On the heels of his critically-acclaimed Criss Cross debut, Mythology (CRC 1373), bassist Matt Brewer presents an inspired quintet recording, convening tenor saxophonist Ben Wendel, pianist Aaron Parks, guitarist Charles Altura, and drummer Tyshawn Sorey-all top-of-the-pyramid under-40 improvisers and consequential composers in their own right-to perform a nine-tune program that includes seven Brewer originals, and reimagined versions of Bill Frisell's "Twenty Years" and Charlie Parker's "Cheryl." Having garnered wide acclaim as a sideman playing the challenging music of such major figures as Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Greg Osby, Steve Coleman and Vijay Iyer, among others, Brewer displays notonly his lyric gifts and virtuoso instrumental prowess, but his abilityto convey his intentions by allowing his band mates freedom to expresstheir perspectives within the flow of his ideas.

Orrin Evans' sixth date as a leader for Criss Cross reunites the award-winning pianist and composer with his mentor and longtime colleague, saxophonist Ralph Bowen. The quartet session introduces five exciting new original compositions by the leader and reexamines three songs from his first two releases for the label. Tenor saxophonist J.D. Allen is added to the group on Evans' stirring of Horace Silvers' "Song for My Father." in the rhythm section bassist Mike Boone or Eric Revis, and drummer Rodney Green or Byron Landham.

In his program notes to his second Criss Cross album, After Life, master tenor saxophonist Noah Preminger writes that, as per the title, the seven original songs on the date 'pertain to a world that we may inhabit when we leave Earth. ' Returning from it's Criss Cross predecessor, Genuinity, are the brilliant trumpeter Jason Palmer and bass virtuoso Kim Cass; modern drum giant Rudy Royston propels the flow, while guitarist Max Light, on his Criss Cross debut, contributes beautifully textured comping and inspired, thematic solos. The album booklet includes a suite of poems by Ruth Lepson, each one inspired by the music.

From his many Criss Cross dates as a leader to his extraordinary sideman work with Chris Potter, the late Michael Brecker and many more, Adam Rogers continues to blaze a path as one of jazz's most compelling guitarists. His longtime associate David Binney, alto saxophone great and an influential composer and producer, has also distinguished himself with numerous innovative sessions for Criss Cross and others. On R & B, Rogers and Binney unite to co-lead a lean and hard-swinging quartet with bassist Reuben Rogers (no relation) and drummer Gerald Cleaver. In a departure from their usual focus on original material, Rogers and Binney aim straight for bebop, ballads and classics by Thelonious Monk, Freddie Hubbard and Wayne Shorter, among others.

Chopin melodies used as a basis for jazz improvisation? In the wrong hands, the results could be truly catastrophic. Yet it's a notion with great appeal for celebrated Dutch piano marvel Peter Beets. "Why, melodic embellishment is at the heart of everything that Chopin wrote! enthuses Peter. "In fact, he was composing tunes ideal for bebop, although he couldn't have known it at the time." It's a happy coincidence that the fifth Criss Cross CD under Beets' leadership arrives during the bicentennial year of Chopin's birth. But it's clearly not a project haphazardly thrown together at the last moment. Instead, Peter recruited three of New York's premier jazzmen - guitarist Joe Cohn, bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Greg Hutchinson - as co-conspirators.

Most widely known as a first call sideman with the likes of the late Michael Brecker and Chris Potter, guitarist Adam Rogers is himself a composer of note, as he's documented on four prior Criss Cross recordings. On his fifth outing for the label, Rogers offers a crackling set of standards in trio format with world-class partners bassist John Pattucci and drummer Clarence Penn, placing his formidable technique at the service of musical imperatives and swinging all the way.

After his successful gospel and mainstream albums, trombone star Wycliffe Gordon presents his new all-star band on "United Soul Experience" playing some groovy, soul-oriented, hard swinging jazz. The band features new star tourist Seamus Blake, David Kikoski on piano, Larry Grenadier on bass and Bill Stewart on drums.

On his second Criss Cross record, From Here To Here, guitar masterDavid Gilmore picks up where he left off on his well-received 2017 label debut, Transitions (Criss 1393). Here, joined by a quartet of New York all-stars comprising pianist Luis Perdomo, bassist Brad Jones, and drummer E.J. Strickland, Gilmore navigates 8 recently-penned originals as well as Sam Rivers' Cyclic Episodes and the Bill Evans-Jim Hall classic Interplay. Throughout the proceedings, Gilmore unfailingly displays virtuosic technical and conceptual chops, exhaustive harmonic knowledge, melodic gifts, luminous sound, and sense of focus and proportion.These qualities made him an indispensable sideman several decades ago during long-term engagements with Steve Coleman and Wayne Shorter - they've only developed and evolved over time.

