While better known for being the origin of grunge rock, Seattle also boasts Origin Records, which releases some impressive post bop sounds. Here are a couple samples…
Guitarist Hans Luchs leads an impressive and flexible team with Shaun Johnson/tp, Stu Mondeman/p, George Fludas/dr and Clark Sommers/b through a mix of orginals and covers. His touch is lovely and delicate on his read of Duke Ellington’s meditative “Come Sunday” and melancholic “Get Out of Town” by Cole Porter. The mix of trumpet and horn shows its ability to handle hairpin turns on the clever “Der Lumenmeister” while the two rev their engines well on “Taylor Street Swing” and “Tuesday Night Delivery.” Luchs shows his inspiration from Grant Green on the spry “Green DeLuchs” and the rhythm team flexes its muscles on “30 rue Des Martyrs.” Impressive!
Pianist Ben Winkelman trios it up with Sam Anning/b and Eric Doob/dr for a Baker’s Dozen collection of originals. Winkelman has a warm and classy touch, showing deftness and thoughtfulness on “ While I Sleep” and “Westbury” as well as strength on “The Schlep” and title track. There’s lots of interplay and clever conversations between Doob and Winkelman, with a wink of an eye here and there on “”Prospects” and Anning keeping things flexible on “Descarga.” These guys sound quite cohesive, and hopefully they’ll tour around so we can see them in person.
OA2 Records