Criss Cross Jazz new releases February 2014

Here are the new Criss Cross Jazz releases for February 2014,
which will be available around February 18. All details can be
found on the website:

         https://www.crisscrossjazz.com/


CRISS 1364 CD    SEAMUS BLAKE and CHRIS CHEEK - REEDS RAMBLE -

Fellow saxophonists Seamus Blake and Chris Cheek have thrived as
leaders, sidemen, big band soloists and much else, contributing
to the creative health of the jazz scene over the last 20 years.
As a pair they worked on the exploratory groove-oriented project
The Bloomdaddies (Criss 1110) back in 1995. But with Reeds Ramble
Blake and Cheek reunite in an acoustic setting, buoyed by the
extraordinary Ethan Iverson of The Bad Plus on piano, making his
first Criss Cross appearance. Drummer Jochen Rueckert, too makes
his first label appearance, teaming-up with in-demand bassist Matt
Penman, a valued presence on Criss Cross sessions led by Jonathan
Kreisberg, John Ellis and Zach Brock.

The two tenors showcase their distinctive voices on a set of material
written by themselves as well as Elmo Hope, Jim Beard, Chico Buarque,
Brian Wilson and more. With their subtle orchestrations, bold and
unpredictable communication and all-around swinging, bluesy feel,
Blake and Cheek continue the tradition of Inspired tenor summits
while asserting a sound all their own.

https://www.crisscrossjazz.com/album/1364.html


CRISS 1365 CD   DONALD EDWARDS - EVOLUTION OF AN INFLUENCED MIND -

After six prior engagements for Criss Cross as a sideman, drummer
Donald Edwards' first leader offering for the label is a program of
ten well-wrought originals that embrace the complex harmonies and
rhythms of 21st century jazz while hewing to strong melodic values
and abiding soulfulness.

Helping set the mood is an A-list ensemble - pianist (and Criss Cross
veteran) Orrin Evans and bassist Eric Revis, with whom Edwards performed
on the 2013 Orrin Evans Trio record ...It was Beauty (Criss 1359) as
well as tenor saxophonist Walter Smith III (III - Criss 1328) and
world-class guitarist David Gilmore.

https://www.crisscrossjazz.com/album/1365.html


CRISS 1366 CD   ZACH BROCK - PURPLE SOUNDS -

Violinist Zach Brock follows up his 2012 Criss Cross debut
Almost Never Was (Criss 1349) with the remarkable Purple Sounds,
a heartfelt and virtuosic homage to the great violin-guitar
partnerships of jazz history.  Shifting from the piano-based quartet
setting of the previous disc, Brock opts this time to showcase
guitarist and fellow Criss Cross artist Lage Lund, whose effortless
contrapuntal approach and beyond-belief soloing chops elevate the
session from note one. They're joined by an energized first-rate
rhythm section with bassist Matt Penman and drummer Obed Calvaire.

Though the set begins and ends with a Brock original, the artistic
emphasis on Purple Sounds is not that. Brock's intention is to
highlight and transform a wealth of material associated with violin
masters, particularly those whose work with guitarists subtly altered
the jazz landscape. Touching on composers from Charlie Parker to
Frank Zappa, or violinists from Stuff Smith to Jean-Luc Ponty and the
often overlooked Zbigniew Seifert, Brock displays a remarkable command
across the jazz spectrum.

https://www.crisscrossjazz.com/album/1366.html


CRISS 1367 CD   MISHA TSIGANOV - THE ARTISTRY OF THE STANDARD -

For his Criss Cross debut, pianist Misha Tsiganov presents a program
of ten reimagined songs culled from both the Great American Songbook
and the lexicon of post-bop hardcore jazz.

Born in St. Petersburg in the former USSR, and a New Yorker since
the mid-90s, Tsiganov convenes a unit of virtuosos to animate his
stimulating charts - trumpeter Alex Sipiagin (himself the leader of
10 Criss Cross dates and a participant on two by the collective group
Opus 5) and bassist Boris Kozlov, both fellow sons of Russia, A-list
tenor saxophonist Seamus Blake, and the kinetic drummer Donald Edwards.

https://www.crisscrossjazz.com/album/1367.html