Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Dawn Clement - Delight
by Stephen Graham, Marlbank (UK)
As a way of introduction let's talk about Elvis Costello first. Because the best thing on this very unassuming but more-ish piano trio-with-vocals album from American player and academic Dawn Clement is the treatment of a ballad from the great 'Shipbuilding' icon's North (2003) - 'Someone Took the Words Away'. Great choice. We could be diving for pearls. And do, dipping in here.
North was very jazz inflected, not... read more
Dana Hall - Into the Light
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
Working out with Terell Stafford's crew in tow, this sounds like a date that would have been right for Maxjazz if it wasn't so left leaning. A well traveled drummer that knows how to give the rest of the crew some, Hall has an affinity for civil rights era jazz but plays it like he's in the present looking forward rather than standing still on the progressive shores of 1964. A first class set of sitting down jazz, Hall's long over due solo... read more
Kelly Harland - Twelve Times Romance
by Christopher Loudon, JazzTimes, May 2003
Through no real fault of her own, fellow Seattleite Kelly Harland fares less well with her debut effort, Twelve Times Romance (Origin). Harland, who closely resembles actress Teri Garr, has a fresh, sunny sound garnished with a healthy dollop of Lena Horne's phrasing. The former backup singer and respected vocal coach handles a broad spectrum of standards, ranging from the plaintive regret of "Too Late Now" to the Broadway bravado of "I... read more
Scenes - ...But Not Heard
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
With 12 years together under this trio's belt, they came along just too late to be the crew that would have made BMG extend the deal on Windham Hill Jazz. Cerebral jazz with a warmer edge than ECM cool school cerebral jazz, this is wonderful set of thoughtful jazz that doesn't make you work to listen to it. The kind of in the pocket music that you can easily mistake for background music until it slowly surprises you by taking center stage,... read more
Benjamin Boone | Philip Levine - The Poetry of Jazz
by Britt Robson, JazzTimes
It has been a banner time for high-profile jazz-poetry collaborations. Last year saw the release of Matt Wilson's long-planned tribute to Carl Sandburg, Nicole Mitchell's teaming with Haki Madhubuti and Jane Ira Bloom's musical refractions of Emily Dickinson's terse verse, among other projects. But now there is The Poetry of Jazz, providing us with the revelatory phenomenon of the wordsmith being the heppest musical cat on the scene.
Philip... read more
Hal Galper - O's Time
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
It's hard to be innovative in the piano trio format. The last big change happened in the late fifties and early sixties, with pianist Bill Evans' groundbreaking trio featuring bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian. The democratization of input and interplay changed the trio game, and countless groups have worked on refining that Evans approach ever since. A more recent development has been bombast and the inclusion of rock and popular... read more
Laurie Antonioli and Richie Beirach - Varuna
by Bill Wahl, Jazz & Blues
I first became aware of Richie Beirach back in the seventies through his work on ECM Records, especially his solo piano album "Hubris," which is just as captivating today as it was almost 40 years ago. He's had quite an impressive catalog of recordings since that time, as is evidenced with this new collaboration with Laurie Antonioli. Although I've heard of Laurie, and no doubt heard some of her music over the years, I've never had one of... read more
Deep Blue Organ Trio - Wonderful!
by Larry Hollis, Cadence
The Deep Blue Organ Trio has been around long enough to be super-tight in all aspects of musicianship. For their fourth outing they have gone the concept album route with a project containing the songs of Steveland Morris (aka Stevie Wonder). The triad of Bloom, Foreman and Rockingham transform these nine titles from first class pop writings to vehicles for heavy improvisation and telepathic interplay.
Whomever picked the repertory was... read more
Looking for a specific review?
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.
Search Reviews:
Recently Added Reviews:
Janis Siegel - The Art of Vocalese
by Steve Provizer, The Arts Fuze (Boston)
Mike Dana Jazz Orchestra - Farther (still)
by Editor, Bman's Blues Report
Clay Giberson - Moment's Notice
by Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move
Janis Siegel - The Art of Vocalese
by Joe Lang, Jersey Jazz Magazine
Andrew Kim - Lineage
by Editor, Modern Drummer
Janis Siegel - The Art of Vocalese
by Mark Griffith, Modern Drummer
Janis Siegel - The Art of Vocalese
by Tessa Souter, The New York City Jazz Record
Janis Siegel - The Art of Vocalese
by Craig L. Byrd, Cultural Attache
Ron Vincent - Ray's Hat Trick
by Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move
Janis Siegel - The Art of Vocalese
by Ross Boissoneau, Something Else!