Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Greta Matassa - The Smiling Hour
by John Henry, Audiophile Audition
We get many female jazz vocal albums sent in for review. Most don't make the cut, so when I review one it has to be rather special. This one is special. Don't know how I missed Ms. Matassa all this time - she's appeared on five previous Origin CDs. I knew she was big in the Seattle area, but hadn't heard a CD. This is a voice with real personality, range, control, and good humor. It's a package that features a lot more than just singing in... read more
Steve Million - What I Meant to Say
by George W Harris, Jazz Weekly
Pianist and composer Steve Million creates an impressionistic album with cool toned guitarist Steve Cardenas and the support pulse of John Sims/b and Ron Vincent/dr. Cardenas shows his homage to the ECM sounds of guitar legend John Abercrombie as he works with Sims on "Waltz For Mr. Abercrombie" and solos well on Vincent's upbeat pace on "Situations". Million is delcate on "Azusa Dreams" and darkly pretty for "Open The Book", bringing a... read more
Matt Vashlishan - No Such Thing
by John Kelman, All About Jazz
With more and more young players releasing their debuts, it's no small challenge to filter one's way to the top of the growing pile of CDs released each month. Saxophonist Matt Vashlishan couldn't have chosen a better route than on No Such Thing. Recruiting three-fourths of saxophonist Dave Liebman's stellar group?not just one of jazz's hardest working quartets, but one of its most exciting as well?including Liebman, ever-versatile guitarist Vic... read more
Bobby Broom - My Shining Hour
by Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader
The recordings that peerless Chicago guitarist Bobby Broom makes with his trio are almost always shaped by a precise conceit -- a program of Monk tunes, for instance, or a reimagining of 60s pop tunes as jazz vehicles. His excellent new album, My Shining Hour (Origin), is devoted entirely to standards, which is only notable because it's something he hasn't done before. Bassist Dennis Carroll and drummer Makaya McCraven provide a crisp,... read more
Ben Patterson - The Way of the Groove
by Peter Tijerina, Trombone Journal
If you are looking for a single collection of fresh, new, groove-based tunes and are a fan of jazz, funk, and rock, look no further than "The Way of the Groove." Ben Patterson, a master trombonist, composer, arranger, and former long-serving member of the Airmen of Note, brings forth a delightful album with his latest release. Featuring all original compositions and an outstanding band, listeners are sure to savor this exciting new... read more
Hadley Caliman - Straight Ahead
by David Franklin, Cadence
Hadley Caliman recorded with the likes of Gerald Wilson, Don Ellis, and Mongo Santamaria in the 1960s and with such folks as Hampton Hawes, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, and a raft of other Jazz and Pop stars, as well as his own groups, in the ?70s. But the 78-year-old tenorist did not make another record until his return to the studio for a CD under his own name in late 2007. Gratitude was well-received with Straight Ahead... read more
Joel Miller - Swim
by David Franklin, Cadence
Since 2001, the Canadian tenorist Joel Miller has released six recordings under his own name, the 2011 Swim being the latest. On this album, as on earlier ones, Miller shows himself to be an extraordinary saxophonist able to execute the most difficult technical passages with apparent ease. But he employs his technique not for show but in the service of a well-developed, creative melodic sensibility enhanced by an attractive Mintzer/ Brecker-like... read more
Laurie Antonioli - Songs of Shadow, Songs of Light
by Christopher Loudon, Jazz Times
As is common knowledge among even casual Joni Mitchell fans, around the mid-1970s her passion for jazz became increasingly integral to her work; that passion escalated through the '80s and included collaborations with Mingus, Jaco, Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock. So, at first blush, it seems odd that as jazz-savvy a vocalist as Laurie Antonioli would build a Mitchell salute exclusively around songs that pre-date Joni's jazz musicians.
In... read more
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