Cookin' by Eric Alexander, Grant Stewart, Reeds and Deeds

Despite busy schedules, the five co-leaders of Opus 5 return once again with a fourth album, Tickle, a statement of great virtuosity, melodic integrity and rhythmic focus.

Taking its place alongside Introducing Opus 5 (Criss 1339), Pentasonic (Criss 1351) and Progression (Criss 1369), this session finds the band in peak form, interpreting compositions by all the band's members.

From the shifting funk-to-swing of drummer Donald Edwards-penned title track, to the singable purity of tenorist Seamus Blake's opening Silver Pockets, to the poetic bass cadenza and plaintive mood of bassist Boris Kozlov's closing ballad Murzake, Tickle secures Opus 5's place as one of the most compelling and long-lived collectives in recent years. Pianist David Kikoski composed the beautiful New Old Ballad, trumpeter Alex Sipiagin wrote Equilibrium.

Criss Cross Records captures the aesthetic essence of cutting-edge hardcore New York jazz more consistently than any other label on 420+ albums recorded.. Founder Gerry Teekens (1935-2019), a linguistics professor by day and a semi-professional drummer by night, was a connoisseur of groove -- he operated by the motto, “If you have a great band, but not a great drummer, forget it.”

crisscrossjazz.com