Misha Tsiganov - Painter of Dreams - Criss Cross
On Misha Tsiganov’s fifth album, Painter of Dreams, he 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.
Antonio Faraò - Tributes - Criss Cross
Antonio Faraò’s newest project, titled Tributes, is Faraò’s Criss Cross label debut, which was recorded 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 kinetic, beautifully proportioned 65-minute recital. It’s Faraò’s sixth trio album and he eschews ironic deflection and gratuitous structural complication, sustaining an attitude of in-the-moment creation and a fierce will to swing.