The powerful all-star quintet Opus 5 returns with Pentasonic, the follow-up to their muscular 2011 debut Introducing Opus 5. It's a can't-miss linup with tenor saxophonist Seamus Blake and trumpeter Alex Sipiagin in the front line, David Kikoski doubling on piano and Fender Rhodes, Boris Kozlov on bass, and Donald Edwards on drums. Once again Opus 5 puts original music by the band's members in the forefront,but the choice arrangements of Charlie Parker's seldom-heard Charlie's Wig and Freddie Hubbard's classic Red Clay bring unique and unexpected angles to the session. Moody and ethereal, rhythmically skewed, always furiously burning, this is music that lives up to the name of everyone involved.

Tenor saxophinst Ted Brown studied with, and belonged to the coterie of like-thinking players around Lennie Tristano. He recorded with Warne Marsh and Lee Konitz, and recorded under his own name with Warne Marsh and Art Pepper as sidemen. Here, after an eight year recording hiatus, he's in the company of legenday bebop guitar great Jimmy Raney & an all star rhythm section with pianist Hod O'Brien, bassist Buster Williams & drummer Ben Riley. This rare session from 1985, recorded at Rudy Van Gelder's Recording Studio, has 5 alternate takes, and was never released as a CD before.

For his third Criss Cross release with his quintet of up-and-coming stars (trumpeter Jeremy Pelt, tenor saxophonist Jimmy Greene, pianist Orrin Evans, and bassist Eric Revis) Ralph Peterson offers his most mature and accomplished album yet. Like his mentor, Art Blakey, Peterson shapes the flow, stamping a set of primarily original music with his inimitable rhythmic personality.

In 1990 when he recorded this scintillating date, now released for the first time, pianist Kirk Lightsey was one of New York's first call pianists, a regular in the rotation at Bradley's, the legendary New York piano saloon. On this release he convenes a cohort of New York A-listers to play a program that includes strong repertoire by Lightsey, Wayne Shorter, Detroit drummer Lawrence Williams and some choice standards. Featuring trumpeter Marcus Belgrave, saxophonist/flutist Craig Handy, bassist David Williams and drummer Eddie Gladden.

Matt Brewer's third Criss Cross leader album, Ganymede, follows a pair of inspired ensemble recordings (Mythology. Criss 1373; Unspoken, Criss 1390), for which the master bassist convened some of the most accomplished individualists of 21st century jazz to interpret original music that showcased Brewer's sophisticated compositional skills, lyric gifts, and state of the art chops.Here, Brewer pares down to the trio format, allowing tenor saxophone hero Mark Shim, drum virtuoso Damion Reid and himself ample room to stretch out on challenging "inside" repertoire by Ron Carter ("RJ") and Joe Henderson ("Afro-Centric"), "outside" songs by Ornette Coleman ("Eos"), and Dewey Redman ("Willisee"), a complementary piece by Shim, and four of his own well-wrought originals.

Peter Beets' first two Criss Cross CDs, "New York Trio" (CRC #1214) and "New York Trio, Page 2" (CRC #1237), gave the world notice of a new bop, ballads and blues virtuoso. The celebration continues with yet a third riveting effort from this Dutch sensation and his famous American colleagues, bassist Reginald Veal, and drummer Herlin Riley.

Unsung trumpet heroes Joe Magnarelli and John Swana, each Criss Cross veterans, battled to a draw on the stirring 1998 opus "Philly New York Junction" (CRC #1150), an album so good that Gerry Teekens couldn't resist bringing them back for a 2003 rematch. Supported by the same formidable cast of characters (Eric Alexander, tenor sax; Joel Weiskopf, piano; Peter Washington, bass and Kenny Washington, drums), Magnarelli (right channel) and Swana (left channel) exchange ideas with brotherly competitiveness and deep swing.

Rightfully acknowledged as an accomplished musician who has translated John Coltrane's harmonics and spiritual intensity to the alto saxophone, Mike DiRubbo brings US the hard bop-inflected "Human Spirit" his sophomore effort for Criss Cross. The set includes originals by DiRubbo and Rotondi along with classics by Hank Mobley, Jackie McLean and Henry Mancini. Features trumpeter Jim Rotondi, pianist David Hazeltine, bassist Peter Washington and drummer Joe Farnsworth.

One of the most virtuosic and emotive voices of contemporary jazz violin, rising star Zach Brock has drawn praise from a wide cohort of fellow musicians and critics for his musical acumen. Having appeared notably as a sideman with musicians such as Stanley Clarke and Patricia Barber, Brock convenes a world-class rhythm section for his Criss Cross debut (pianist Aaron Goldberg, bassist Matt Penman, and drummer Eric Harland), who inspire him to uncork a series of efflorescent, graceful improvisations on a program of originals and re-imagined standards.

