Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Tom Rizzo - Imaginary Numbers
by Ken Dryden, All Music
Tom Rizzo's long-delayed debut recording as a leader is an impressive outing. Active since the early '70s as a professional guitarist, including stints with the Tonight Show Orchestra (where he also contributed as a composer/arranger), Maynard Ferguson, and Blood, Sweat & Tears, Rizzo started work on his dream project some six years prior to the record date. He recruited eight superb musicians, including two well-known names -- saxophonist Bob... read more
John Stowell | Michael Zilber - Live Beauty
by Tree Palmedo, Jazz Society of Oregon
This live meeting of two West-Coast powerhouses succeeds precisely because it's not the kind of combustible collision that many all-star collaborations can become. You can probably thank guitarist John Stowell for that: he's got chops for days, but actively avoids setting fires. Instead, he sits back and plays only the right things. The answer also lies in the instrumentation. With no piano (and particularly with Stowell in the guitar chair),... read more
New York Voices - Reminiscing in Tempo
by Thomas Cunniffe, Jazz History Online
Still swinging in their fourth decade together, the New York Voices continue to define the highest standard for vocal jazz groups. Their recordings are appearing at fairly regular intervals these days, and their latest disc, "Reminiscing in Tempo" includes a fine selection of jazz standards and originals. The album opens with a dynamic arrangement of Dave Brubeck's "Blue Rondo รก la Turk" with Lauren Kinhan's vocalese lyrics augmenting the... read more
Rodney Whitaker - Common Ground: The Music of Gregg Hill
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
An acknowledged bass ace with a well stamped passport meets a home town cat that had the will but didn't have the way and finds the sweet spot where his world wise chops can bring the composer's modern soul jazz to the world. With an all star crew in tow, this new jazz voice is finally getting his chance to be heard in grand style. Certainly a modern take on civil rights jazz for the woke, this set shows the merits of hanging in there to make... read more
Jeff Johnson - My Heart
by George W Harris, Jazz Weekly
Bassist Jeff Johnson teams up with John Gross/ts, Art Resnick/p and Billy Mintz/dr for a collection of lyrical originals. He links well with Mintz, blending in with the brushes on the soft "My Heart" while adding textures around "Watercolors" and subtly soloing on a reflective "Companions". Resnick is in a Bill Evans mood on "Watercolors", while giving a rich intro to the supple "Leviathan" with Gross in a warm ember mood for the richly swinging... read more
James Moody - 80 Years Young: Live at the Blue Note, March 26, 2005
by Editor, Dusty Groove
The great James Moody does a fantastic job of summing up his many years in music here - referencing his work with singer Eddie Jefferson and trumpet legend Dizzy Gillespie - while also stepping forth in a mode that shows just how much he's grown since those earlier years! Moody is wonderfully expressive here on tenor and flute, and works in a combo that features core work from David Hazeltine on piano, Todd Coolman on bass, and Adam Nussbaum... read more
Jared Hall - Influences
by George W Harris, Jazz Weekly
This album by trumpeter Jared Hall is a fun one in that you get to guess by the tone and styles (not to mention the titles) of each song which fellow horn man he's giving tribute to. Along with Tal Cohen/p, Michael Glynn/b and John Bishop/p, he composes pieces with a tip of the cap to artists like Brian Lynch ("Professor B.L.) and Wallace Roney ("One For Wallace") with ideas of blue and lyricism respectively. The clever stop start of "Song For... read more
Kelly Brand Nextet - The Door
by Tim Gault, Chicago Jazz.com
Ding Dong. The ring of a doorbell starts the latest offering from Chicago pianist Kelly Brand. This noted Chicago mainstay here provides an invitation for us to hear a set of mostly new compositions from her pen. A couple of other cuts on the CD also employ some sort of sound effects to briefly frame the mood of these tunes. So we are offered a clever (but thankfully not kitschy) concept to draw us initially across the threshold. Once you enter,... read more
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