Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Hal Galper Trio - Airegin Revisited
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
A veteran of the neo classic Blue Note era via his long affiliation with Sam Rivers, Galper rounds up some free jazz pals to round out his trio that takes us back to the good old days. Following up what might have been his career record, Galper and his pals keep it well away from the church basement with a set that has such a solid clarity of purpose that your ears won?t let you hit the pause button. Focusing on a piano trio, post bop mandate... read more
Hadley Caliman - Straight Ahead
by Alan Chase, The Wire
Seattle-based saxophonist Hadley Caliman, recently reemerged after close to 30 years in obscurity, with his latest Straight Ahead on Origin Records. Back in the 1970s, Caliman was the saxophonist of choice for artists ranging from Santana to McCoy Tyner. As the title of this CD implies, this is a straight-up, no-holds-barred, hard bop-oriented session in the vein of classic Blue Note recordings by Hank Mobley, Lee Morgan and Caliman's... read more
Dominic J. Marshall - Spirit Speech
by Ian Mann, The Jazz Mann
"As bold and adventurous as its predecessor while simultaneously broadening the trio's emotional and dynamic range."
Dominic J Marshall is a young pianist and composer, British born but now based in Amsterdam. He studied classical music for ten years under the tutelage of his father before completing the Jazz Course at Leeds of College of Music. In 2010 he moved to Holland to study for his masters at the Conservatorium Van... read more
Josh Nelson - The Sky Remains
by Rigobert Dittmann, Bad Alchemy (Germany)
Mit diesem für diverse Grammies nominierten Album lerne ich einen Pianisten in LA kennen, der Sängerinnen wie Natalie Cole und Sara Gazarek ins rechte Licht rückt. Es ist schon sein sechstes als Leader, nach zuletzt "Discoveries" (2011) und "Exploring Mars" (2015). Nach diesen beiden SF-Konzept-Alben wendet er sich, quasi als Engel über LA, seiner Heimatstadt zu mit ihren Brücken, Tunneln und Treppen, dem Genius loci, mit kleinen Mahnmalen... read more
Dan Cray - Meridies
by Darryl Daniels, The Jazz Page
On his latest, Meridies, pianist Dan Cray provides a fantastic portrait of contemporary quartet of musicians at work. Cray is joined by a terrific group comprised of Noah Preminger on saxophone, Clark Sommers on bass and Mark Ferber on drums, all whom provide solid musicianship in their respective chairs. The four musicians swing quite nicely on the uptempo tunes, and have a great sound on ballads as well. The recording is also a tremendous... read more
Thomas Marriott - Flexicon
by RicBang, The Davis Enterprise
Thomas Marriott plays trumpet and flugelhorn, and is based in the Seattle area. I reviewed an earlier release ("Both Sides of the Fence") by this group a few years ago, and found it quite enjoyable.
Marriott once again uses his basic quartet - with pianist Bill Anschell, bassist Jeff johnson and drummer Matt Jorgensen - and adds guest artists Mark Taylor (saxophones) and Joe Locke (vibes). Three of these nine tracks are Marriott originals;... read more
Hal Galper Trio - The Zone: Live at the Yardbird Suite
by Mike Joyce, JazzTimes
It's not often that seasoned jazz musicians find one of their own recordings truly revelatory in hindsight. Yet here's a striking example. As acclaimed veteran pianist Hal Galper recalls in his CD liner notes, he had no intention of releasing this live 2016 trio session with bassist Jeff Johnson and drummer John Bishop until he heard a playback and found himself wondering, "Who is this pianist?" To Galper, the playback revealed such a heightened... read more
John Wojciechowski - Focus
by Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune
The kids who study music at St. Charles North High School may not realize how fortunate they are. For their teacher/bandleader happens to be one of Chicago's more commanding saxophonists, an artist who surely could build a full-time international career performing, if he so chose.
When I first heard John Wojciechowski, at the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition in Washington in 1996, I was sure he would take the top... read more
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