Pianist Danny Grissett, known for his work with Nicholas Payton, Tom Harrell and Vincent Herring, continues to deliver on the promise of his 2006 Criss Cross debut as a leader. Featuring the same lineup as Promise, sensitive but effervescent bassist Vicente Archer and the equally intuitive and vibrant drummer Kendrick Scott, Encounters finds this young trio mining an interesting mix of original material and jazz standards. Running the gamut from elegant balladry to grooving soul-jazz and unshakable swing, all with a modernistic approach to harmony, rhythm and composition, the Danny Grissett Trio ensures that modern acoustic jazz remains alive and moving forward.

GOOD & BAD MEMORIES

This is trombonist Wycliffe Gordon's fifth outing as a leader on Criss Cross and perhaps his most personal statement. Augmenting a strong roots-to-modern jazz sextet with a gospel choir from Georgia, his home state, Gordon presents a joyful noise, referencing the vocabularies of Armstrong, Ellington and Jelly Roll Morton with an eye keenly honed in on the present day. In the band: Marcus Printup on trumpet, Victor Goines on saxes and clarinet, Eric Reed on piano with bassist Reginald Veal and drummer Alvin Atkinson Jr..

TODAYS OPINION

Trumpeter Alex Sipiagin's ninth Criss Cross album may be his most conceptually ambitious. The 43-year-old trumpeter is these days garnering broad international recognition as a solo artist, as well as for his inspired virtuoso playing in various Dave Holland and Mingus Orchestra, offers seven original pieces - performed by a distinguished band of A-listers - that contain heady polyphony, substantial melodies, beautiful voicings, and intoxicating rhythms. It's a cutting edge of the 21st century jazz. The band: Chris Potter, tenor sax and flute; David Binney, alto sax; Craig Taborn, piano and fender rhodes; Boris Koslov, bass; and Eric Harland, drums.

Tenor saxophonist Dayna Stephens is poised, poetic and furiously swinging on his second Criss Cross effort, I'll Take My Chances, a follow-up to his remarkable 2012 release Today Is Tomorrow. The quintet features guitarist Charles Altura, a newcomer to Criss Cross and a key melodic and solo voice throughout. Pianist Gerald Clayton, returning to Criss Cross after sideman sessions with Kendrick Scott and Michael Rodriguez, brings keen virtuosity and harmonic insight to Stephens' challenging, deeply lyrical compositions. Bassist Joe Sanders, whose issued Introducing Joe Sanders on Criss Cross in 2012, achieves an effortless sense of connection with drummer Bill Stewart, a veteran of over 20 Criss Cross sessions, not to mention one of the great influential players of the last 20 years. Along with 5 originals, Field of Landmines by Stephens and Marcus Gilmore, Adrift by Aaron Parks (the pianist on Today Is Tomorrow) and a hard-swinging reinvention of Brad Mehldau's Unrequited, Stephens also includes a rhapsodic treatment of Ellington's Prelude to a Kiss, featuring guest vocalist Becca Stevens. There's also a striking departure: A track with Clayton on organ and the leader on husky, soul-drenched baritone sax.

For his third Criss Cross release, following Today is Tomorrow (CRC 1345) and I'll Take My Chances (CRC 1361) tenor saxophonist Dayna Stephens presents a fresh take on the 'saxophone battle' genre in partnership with rising star Walter Smith III, himself the leader of the critically acclaimed III (CRC 1328). Complemented by a state of-the-art rhythm section of A-list 30-something's (Aaron Parks, piano; Mike Moreno, guitar; Harish Raghavan; and Rodney Green, drums) the protagonist juxtapose their distinctive instrumental voices and apply their melody-centric sensibilities to a varied program comprising original music, as well as the iconic two-tenor standard Blues Up And Down and Bill Evans' Blue in Green. Less a cutting than a forum for collective story-telling, Reminiscent is a tour de force that will repay repeated listening's.

A Bay Area native, tenor saxophonist Dayna Stephens makes his auspiciousdebut on the Criss Cross label with Today Is Tomorrow - a soaring, lyrical, deeply swinging collection of originals and jazz classics (Hoagy Carmichael's Skylark, Joe Henderson's Black Narcissus). As a 2003 graduate of the Thelonious Monk Institute, Stephens had the opportunity to work with the likes of Dave Holland, Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock, whohelped strengthen his complex sensibility as a composer and improviser. In recent years Dayna has appeared with the likes of Carlos Santana, Kenny Barron, Terence Blanchard, Gretchen Parlato and many others. Joining Stephens on Today Is Tomorrow is a stellar cast, featuring Aaron Parks on piano and the sturdy rhythm section of Kiyoshi Kitagawa on bass and Donald Edwards on drums. Supplementing the lineup are Julian Lage, one of the jazz scene's most exciting newcomers on guitar, and Michael Rodriguez, a fiery trumpeter with credits including Charlie Haden and Gonzalo Rubalcaba. Stephens pilots them through the set with finesse and heart, proving himself a player quickly on the rise.