Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
John Moulder - Decade: Memoirs
by Raul da Gama, JazzDaGama
There is a dimension to John Moulder that is always deeply contemplative. It is often overshadowed by raucous nature of his guitar-playing, while exploring an idea through its expression of particularly vivid chordal - or even - single-note lines and phrases. However if one penetrates the membrane of his melodies a profound nature emerges in his compositions. Often this is even deeply spiritual, as in his music on Trinity (Origin, 2006) and... read more
Thomas Marriott - Human Spirit
by Jeff Krow, Audiophile Audition
We've been covering Thomas Marriott since his third CD back in 2007. Last June, he showed that he could more than hold his own when matched with Ray Vega in a trumpet fest. He has been featured as a lead sideman on many of his label mate's CDs. His rise as a first choice trumpeter has been steady, almost meteoric.
His latest CD for Origin is Human Spirit, and it is a joy. Adding a Hammond B-3 to the mix with fellow Northwesterner... read more
Chris Walden Big Band - No Bounds
by Jim Santella, All About Jazz
For his sophomore release, trumpeter Chris Walden has written big band arrangements for several old chestnuts, several fresh originals and a few rare gems. His program sparkles with an accessible ambience. The combination of several vocal selections, a balance of orchestral instruments and big band sounds, and stellar soloing from this lineup of Los Angeles all-stars ensures that No Bounds will compare favorably with Walden's highly successful... read more
Dave Slonaker Big Band - Convergency
by Jan van Leersum, RootsTime (Belgium)
Composer/arranger Dave Slonaker believes we are living in a new golden age for big bands and given the success of his 2013 debut album "Intrada" he is probably right. Not only was the album nominated for a Grammy for Best Large Jazz Ensemble album but it also received excellent reviews. Slonaker's music is contemporary in the best sense of the word, harmonically refined yet always accessible thanks to a straightforward reliance on time-honoured... read more
George Colligan & Theoretical Planets - Risky Notion
by Dave Rogers, WTJU - Richmond
Multi-instrumentalist Colligan pulled this current group together by recruiting two of his students at Portland State (Nicole Glover, tenor & soprano sax and Jon Lakey, bass) and other locals Joe Manis (tenor & alto sax and Tony Glausi, trumpet). Though most widely known as a pianist, Colligan is the drummer on this release - his first as a leader as a drummer. The saxes, often playing in harmony, literally fill the sonic space on most of these... read more
Geof Bradfield - melba!
by Hryar Attarian, All About Jazz
Chicago based saxophonist Geof Bradfield's Melba! is a much needed tribute to the criminally underexposed trombonist and arranger Melba Liston. Liston debuted with trumpeter, bandleader Gerald Wilson, was one of the stars of trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie's bebop big band and devoted herself to arranging after she met pianist Randy Weston with whom she had a long and fruitful career.
Commissioned by Chamber Music America's 2011 New Jazz Works... read more
Matija Dedic - MD in NYC
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
Pianist Matija Dedic's MD in NYC tiptoes into existence on a delicate rhythm, joined in short order by a sprinkling of crystalline notes in the melody, with a whisper of brushes and spare but assertive bass lines. "Her Name" is one of the pianist's five originals in the set, and has a wistful reverence that speaks, perhaps, to a yearning infatuation, bringing to mind the artistry of Bill Evans and Herbie Hancock.
The Croatian-born... read more
Nnenna Freelon - Beneath the Skin
by Jim Motavalli, THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD
Singer Nnenna Freelon has long shown she knows her way around the Great American Songbook (she's recorded tributes to Billie holiday and Stevie Wonder), but on her newly released 12th album, Beneath the Skin, the tunes, many of them poignant ballads, are all hers, with several celebrating women in many colors. On this straight-ahead acoustic affair—with an unusual instrumentation of cello, trombone and guitar plus piano trio—Freelon proves... read more
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