Alex Sipiagin - Ascent to the Blues (2022) [Hi-Res]

The sky is well within reach when trumpet player extraordinaire Alex Sipiagin sets his sights on the summit and heads off upward in an Ascent to the Blues for his second release on Posi-Tone Records. The session features the focused wizardry of Sipiagin’s incisive technique, gripping tonality and hard hitting melodicism are countered cleverly against the curvature of contributions from Diego Rivera on tenor saxophone, the cool complexities of Art Hirahara on piano, the steady underpinnings of Boris Kozlov on bass, and the bombastic metrics of Rudy Royston on drums and percussion. While the album program remains decidedly straight forward and rooted in the blues throughout, the music is also elegantly lyrical and brilliantly evocative of a truly modern jazz sensibility. With a flawless combination of effortless mastery and brilliant performances, Sipiagin's “Ascent to the Blues" reaches steadily upward toward new heights and provides a clear pathway of inspirational bright moments for jazz fans everywhere to joyfully ascend again and again.

Alex Sipiagin - trumpet
Diego Rivera - tenor sax
Art Hirahara - piano
Boris Kozlov - bass
Rudy Royston - drums & percussion