Spherical by Tim Warfield

Tim Warfield's eighth Criss Cross leader recording Spherical, which references the middle name of its primary subject, immortal jazz pianist-composer Thelonious Sphere Monk, is the tenor/soprano saxophonist's most idiosyncratic and personal document to date.

To be specific, Warfield and an efflorescent quintet of virtuoso teamplayers (Eddie Henderson, trumpet; Orrin Evans, piano; Ben Wolfe, bass; Clarence Penn, drums) personalize six Monk compositions (Off Minor, Ugly Beauty, Oska T, Gallop's Gallop, Coming on the Hudson, and Round Midnight) and That Old Man (which Monk recorded as "Children's Song" in 1964), as well as an original Warfield blues dedicated to Monk's first employer, Coleman Hawkins.

All members improvise with a creative force that shows the depth of their engagement with the essence of these masterworks; the will to swing defines the proceedings throughout.

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