January Releases from Origin Records

Tags

Aaron Immanuel Wright, African American, Dan Dean, Gail Pettis, Hadley Caliman, Jazz, Joe McCarthy Big Band, Vince Norman

Hadley Caliman - Straight Ahead

Hadley Caliman | “Straight Ahead” – [Origin 82551 – 2010]
From Dexter Gordon to Freddie Hubbard to Santana through to his recent critically-acclaimed “Gratitude,” Hadley Caliman’s 78 years has been filled with the kind of personal achievement that all creative artists strive for. On “Straight Ahead,” Caliman visits some of his favorite tunes including his old friend Harold Land’s “Rapture,” the Lee Morgan classic “Totem Pole,” and with his own original “Cigar Eddie,” he provides a spirited opening to another classic recording. Featuring his working Seattle band with trumpeter Thomas Marriott, pianist Eric Verlinde, Phil Sparks on bass, and Matt Jorgensen on drums, “Straight Ahead” is another clear example of a living legend in top form. —AllAboutJazz.com

Dan Dean - 251

Dan Dean | “251” – [Origin 82552 – 2010]
With pianists George Duke & Kenny Werner, organist Larry Goldings, and pianist/accordianist Gil Goldstein, Seattle bassist Dan Dean brings together some of the top keyboard talents in the world for an intimate set of duo performances, each displaying an abundance of spontaneity and spirited exchanges. With Goldings, the duo explores the bop of “In Walked Bud” to the funk of “I Feel Good.” Pianists Kenny Werner & George Duke take on standards such as “Stella By Starlight” and “S’Wonderful,” while Gil Goldstein adds accordian to the mix with a look at “Lover Man.” With the performer’s varied and singular styles, and the mix of instruments, there’s great textural variety and the emphasis is aways on musical conversation with a lot of deep interplay. For many years an award-winning composer and producer of music for film, TV and advertising, Dan Dean was always a remarkable bassist and has a rich history of performances with Shelly Manne, Howard Roberts, Ernie Watts, Dave Grusin, Eddie Harris and countless others.

Sam Yahel | Hometown

Tags

Jazz, Organ, Piano, Sam Yahel

Sam Yahel | Hometown – [Posi-Tone, 2009]

Sam Yahel - Hometown

Sam Yahel has been playing jazz in New York since the early 1990s, almost always as a Hammond organist. (He was a fixture in the early days of Smalls, on West 10th Street, along with the pianist Brad Mehldau and the guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel; these days he leads his own trio.) But he hasn’t hid behind the bullying power of the Hammond, its ability to give you shivers with shifting drawbars or a loud crescendo: he has put himself in places where pianists go, playing volatile music with curiosity and hunger in his improvising.

Hometown is, surprisingly, his first album as a pianist. It was recorded in 2007; I guess there’s still no rush to get the word out that he’s very good. A piano-trio record made in the studio with the bassist Matt Penman and drummer Jochen Ruckert, it’s casual enough to have been a gig, well-produced enough to represent a musician for a long time and strong enough in arrangement, soloing and interaction that it doesn’t lose your interest. That shouldn’t be rare, but it is.

..:: Source: Sam Yahel.com ::..