Criss Cross Jazz new releases April 2025

“Every record is a bit different,” Misha Tsiganov noted at the end of the liner notes for Misha’s Wishes, his fourth Criss Cross album (Criss 1409), on which, for the first time on Criss Cross, he played primarily his original compositions and plugged in on the Fender Rhodes.
 

Like its predecessor, Painter Of Dreams features two highly reworked standards along with six recent melody-forward compositions, to which Tsiganov applies his signature blend of radical reharmonization, mixed meters, shifting tempos, and changing keys. Otherwise, this ambitious recital documents several “firsts.” For one thing, Tsiganov expands beyond the saxophone-trumpet- piano-bass-drums format, scoring five of the eight selections for either three or four horns. For another, he broadens his tonal palette beyond the almost entirely acoustic soundscape of his prior Criss Cross oeuvre, liberally weaving the Rhodes and Minimoog into the flow, as well as the preternaturally flexible voice of Hiske Oosterwijk, who also contributes two lyrics. Also, for the first time as a leader, Tsiganov augments the luminous trumpeter-flugelhornist (and 13-time Criss Cross leader) Alex Sipiagin on the front line with alto sax titan Miguel Zenón, who plays for the entirety of the proceedings, and – on three pieces – the transcendent Chris Potter on tenor and soprano saxophones.
 

“The earlier records had different songs and moods, but the same sound – trumpet-saxophone-piano-bass-drums,” Tsiganov says. “I wanted a totally different color.” While working on the repertoire, he drew on information accrued in arranging courses with Michael Mossman at Queens College, where he earned a Masters in 2019. “That opened the gate of big band music for me,” Tsiganov says.

The album was recorded January 6, 2024 at the Samurai Hotel Recording Studio in Astoria by recording engineer Mike Marciano. He also did the editing, mixing and mastering at Systems Two.

“I’m proud to be part of Criss Cross,” Antonio Faraò says of his maiden voyage for the label. For the occasion, which transpired in Meudon Studios in Paris in July 2023, the Milan-based pianist, then 58, convened an equivalently virtuosic trio comprising bassist John Patitucci and drummer Jeff Ballard, presented them with eight originals and two standards, and let them loose. Each member operates at a creative peak on this lyric, kinetic, beautifully proportioned 65-minute recital.
 

Titled Tributes, Faraò’s Criss Cross debut is closer in feel and attitude to the albums Black Inside, Thorn and Next Stories, recorded for Enja between 1998 and 2001, where Faraò joined forces, respectively, with top-of-the-pyramid, New York-seasoned masters Ira Coleman and Jeff Watts, Drew Gress and Jack deJohnette, and Ed Howard and Gene Jackson. Functioning completely as a peer, he addresses the dialects of his pianistic heroes – universal “postbop” influences as Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, McCoy Tyner, Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans and Kenny Kirkland, as well as Oscar Peterson, Erroll Garner, Lennie Tristano, and Martial Solal – on their own terms of engagement, with the fluency of a native speaker. He assimilates their styles, refracts them into a personal argot, alchemizing challenging rhythms and highbrow harmony into graceful melodies. He eschews ironic deflection and gratuitous structural complication, sustaining an attitude of in-the-moment creation and a fierce will to swing.
 

“I like to play in the straight-ahead way, but at the same time be open, out of the box” Faraò says. “Playing this way allows me freedom, and this rhythm section knows how to manage that dimension. I don’t think about anything when I play. I try to follow the line. When you start thinking is when you make a mistake. You should play natural. Live yourself. Form the way. When I compose, my inspiration is usually from the past, when I was a teenager. It’s rare that I’m inspired by the future.”

The album was recorded July 26, 2023 at Studio de Meudon in Paris by Julien Basseres, and edited, mixed and mastered by Mike Marciano at Systems Two.

“This was a dream band to write for and play with,” alto saxophonist Michael Thomas says of Manuel Valera, Matt Brewer and Obed Calvaire, his A-list rhythm section on Illusion of Choice, his Criss Cross debut, and fourth leader album. “These musicians can play any style and sound like it’s the only thing they play. I wanted to explore these different areas and cohere them into an album, not sound like tunes stuck together for a CD. Everything was on the table. I wasn’t afraid to develop whatever ideas I came up with, and see where they went."
 

Although Illusion of Choice features an assembled-for-the-occasion ensemble rather than the working bands documented on his earlier albums, Michael Thomas, 36, considers it "the strongest thing I’ve done so far.” During the four months preceding the September 2023 recording session, Thomas generated eight originals tailored to the tonal personalities of his protean collaborators. They live up to the leader’s ballyhoo, nailing the shifting meters and intervallic challenges of his high-degree-of-difficulty pieces with panache and creative spirit.
 

“I try to give people enough to understand and absorb, but not so much as to make them wonder what’s going on,” Thomas says. “Particularly with respect to melodies, I’m trying to write tunes that don’t just sound nice, but facilitate playing and improvising as I want.” He adds that, although he plays multiple reeds and woodwinds, the alto saxophone is his creative home. “Alto is where I feel most comfortable, have the most control of my sound, and can express myself most easily.”

The album was recorded September 14, 2023 at the Samurai Hotel Recording Studio in Astoria by recording engineer Mike Marciano. He also did the editing, mixing and mastering at Systems Two.

The album was recorded May 10, 2023 at the Artesuono Recording Studio in Udine, Italy by Stefano Amerio, and edited, mixed and mastered by Mike Marciano at Systems Two.