The Chase, Nick Finzer's latest release, features the up-and-coming New York trombonist's finest playing and creative composition. The album displays a wide breadth of stylistic influences and a searching, pining quality in both writing and improvising.
"Life Happens," the opening track, has a driving, intense quality, though it has the same small problem that a few of the other selections have; it should continue a bit longer... read more
Delia Fischer, 60 years old with a 40 year career, has an outlier trajectory. A pianist by training, she soon embarked on an instrumental path. Later, she arrived at musical theater. She worked a lot, but there was professional dissatisfaction in the air. This issue was only resolved when she started singing her own songs, which effectively happened in 2010, with "Presente", her second solo album.
The recently released "Delia Fischer Beyond... read more
This the debut CD of one of the most remarkable big bands I have had the pleasure of listening to for some time. One only has to check out the personnel to realise that this is a very special event in the big band world. A exciting assembly including the finest musicians available on the West Coast, see below. The imaginative writing allows the soloists and the ensemble to stretch and produce sounds that have an impact that leaves you in awe of... read more
Pianist Brittany Anjou divides her time between her Brooklyn home and a long-term gig in Kuwait, where she teaches jazz theory and more to kids and adults. "The students are hungry for jazz, and want to understand theory. Any time I travel and play abroad, people are really listening, it's like you're valued more there," she says. "In Kuwait, the people are focused on the melody. At house concerts, people care in a different way" than in other... read more
One of the great things about jazz is that there's always room for persuasive new voices, especially those who've mastered the vocabulary and know how to swing. Saxophonist David Sills, now in his mid-thirties, qualifies easily on both counts, as he shows consistently on Down the Line, evidently his second album as a leader of his own group, although Sills has recorded with a number of other first-rank musicians.
Sills has enlisted a clever... read more
You need look no further if it's passion-filled guitar jazz your ears are thirsting for! Hugo and his pals (antonio Sanchez on drums, Antonio Miguel on acoustic bass and Ariel Bringuez on tenor & soprano sax) play with all the gusto you'd expect for their all-original release. Though this is my first listen (as well as yours, since it's a debut), tunes like the 8:24 "Reconciliation" blend the players' talents together for a spectacular & very... read more
Most everyone has a favorite tune: A song that lingers in memory and takes you back to another time and place. For many years jazz musicians have transformed popular songs into instrumental pieces such as John Coltrane's version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein hit "My Favorite Things." There is magic in taking something familiar and transforming it into something new, as Chicago guitarist Bobby Broom proves once again on his new release Song and... read more
A real beauty! A nice bit of modern jazz that manages to adhere to the form without ever really trying to reach it in conventional fashion. It flirts with the avant-garde while still maintaining a solid sense of groove and melody. Trumpeter Josh D. Reed had a gorgeous tone with the flow of Freddie Hubbard. Peter Epstein's sax is the ideal foil as it weaves in and out of the melody. Adam Benjamin's keyboards are steady rhythmically and highly... read more
This is just a small collection of the Origin Records reviews. Click here to view all reviews or try to Search for your favorite CD title.
Abate Berihun & The Addis Ken Project - Addis Ken
by Hanna Kay, Cult News (Paris)
Abate Berihun & The Addis Ken Project - Addis Ken
by Budapest, Rudolf Radnai
Abate Berihun & The Addis Ken Project - Addis Ken
by Editor, Bman's Blues Report
Jared Hall - Hometown
by Editor, Bman's Blues Report
Dawn Clement - Dear Ms. Dearie
by Editor, Bman's Blues Report
Jared Hall - Hometown
by Dee Dee McNeil, Making A Scene
Affinity Trio - New Outlook
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect
Michael Dease Big Band - Return Trajectory
by Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move
Brad Goode Quintet Feat. Ernie Watts - Live Your Dream: Live at North Street Cabaret
by Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move
Maja Jaku - Blessed & Bewitched
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect