Five

This quintet date was recorded in tandem with the trio disc Comfortable Strange. Trumpeter Alex Sipiagin and tenor saxophonist Seamus Blake join Kikoski, Boris Kozlov, and Jeff "Tain" Watts for this inspired, all-original session. "Winnie's Garden," a reworking of "Sweet Georgia Brown" which first appeared in a trio context on Inner Trust, gets the band up and running. Kikoski also revisits "Train of Thought" from his sophomore release, Persistent Dreams, and closes with "Chant," a majestic 5/4 tune from his self-titled Epicure release of 1994. Three new tunes are also heard: the elegantly funky "Song in Five," the up-tempo "K's Blues," and the Seamus Blake ballad feature "Little Angel." As is the case with Comfortable Strange, the tracks are few because the takes are long, allowing for plenty of stretching -- and that's exactly what you want to hear from these players. ~ David R. Adler, All Music Guide