Opus 5 - Tickle

Styles: Trumpet And Saxophone Jazz Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:42
Size: 137,3 MB
Art: Front

(8:27) 1. Silver Pockets
(9:02) 2. Tickle
(9:36) 3. New Old Ballad
(8:43) 4. Five Corners
(9:05) 5. Equilibrium
(7:33) 6. Crack to the Crevice
(7:13) 7. Murzake

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, Pentasonic and Progressions, 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. ~ Opiniones Editoriales https://www.amazon.com/Tickle-Opus-5/dp/B0143DKJI2

Seamus Blake - saxophone, compose; Alex Sipiagin - trumpet, flugelhorn, composer; David Kikoski - piano, fender rhodes, composer; Boris Kozlov - bass, composer; Donald Edwards - drums, composer

Tickle

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Opus 5 - Pentasonic

Styles: Trumpet And Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:33
Size: 150,6 MB
Art: Front + Back

(6:30)  1. The Saboteur
(7:48)  2. Videlles Dreams
(8:14)  3. Sign of Life
(8:16)  4. Ducktones
(8:50)  5. Little Dancer
(5:49)  6. Three Days of Maybe
(9:07)  7. Danny
(7:31)  8. Red Clay
(3:25)  9. Charlie's Wig

The powerful all-star quintet Opus 5 returns with Pentasonic, the follow-up to their muscular 2011 debut Introducing Opus 5. It's a can't-miss lineup with tenor saxophonist Seamus Blake and trumpeter Alex Sipiagin in the front line, David Kikoski doubling on piano and Fender Rhodes, Boris Kozlov on bass, and Donald Edwards on drums. Once again Opus 5 puts original music by the band's members in the forefront, but the choice arrangements of Charlie Parker's seldom-heard Charlie's Wig and Freddie Hubbard's classic Red Clay bring unique and unexpected angles to the session. Moody and ethereal, rhythmically skewed, always furiously burning, this is music that lives up to the name of everyone involved. ~ Editorial Reviews  http://www.amazon.com/Pentasonic-Opus-5/dp/B008I66CSC

Personnel: Seamus Blake (soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone); Alex Sipiagin (trumpet, flugelhorn); Dave Kikoski (piano, Fender Rhodes piano); David Edwards (drums).

Pentasonic

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Opus 5 - Introducing Opus 5

Styles: Trumpet And Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:36
Size: 143,7 MB
Art: Front

(11:07)  1. Think Of Me
( 5:04)  2. Tallysman
(10:18)  3. Baker's Dozen
( 8:17)  4. Ton To Tom
( 8:20)  5. Nostalgia In Time
( 8:31)  6. Asami's Playland
(10:56)  7. Sokol

Collectively delivered jazz albums almost always fall into one of three categories: some are outings from neophytes looking to pool their resources, while trying to build a fan base from the ground floor up; others marry the musical skills of seasoned musicians who've crossed paths in various situations and/or share a commonality in approach; and the most commercially successful, yet artistically regretfully, are usually hastily conceived or rendered performances that simply attach several big names to a project in order to cash in and make a quick buck. Introducing Opus 5, with a to-die-for grouping of modern heavyweights who speak the same language, falls into the second category. Every member of this multicultural quintet was baptized-by-fire in the world of Charles Mingus having worked at various times in different incarnations of the Sue Mingus-driven groups that honor her husband's music and memory but the material on this seven-song outing usually bears little resemblance to the bassist's compositions. 

Easy going fare to ease the ears into the album (pianist George Cables' "Think Of Me"), bristling material with some fiery trumpet work from Alex Sipiagin ("Talltsman"), an odd-metered gem that showcases pianist/composer David Kikoski's uplifting solo work and puts Boris Kozlov's pliant bass on display ("Baker's Dozen"), and light, elegant bossa nova strains (Toninho Horta's "Ton To Tom") come first in the running order, but they don't come to define this band. The final trio of selections, which include an electrified, muscular hard bop update which nods to Mingus in title and spirit more than sound ("Nostalgia In Time"), a soothing entry that puts saxophonist Seamus Blake's warm, yet lustrous, tenor on display, while also showcasing Sipiagin's softer side (Donald Edwards' "Asami's Playground"), and a Russian folk song arranged to highlight an inside-outside duality in this ensemble ("Sokol"), marks Opus 5 as an omnivorous entity that takes all music in and then spits it back out, refracted through its own multidimensional lens of musical perception. 

While time will tell if this is a one-off outing or the start of a fruitful partnership, in the meantime, Introducing Opus 5 tells the story of five highly skilled musicians carrying out a shared artistic mission, and it proves to be a real musical page-turner. ~ Dan Bilawsky  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/introducing-opus-5-seamus-blake-criss-cross-review-by-dan-bilawsky.php#.U7VtybF8eM1
 

Personnel: Seamus Blake: tenor saxophone; Alex Sipiagin: trumpet, flugelhorn; David Kikoski: piano, Fender Rhodes;,: bass; Donald Edwards: drums.

Introducing Opus 5

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Opus 5 - Progression

Styles: Trumpet And Flugelhorn Jazz
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:06
Size: 142,6 MB
Art: Front

( 8:51)  1. Snow Child
(10:06)  2. Fear of Rooming
( 9:17)  3. Climbing
(10:03)  4. Walk a Waltz
( 9:19)  5. Geraldine
( 7:41)  6. Inner Balance
( 6:46)  7. For Instance, Take This

In the world of jazz the quintet is an established tradition. The standard quintet format has been one of the most common throughout the history of the music. It's a hard format to mess up, but it's an even harder format in which to stand out. On their most recent recording, Progression, Opus 5 stands out as a group rooted in tradition but always exploring possibility. A esthetically the group follows in the spirit of some of the great quintets of the past like Art Blakey and Miles Davis's second quintet. But each band member's voice shines in their solos and the band as a unit creates organic and moving music. All familiar names on the Criss Cross label, these five players all have years of playing experience with each other. Their comfort and joy in playing with each other can be found on every track. Unlike their first two releases, Progression, features wholly original material from the band members. Drummer Donald Edwards contributes the opening and closing tunes on the album, both energetic swingers. The last tune, "For Instance, Take This," flies by at a burning tempo and pianist David Kikoski lets the sparks fly in his solo. Bassist Boris Kozlov and Edwards seem to effortlessly match his every twist and turn. 

Kozlov contributes two originals to the setlist. "Walk a Waltz" is a curiously titled piece considering it moves through several time signatures including 7/8 and 10/8. Kozlov also contributes "Inner Balance," a beautiful and haunting Shorter-esque ballad. Alex Sipiagin's masterful phrasing and dark, warm sound on the flugelhorn match the song's tone perfectly. "Climbing" is the sole Sipiagin composition on the album. Adding in overdubbed muted trumpet, to create a third voice, the three melodic lines weave in and out of each other perfectly. Saxophonist Seamus Blake contributes his original tune "Fear of Rooming" a fun, bouncy tune in three. Each member of the band takes their turn in the spotlight at various points in the music on Progression, but this band is a perfect example of the old jazz cliché that a band is "more than the sum of its parts." Though rooted in swing music, these musicians are constantly stretching the limits of harmony and time. They take risks in the music and the risks pay off because of the strength of the band as a whole. ~ Andrew Luhn   http://www.allaboutjazz.com/progression-opus-5-criss-cross-review-by-andrew-luhn.php#.U7R6n7F8eM0
 

Personnel: Alex Sipiagin: Trumpet and Flugelhorn; Seamus Blake: Tenor Saxophone; David Kikoski: Piano; Boris Kozlov: Bass; Donald Edwards: Drums

Progression

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