Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Hal Galper / Reggie Workman / Rashied Ali - Art-Work
by Thomas Conrad, JazzTimes
Sometimes aesthetic theories are clear (and necessary) only to the artists who invented them. Ornette Coleman has never satisfactorily explained what he means by "harmolodic," but it doesn't matter. The claims that Hal Galper makes for his "Rubato concept" are sometimes abstruse. It doesn't matter. What is clear is that Galper's investigations into the "bending and shaping of tempo" set him free.
Not many artists make stylistic... read more
Dawn Clement - Tandem
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
A real piano left fielder, Clement teams up for duets in various formats with real hitter pals of hers she admires. Even the chestnuts on parade take on a new life for the left leaning ears. Not for the feint of heart, this is one of those excursions where so little can say so... read more
Dawn Clement - Delight
by Stephen Graham, Marlbank (UK)
As a way of introduction let's talk about Elvis Costello first. Because the best thing on this very unassuming but more-ish piano trio-with-vocals album from American player and academic Dawn Clement is the treatment of a ballad from the great 'Shipbuilding' icon's North (2003) - 'Someone Took the Words Away'. Great choice. We could be diving for pearls. And do, dipping in here.
North was very jazz inflected, not... read more
John Wojciechowski - Focus
by Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz
Every now and then you encounter a musician who has it together in so many ways, yet has largely managed to avoid national recognition. Saxophonist John Wojciechowski is one such player.
While those with strong enough memories might recall that the Michigan-bred Wojciechowski took third place - behind Jon Gordon and Jimmy Greene - at the 1996 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition, those same people may come up empty on... read more
George Colligan - The Endless Mysteries
by Bobby Reed, DownBeat
Pianist and educator George Colligan's profile continues to rise. He may not be as well known in some circles as his outstanding trio partners on this project - bassist Larry Grenadier and Colligan's frequent employer, drummer Jack DeJohnette - but he certainly has the chops to hang with them. The Endless Mysteries, Colligan's 24th album as a leader, contains 10 original compositions, many of which the keyboardist developed while playing with... read more
Alain Mallet - Mutt Slang II: A Wake of Sorrows Engulfed in Rage
by Dave Rogers, WTJU, Virginia
Though based in multiple musical realms, pianist Alain Mallet's ambitious Mutt Slang projects coalesce into a world that exudes 'exotic' yet ultimately feels familiar, the roots of its various components meeting somewhere deep within. Sharing the musical landscape with young musicians from Palestine, Brazil, Italy, Israel, Japan, Bulgaria, Panama, Ireland, Puerto Rico and the US, the complexity of their backgrounds - musically, ethnically,... read more
Various Artists - The Cool Season: An Origin Records Holiday Collection, Vol. 2
by David Dupont, Cadence
The Cool Season: Origins Records Holiday Collection, Vol. 2 sounds like a label sampler, but is rather the work of one quartet. Volume 1 (12/03) was a fine effort with distinctive arrangements of some lesser-known carols paired with swinging versions of holiday standards. The one drawback of that session was the way the two were mixed, creating some incongruous juxtapositions. This session avoids that problem.
With bassist Jeff Johnson and... read more
John La Barbera Big Band - Grooveyard
by Jack Bowers, All About Jazz
4 1/2 STARS Composer/arranger John La Barbera has been at the top of his game for more than half a century, and Grooveyard is simply another example of his undiminished artistry. Besides arranging everything—superbly, as always—La Barbera wrote six of the session's ten charming songs, escorting other treasures by Carl Perkins, Dave Brubeck, Curtis Fuller and Elvin Jones.
As he writes his handsome and colorful big-band charts, La... read more
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