Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
John Bishop - Nothing If Not Something
by Tom Morgan, Percussive Notes
This recording is the result of an over ten-year association between drummer John Bishop, bassist Jeff Johnson and saxophonist Rick Mandyck. This piano-less trio, while somewhat reminiscent of Elvin Jones' groups, has developed an original sound and approach. Playing without a harmonic instrument requires a high level of communication and a strong harmonic foundation that is aptly provided by Johnson. His big, rich sound is always secure and... read more
Greta Matassa | Clipper Anderson - And to All a Good Night
by John Henry, Audiophile Audition
This is definitely the Christmas CD to get if you want something jazzy and hip and not the same old same old. Of the dozen songs here, I think the only one that was familiar to me was Irving Berlin's "Count Your Blessings." Didn't know there were so many appropriate popular tunes for the holidays that didn't make the sophisticated listener grimace.
Clipper Anderson reports that he's known as "Mr. Christmas" around the house and has been... read more
Shawn Purcell - 180
by Zakk Jones, Jazz Guitar Today
D.C. area guitarist Shawn Purcell has been a rising name in modern jazz as a prolific performer, composer, and educator. Since the mid-90's he has been a member of the prestigious U.S. military big bands "The Airmen of Note" and the Navy "Commodores", respectively. As an educator, Purcell currently serves as an adjunct professor of jazz studies at George Mason University and has led masterclasses and workshops across the country. With a long... read more
Bobby Broom - My Shining Hour
by Carol Banks Weber, AXS.com
It's important to note that virtuoso Chicago jazz guitarist Bobby Broom did not want to make a typical standard cover album in the August 19th release from Origin Records, My Shining Hour.
His previous release, the broad-reaching 2012 Upper West Side Story contains all original, deeply personalized musical accounts of life growing up in New York City. On the strength of that album and a sterling history of recognizably original... read more
John Stowell | Michael Zilber - Live Beauty
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
4-STARS - Part of the appeal of the teaming of guitarist John Stowell with various "post Coltrane" saxophonists is the cool/hot dynamic. Stowell is the guy with a Zen restraint, the cool guy, his chords sometimes sounding as if they are ringing from frozen stalactite filaments in ice caves. Saxophonists? Some blow cool - those of the Lester Young/Stan Getz/Paul Desmond school. And then there's sax guys like Dave Liebman, who teamed... read more
John Wojciechowski - Focus
by Paul Abella, WDCB
Let's start this week with Chicago based saxophonist John Wojciechowski and his new album Focus on Origin Records. He teams up with a monster of a rhythm section, pianist Ryan Cohan, bassist Dennis Carroll and drummer Dana Hall. Wojciechowski's a pretty aggressive player on the tenor, and from the get-go on this disc, it's clear he's not planning on taking any prisoners. With such a sympathetic rhythm section, he tears through every nook and... read more
John Stowell and Ulf Bandgren - Throop
by Ken Dryden, All Music
Guitarists John Stowell and Ulf Bandgren have been friends for several years, having played together in workshops and a few concerts. These sessions feature just the two of them, with Stowell using a nylon-stringed acoustic instrument and Bandgren a steel-stringed guitar, mostly focusing on Bandgren's originals. The contrast between the sound of the two instruments makes it easy to tell the players apart, and they way they accompany one another... read more
Bill Anschell | Brent Jensen - We Couldn't Agree More
by Michael Steinman, Cadence
Jazz duet playing requires empathy and quick responses, qualities evident in profusion on We Couldn't Agree More. On [this record], Anschell and Jensen make music that is startlingly beautiful, surprising, and powerful. At points, I was reminded of the experiments of Al Cohn and Jimmy Rowlek, the forays of Joel Press and Kyle Aho. But these two players follow their own impulses. While exploring familiar standards and honoring their melodic... read more
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