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Origin Records was created in the fall of 1997 by Seattle drummer John Bishop to help in the design, production and distribution of jazz recordings made by his own groups and by artists he's known or worked with over his 25 years of performing.
With a great amount of early and continuing help from his former student, webmaster and New York drummer Matt Jorgensen, the label debuted on the web in 1998 and has grown steadily. With Matt's move back to Seattle in 2002, the focus has been to expand distribution, performing and recording opportunities for Origin artists as well as making developed resources available to a wider group of artists.
With Origin focusing on the music of significant Northwest artists, OA2 Records was started in June of 2002 to allow a broader array of musical statements from a wider range of artists. The Origin/OA2 catalog now boasts releases from more than 85 artists who share the common goal of an ever-evolving musicians collective.
Since the Fall of 2003 Origin Records has produced the Ballard Jazz Festival. This event has brought world-class artists to Seattle, to share the stage with some of the Northwest's finest musicians. Expanding in 2004 to include the Brotherhood of the Drum concert series, the Ballard Jazz Festival continues to grow, and in 2005 the award for "Northwest Concert of The Year" by Earshot Magazine was given to the Joe Locke / Geoffrey Keezer Group's performance, now available on CD here.
In 2006 trumpeter Chad McCullough joined the Origin team as Artist Relations and Production Manager.
Origin Records
OA2 Records
Origin Classical
Ballard Jazz Festival
Origin Web Design
ORIGIN RECORDS FEATURED ON WINDOWS MEDIA:
Origin Records' John Bishop & Matt Jorgensen
are featured on the Windows Media site in two videos discussing
online music distribution and opportunities for independent labels.
The group "Scenes"
performs music from it's upcoming release.
Watch the videos: Producing
The Music | People
Need Music
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IN THE PRESS :
SEATTLE TIMES
Seattle's Origin Records named JazzWeek's Label of the Year
By Hugo Kugiya
The offices of the thriving, local and independent record label Origin Records are in an upper bedroom in the Seward Park home of drummer John Bishop, who started the company 12 years ago with fellow drummer Matt Jorgensen.
Read
more...
EARSHOT MAGAZINE
Origin Records 10th Anniversary
By Molly Manor
People said they were crazy to think that they could make it work.
Read
more...
SEATTLE TIMES
Duo behind Origin Records
opening doors for local artists
by Paul de Barros
OriginArts, the 7-year-old juggernaut behind
the prolific local jazz label Origin Records,
continues to defy conventional wisdom.
Read more ...
SEATTLE TIMES
Ballard's Origin Records drumming up national interest
by Paul de Barros
When he moved to Seattle in 1981, Bishop had no intention of starting a record label.
Read more...
ALL ABOUT JAZZ
OriginArts: The Tsunami from Seattle
By C. Michael Bailey
All About Jazz.com has a nice feature
on Origin Records and our latest batch of CDs. Read
more...
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