Alex Sipiagin

I am seriously looking forward to seeing the Alex Sipiagin Group tomorrow night at Small's in NYC. Its my first time checking out Sipiagin after listening to him for the better part of 3 years.

I first heard Alex on a Mingus Big Band album and never really thought much at first. He sounded like my hero Eddie Henderson, a section mate in the band, just without using the same amount of space in his playing. However, my curiosity was strong enough to buy one of his quintet albums on Criss Cross; Prints. Great CD and great band. Chris Potter is on sax and Dave Kikoski hangs on piano and fender rhodes. Their rendition of Monk's Epistrophy is my favorite track.

I later heard Sipiagin when he recorded on Dave Holland's sextet and then later octet albums. I recommend both to fans of all ages.

Alex's newest CD a dedication to Woody Shaw and his compositions I strongly recommend. I am throughly enjoying this record alot. Alex takes 5 Shaw compositions, reworks them to sound fresh and exciting. My favorite is his, ostinato driven version of Blues for Wood. A huge difference from the shuffle swinger from the original 70s version. Adam Rogers's playing, especially his multi-tracked guitar, sound dark and lurking.

The group on Thursday will be:

Alex Sipiagin - Trumpet
Donny McCaslin - Tenor Sax
Adam Rogers - Guitar
Boris Kaslov - Bass
Antonio Sanchez - Drums

A review to come later on.