Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Benjamin Boone - The Poets Are Gathering
by Brenda Nelson-Strauss, Black Grooves
Composer-saxophonist Benjamin Boone continues his fascination with poetry and jazz on his latest album, The Poets Are Gathering. The Cal State University Fresno professor, who has released two previous collections devoted to this pairing, notes that jazz and poetry have been inextricably linked since the Harlem Renaissance. Following the tradition of artists such as Langston Hughes and Charles Mingus, who collaborated on the album Weary Blues... read more
Benny Powell - Nextep
by Andy V�lez, All About Jazz - New York
A whiff of glorious, old-time New Orleans jazz in "Free to be Me" jubilantly launches Benny Powell's latest, Nextep. Yet be assured the set is no trip down nostalgia lane. A working musician since his early teens in New Orleans, bop loyalist and a veteran sideman at hundreds of recording sessions with the likes of everyone from Count Basie and Frank Sinatra to Aretha Franklin and "Screamin'" Jay Hawkins, at 78, Nextep is Powell's bid finally to... read more
Douglas Detrick's AnyWhen Ensemble - Rivers Music
by C. MICHAEL BAILEY, All About Jazz
The preciousness of youth. Douglas Detrick is not even 30 years old, and already has multiple ensembles and music projects going on the East and West coasts. One such music combo is the AnyWhen Ensemble, which Detrick terms a "Chamber Jazz Group." The music he pushes through this group is not as easily categorized. Part of the charm is that the makeup of the AnyWhen ensemble resembles more a "parlor" ensemble of family musicians, bringing... read more
Hal Galper - E Pluribus Unum - Live in Seattle
by Bill Milkowski, JazzTimes
A good candidate for JT's Overdue Ovation profile, masterful 72-year-old pianist Hal Galper has been an outstanding improviser on the scene since his apprenticeship with Chet Baker during the mid-'60s. He was a member of Cannonball Adderley's last quintet from 1973 to 1975 and in 1978 led a boppish quintet featuring Mike and Randy Brecker before becoming a key member of Phil Woods' group from 1981 to 1990. Over the past decade, he has... read more
Shawn Purcell - 180
by George W Harris, Jazz Weekly
Tensile toned guitarist Shawn Purcell creates a sophisticated organ combo with Pat Bianchi/B3, Jason Tiemann/dr and a couple guests that sounds like a summit meeting between the sophisticatedly bopping Pat Martino and explorative Larry Young. The advanced harmonics and pulses get intricate on the clever "Cat and Mouse" while Tiemann rumbles around in the magma on "180". There's fire in the frets on "Search and Destroy" and the team gets chunky... read more
Jeff Johnson - My Heart
by Paul Rauch, All About Jazz
4-STARS What could possibly be so interesting about a thirty-two-year old session of first takes, recorded live to 2-track DAT by a quartet led by a Seattle- based bassist who is not exactly a household name? A quick answer would include superlatives such as "masterful," or "historic." A brief history of bassist and composer Jeff Johnson creates a better sense of understanding. Johnson is perhaps best known as a pioneering member of... read more
Ray Vega & Thomas Marriott - East-West Trumpet Summit
by Ron Wynn, JazzTimes
This Ray Vega/Thomas Marriott dual trumpet release emphasizes collective interaction, cohesive ensemble presentation and the spirit of teamwork embodied in the title, though there are also plenty of times during the eight songs where differences in style and approach are evident despite the fact they're playing identical trumpets. Both men are superb melodic interpreters, and the session's program choices, which include renditions of Horace... read more
Chris Walden Big Band - Full-On!
by Paula Edelstein, AXS
When Chris Walden is not busy creating orchestral settings for major pop stars like Stevie Wonder, Neil Young, Michael Buble, Smokey Robinson or Diana Krall, the prolific composer/arranger/conductor focuses on his first love, swinging big band jazz music. With Full-On!, (Origin, 82669), Walden's fifth recording as a leader, the Los Angeles-based multiple award-winning virtuoso presents an irrepressibly swing outing that showcases 5 new... 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:
Michael Dease - City Life: Music of Gregg Hill
by Arturo Pepe, Tracce di Jazz
Bobby Rozario - Healer
by Editor, Bman's Blues Report
Shawn Purcell - Oblivity
by Az Samad, Az Samad Lessons
Paul Marinaro - Mood Ellington
by Tim Larsen, Jazz Views (UK)
ZurHub - Countryside Motorways
by Jack Bowers, All About Jazz
Carl Schultz - The Road to Trantor
by Jack Bowers, All About Jazz
Shawn Purcell - Oblivity
by Martin Johnson, DownBeat
Carl Schultz - The Road to Trantor
by Editor, Jazz2Love
Shawn Purcell - Oblivity
by Editor, Jazz2Love
Shawn Purcell - Oblivity
by Bman, Bman's Blues Report