Alex Sipiagin Generations

Russian-born trumpeter Alex Sipiagin's tenth recording as a leader apart from his chores with the Mingus Big Band gives homage to his first and greatest influence, Woody Shaw. On this split program of originals and selections from Shaw's repertoire, Sipiagin plays a more basic brass horn than did his highly advanced, harmonically futuristic idol, but there's an added wrinkle to this program that Shaw never really explored. Electric guitarist Adam Rogers is along for the ride, drastically morphing these tunes to a fusion style that Shaw only touched upon - refer to the early-'70s album Blackstone Legacy. In sparser frameworks, Sipiagin and this piano-less quartet bring new meaning to Shaw's influential music, which has stood the test of time for some four decades…

Tenor saxophonist Jürgen Hagenlocher's motto is 'to preserve and renew' - this reflects both his attitude towards life, and his musical concept. His music is characterized by a respect for the traditions of jazz and the saxophonists John Coltrane and Dexter Gordon, who have significantly influenced his development over the last 22 years…