Hindsight (2001)

"Trumpeter Alex Sipiagin sticks with a quintet lineup on his second Criss Cross outing, but this time opts for guitar over piano. Tenor saxophonist Chris Potter remains in place from the first session; Adam Rogers ably fills the chair previously occupied by Dave Kikoski; and with Boris Kozlov on bass and Gene Jackson on drums. The music is magnificent, the takes are long, giving the soloists enough room to push the envelope. Sipiagin offers four originals and an elevated reading of Mingus' "Reincarnation of a Lovebird," two equally stirring takes of Bill Evans' "Very Early," and a priceless flügelhorn/acoustic guitar duet on Monk's "Light Blue." Sipiagin's orchestrations are ceaselessly probing and imaginative. Combining the rigors of painstaking composition with the frenzied inspiration of the hottest blowing date, Sipiagin gives listeners some of the most potent and engaging mainstream jazz of the era." (Allmusic).