Mel´s Vision Alex Sipiagin

• 1Mel's Vision09:25
• 2Summer's End08:54
• 3Four by Five08:03
• 4Maritima09:08
• 5Vesnianka10:01
• 6Bird Food (Take 2)06:21
• 7Balmoral Point08:30
• 8Peggy's Blue Skylight03:50
• 9Bird Food (Take 1 – Alternate Take)07:01
• Total Runtime01:11:13

Info for Mel´s Vision

Since he emigrated to the United States from Russia in 1991, Alex Sipiagin has earned an exalted international reputation as a no-technical-limits improvisor, sustaining a gorgeous sound throughout the trumpet's registral range, navigating harmonic and rhythmic complexity with precision, passion and abiding lyricism.

Most of Sipiagin's 12 previous albums for Criss Cross also showcase his contrapuntal, harmonically comprehensive compositions, full of interesting melodic twists and turns. On them, he projects the same voice that he improvises with but written out for more instruments.

For his 13th Criss Cross date, Mel's Vision, the 55-year-old master - joined by A-listers tenor saxophonist Chris Potter, pianist David Kikoski, bassist Matt Brewer and drummer Johnathan Blake - contributes two wonderful originals. But Alex addresses the session primarily as an opportunity to focus on interpreting music by others - a song by Potter, a Ukrainian folk song and four rarely covered gems from the jazz canon.

The album was recorded April 22, 2021 at the Samurai Hotel Recording Studio in NY. Recording engineer Mike Marciano also did the editing, mixing and mastering at Systems Two in NY.

Alex Sipiagin, trumpet
Chris Potter, saxophone
David Kikoski, piano
Matt Brewer, bass
Johnathan Blake, drums

Alex Sipiagin
Jazz Festivals worldwide has seen Alex Sipiagin performing with the likes of Dave Holland, Michael Brecker, the Mingus groups, etc. Born on June 11, 1967 inYaroslavl, Russia, Alex began studying the trumpet at age 12, studying at the Moscow Music Institute and the Gnessin Conservatory in Moscow where hereceived his Baccalaureate. In 1990, Alex participated in the International Louis Armstrong Competition sponsored by the Thelonius Monk Institute in WashingtonD.C. winning top honors and soon after relocated to the jazz mecca of the world, New York City.

Alex soon became a favored player for various bands including the Gil Evans Orchestra, Gil Goldstein's Zebra Coast Orchestra, the George Gruntz ConcertJazz Band, drummer Bob Moses' band Mozamba, Mingus Big Band as well as the Mingus Dynasty and Mingus Orchestra, and the Dave Holland Big Band, Sextetand Octet groups.

In 2003 he recorded with Michael Brecker's Quindectet touringalso with the Michael Brecker Sextet. Alex has also worked with Eric Clapton, Dr.John, Aaron Neville, Elvis Costello, Michael Franks, Dave Sanborn, Deborah Cox, legendary producer Phil Ramone, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, etc., and many of the recordings he has been involved in has been nominated and/or won the Grammy's (Dave Holland Big Band's "What Goes Around," and "Overtime,"Michael Brecker's Qindectet "Wide Angles").

As a soloist, Sipiagin has eleven recordings out to his credit and has toured extensively throughout Europe, U.S., Japan and Russia with his own group. Healso teaches at the Groningen Prince Claus Conservatory, Academy of Music, Basel, Switzerland as well steady professorship at NYU.

Recorded 15 solo albums for one of prestiges jazz label "CrissCrossJazz" His recent album of his compositions and arrangements "Balance 38-58" features such noted musicians as Eric Harland, David Binney, Adam Rogers and Matt Brewer.

This album contains no booklet.