, one need only look at the sheer volume of new releases by young artists each and every month to realize that... read more
Charlie Ballantine - East by Midwest
by Editor, Modern Drummer
By listening to guitarist Charlie Ballantine, I would say that stylistically he is leaning further to the Bill Frisell, John Scofield, Pat Metheny side of jazz guitar than Jim Hall, Joe Pass, Wes Montgomery. I offer these names as only an explanation of my perceived interpretation of Ballantine's musical direction. Bassist Quinn Sternberg and drummer Dan Weiss support Ballantine's direction perfectly. Mixing some of his originals with Monk and... read more
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