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criss cross label


montg

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Criss Cross has been described as the Blue Note of today. I'm just beginning to explore this catalog. So far, I've got

Jeremy Pelt--Insight

One for ALL--New Horizons

Ralph Peterson --Test of time

Wycliffe Gordon--Gospel truth.

I like them all, probably in that order, and I'm wondering if othes have favorites from this label they'd recommend. ALthough I buy a lot of reissues, I also like to try and buy new stuff to support the guys on the scene today who are keeping the art alive. Criss Cross seems to be one of the top labels supporting the new stuff.

crisscrossjazz.com

Edited by montg
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I haven't bought many of the more recent Criss Cross CD's, but have perhaps 20-25 in total. Two which come to mind that I really dig are Ralph Lalama's "Momentum" and Gary Smulyan's "Saxophone Mosaic", both roughly a decade old. As I think of others I'll post them. Here's another - Jimmy Knepper's "Dream Dancing".

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All of tenor saxophonist Walt Weiskopf's Criss Cross albums are worth checking out. He's taken an aspect of early Wayne Shorter and run off with it to a place that's all his own, I think. And he swings like crazy. The one with Joe Locke as his frontline partner may be his best blowing date, but all the ones with several horns in the ensemble are strong -- he's a fine composer/arranger.

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I'd also suggest Walt Weiskopf. The one mentioned by Lawrence is ' Anytown', which also features Renne Rosnes. All the Gary Smulyans are interesting.

I have over a hundred CC and can suggest many more if you are interested.

Of recent ones I would definitely get the JD Allen, featuring Jeremy Pelt, that's a must have imho. I also like all the Orrin Evans titles very much especially ' Listen To The Band',but stay away from his recent one on Palmetto !

Edited by kinuta
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I have about 30, with a mixture of veterans and younger players, from the 1980's to the present. I've rarely been disappointed with a CC title.

That website is really set up nice. It's easy to link to different titles that a given sideman appears on, see how many standards vs original tunes a CD has, find things numerically or by artist... The artist index is a great way to get an overview of the label.

A few favorites:

Jimmy Raney- Wisteria

Clifford Jordan- Royal Ballads

Cedar Walton- Manhattan Afternoon

Peter Leitch- On A Misty Night

Mel Rhyne- Mel's Spell

Bill Charlap- All Through The Night

Steve Davis- Systems Blue

Sam Yahel- Trio

Ryan Kisor- Battle Cry

There are a lot of artists on the label that I've yet to really explore. I've been meaning to pick up something by David Hazeltine, for example. I would own a lot more CC titles if not for the fact that they've always been a tad expensive.

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I like all of the Orrin Evans CDs. He plays piano and writes interesting tunes. He comes from a hard bop backbround, but moves "out" pretty nicely. He also seems to pull together good bands, but has some trio dates too.

Some of the Criss Cross stuff has a sameness or blandness for me, but just some. Maybe the idea is to stick to certain artists? I would also second (third?) all the praise for Walt Weiskopf.

I *really* like the JD Allen CD that has Evans and Pelt. It has an edge that makes it very tasty.

The Don Braden dates are very good - I would just go with the sidemen you like.

I have tended not to like their organ dates and Peter Bernstein is a guitarist that sorta bores me, although he gets a lot of love.

They have been around for 20 years or so and there are a lot of one-off gems in the catalog. It seems that early on they went with more established artists and some of that stuff is wonderful.

Eric

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This is EXACTLY the type of information I was hoping for. Thank you. For me, reissues tend to be a sure thing, but new issues are more hit and miss so guideposts like these recs are really helpful.

Actually, I'd been considering Weiskopf before starting the thread based on the sound samples at Amazon but I hadn't heard much 'buzz' about him (maybe listening in the wrong places).

