Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Oscar Hernández & Alma Libre - Love the Moment
by Russ Musto, The New York City Jazz Record
The sophomore release from Oscar Hernández & Alma Libre finds the leader of the Grammy-Award winning Spanish Harlem Orchestra in the more intimate setting of a quintet, shining a brighter spotlight on his skills as a soloist and composer/arranger. The band—saxophonist/flutist Justo Almario, electric bassist Oskar Cartaya, drummer Jimmy Branly and percussionist Christian Moraga—plays with fire and beauty throughout ten new
melodically... read more
Human Spirit - Dialogue
by Ric Bang, Jazz Scan
The members of Human Spirit ? a core unit of the many jazz musicians who have made Seattle and the Pacific Northwest their home ? are trumpeter/composer/producer Thomas Marriott, saxophonist Mark Taylor and drummer Matt Jorgensen. Their combined resumes includes 14 albums as leaders and dozens more as sidemen. For this release, they added guests Orrin Evans (piano) and Essiet Essiet (bass). The resulting quintet delivers an album dubbed the... read more
David Friesen and Glen Moore - Bactrian
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
Here's a perfect example of a record that is one of those sets that probably couldn't get made but needs to be made. Here's a perfect example of a record that certainly starts out on paper as being something that's not for everyone but it's execution shows it's for anyone that wants their ears taken on a trip they won't forget. Two unmistakable bass players that have known each other 50 years face off in a pairing that's just them plunking... read more
Anthony Branker & Word Play - Dialogic
by Thomas Erdmann, JazzReview.com
Founder and Director of the Program in Jazz Studies, and Associate Director of the Program in Musical Performance at Princeton University, Anthony Branker also directs ensembles and teaches courses in jazz theory, improvisation and composition, jazz performance practice in historical and cultural context, jazz composition, and jazz history. A U.S. Fulbright Scholar and visiting professor at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre in Tallinn,... read more
Florian Hoefner - Luminosity
by Chris Maskell, Ottawa Citizen
Pianist Florian Hoefner's latest release Luminosity, which was released last week, is partly an ode to St. John's, Newfoundland. Although the native of Germany says that he was only "subconsciously" inspired by his new place of residence, the album's dramatic melodies and rolling grooves bring images of the area's stunning landscapes to mind right from the start.
Like many great jazz composers, Hoefner wrote the record's music with his band... read more
Anthony Branker - Beauty Within
by Philip Booth, JazzTimes
Composer-arranger Anthony Branker, former longtime jazz studies guru at Princeton, turns to his new Imagine quintet for his latest set of forward-looking acoustic-electric pieces. From the titles to the haunting, sometimes meditative textures, a spiritual core seems to inform these imaginative compositions, brought to life via a band featuring saxophonist Ralph Bowen, a longtime Branker associate, and guitarist Pete McCann.
That yearning... read more
Jared Sims - Against All Odds
by George W. Harris, Jazz Weekly
Warm and bold sounding tenor saxist Jared Sims leads a post bop team of Steve Fell/g, Keala Kaumeheiwa/b and Luther Gray/dr through seven modern toned originals. His rich sound flows easily over Fell's guitar on the graceful title tune, with the two getting bluesy during 'No Name Days". Fell wafts through the lyrical "Angst" and is lyrical for the fun ripples of "Waiting". A poem dedicated to the goddess "Gaia" gives a pantheistic milieu to... read more
Wellstone Conspiracy - Motives
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
This ensemble might have been labeled the Brent Jensen Quartet. They recorded One More Mile under the Idaho-based saxophonist's name. For their album Motives, however, they are calling themselves the Wellstone Conspiracy as they delve deeper into a melodic music that is steeped in the modern harmonic concepts of Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter.
The set opens with Jeff Johnson's grainy, guitar-like bass lines on the Jensen-penned "Bye Bye... read more
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