Doing all criss cross albums for January. Today I listened to Equilibrium by Alex Sipiagin.
Here's jtg's description:
Sipiagin brings this set of mostly original tunes to life with a ridiculously talented and forward-thinking band. More than his previous albums, this one highlights his growing talent for writing complex, multi-layered music that also remains memorable and accessible. In addition to his noteworthy compositions, this record also includes an exciting reworking of Thelonious Monk’s “Evidence” and a mellow bossa by Toninho Horta.
My thoughts:
This album was pretty great. It was quite a bit different than the other Sipiagin album I've heard because it was a little more traditional sounding. Still, there is a lot going on and I liked the electric piano sound on some of the tracks and the way Sipiagin voices the melodies for the three horn players. There were a few sax solos where the whole band just seemed on fire and most of Sipiagin's solos were great too. There was one where he played with a mute and I didn't really like the sound but other than that all the solos were really exciting.The piano had some great solos too. Overall I enjoyed this one a lot.