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There are a lot of artists on the label that I've yet to really explore. I've been meaning to pick up something by David Hazeltine

here's a link to a review of his latest

hazletine review

I have over a hundred CC and can suggest many more if you are interested

Kinuta,

I'd be interested in hearing some of your favorites from CC! Thanks

Edited by montg
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For some of the newer titles here are my favorites:

Conrad Herwig - Unseen Universe

Wycliffe Gordon - United Soul Experience

Ralph Petersen - Subliminal Seduction

Ryan Kisor - Power Source

Alex Sipiagin - Hindsight

I HIGHLY recommend all of these.

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  • 1 month later...

I picked up Wycliffe Gordon's new one recently...Dig This. The trombone, tenor, organ combo is kind of unusual, but it works really well. Nice work by Sam Yaehl in particular. Never expected to hear Limehouse Blues with a trombone-organ combo played at be bop speed, but it comes off really interesting.

:tup:tup

Edited by montg
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  • 1 month later...

All of tenor saxophonist Walt Weiskopf's Criss Cross albums are worth checking out

I'd also suggest Walt Weiskopf.

Thanks for this recommendation-someone I never would have picked up on otherwise. I received his CD 'Song for my Mother' right before Christmas and it's been in heavy rotation since then. There's some really nice writing here, imho... even the flutes sound hip.

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It's gratifying that people have mentioned Jimmy Raney. Someone mentioned Wisteria (with Tommy Flanagan and George Mraz). To that I'll simply add: there's also The Master. He's in great form on that: warm, loose, digging in. Raney '81 is good, too.

I also want to mention a few recordings by Richard Wyands on the label. I think jazz fans in the know aware of recordings of the last 40+ years might agree he's very underrated. He hasn't pursued a solo career and is the most self-effacing of men (and one of the sweetest). But he has the goods and these recordings are a good place to make his acquaintence. He has a well-deserved reputation among players (and singers) for swinging his behind off and being one of the best accompanists in the biz. I think his ideas and flow as a soloist are top drawer, too. (I've worked with him going back 19 years and part of this plug is based on what my own ears have heard on the bandstand).

I think one CD is called Reunited. Can't recall the other title but it has Ellington's Lady of the Lavender Mist on it. Lisle Atkinson on bass seems to ring a bell. Maybe the recordings can be had through Amazon.com. Think I've seen them there. But you can't go wrong with Richard.

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Richard Wyands is very, very good - I would rank him up there with Cedar Walton and the like. He has grown to be one of the best "modern classic" pianists on the scene without the general jazz public noticing. One of the last of the musicians born in the 1920's that are still alive and kicking. I think his latest recording issued was with Jimmy Cobb's Mob on Milestone. I have a Benny Carter Quartet CD on MusicMasters where he displays all of his mastery. He certainly deserves more credit.

On a list of great musicians who never recorded for Blue Note, he would rank high :g

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Seen who live? Richard or Pete? I know both for years, so the answer would be yes. NY is a small town when it comes to jazz.

I was asking Eric if he had seen Peter Bernstein live. IMO, Peter is an incredibly soulful guitarist who plays great lines, comps with taste, and has impeccable time and swing. Was just curious as to why he found him boring.

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i own quite a few criss cross titles, and many of them expand beyond the "blue note of the 90s" hardbop category. some of my favorites dates are:

billy drummond - dubai

clifford jordan - royal ballads

mike dirubbo - human spirit

tim warfield sextet - jazz is

greg gisbert - the court jester

conrad herwig - heart of darkness

ryan kisor - power source

wycliffe gordon - united soul experience

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  • 5 years later...

The 3 Criss Cross albums I return to most often are:

1. Warne Marsh - Star Highs (w/Hank Jones -- classic!)

2. David Binney - Cities and Desire (one of my favorite recent albums and an amazing band w/ Mark Turner, Craig Taborn, Thomas Morgan and Dan Weiss)

3. Kurt Rosenwinkel - Intuit (bebop tunes & standards -- really nice)

I'm also pretty fond of Orrin Evans' Blessed Ones (nice trio date with interesting tune selections and some great Nasheet Waits) and Adam Rogers' Art of the Invisible (it's a little note-happy, but the band is top-notch and the tunes archieve a kind of epic feel that rewards repeated listenings).

nathan

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