For his second Criss Cross release, Spring Feelings, pianist Misha Tsiganov presents a program containing five originals and four standards, each bearing Tsiganov's sui generis arranging stamp, tailored to the tonal personalities of his world-class personnel.
Returning from his successful debut, Artistry of the Standard, are trumpeter Alex Sipiagin, tenor saxophonist Seamus Blake and drummer Donald Edwards, with bassist Hans Glawischnig joining the team.
As on the first recording, the musicians surefootedly, virtuosically navigate the blend of mixed meters, shifting tempos, changing keys and reharmonizations with which Tsiganov dresses up his beautiful melodies in order to insure, as he stated in the liner notes of Artistry of the Standard, "that something is happening always, so the listener doesn't fall asleep."

Jazz Festivals worldwide has seen Alex Sipiagin performing with the likes of Dave Holland, Michael Brecker, the Mingus groups, etc. Born on June 11, 1967 inYaroslavl, Russia, Alex began studying the trumpet at age 12, studying at the Moscow Music Institute and the Gnessin Conservatory in Moscow where hereceived his Baccalaureate. In 1990, Alex participated in the International Louis Armstrong Competition sponsored by the Thelonius Monk Institute in WashingtonD.C. winning top honors and soon after relocated to the jazz mecca of the world, New York City.

Alex soon became a favored player for various bands including the Gil Evans Orchestra, Gil Goldstein's Zebra Coast Orchestra, the George Gruntz ConcertJazz Band, drummer Bob Moses' band Mozamba, Mingus Big Band as well as the Mingus Dynasty and Mingus Orchestra, and the Dave Holland Big Band, Sextetand Octet groups.

In 2003 he recorded with Michael Brecker's Quindectet touringalso with the Michael Brecker Sextet. Alex has also worked with Eric Clapton, Dr.John, Aaron Neville, Elvis Costello, Michael Franks, Dave Sanborn, Deborah Cox, legendary producer Phil Ramone, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, etc., and many of the recordings he has been involved in has been nominated and/or won the Grammy's (Dave Holland Big Band's "What Goes Around," and "Overtime,"Michael Brecker's Qindectet "Wide Angles").

As a soloist, Sipiagin has eleven recordings out to his credit and has toured extensively throughout Europe, U.S., Japan and Russia with his own group. Healso teaches at the Groningen Prince Claus Conservatory, Academy of Music, Basel, Switzerland as well steady professorship at NYU.

Recorded 15 solo albums for one of prestiges jazz label "CrissCrossJazz" His recent album of his compositions and arrangements "Balance 38-58" features such noted musicians as Eric Harland, David Binney, Adam Rogers and Matt Brewer.

Dan Weiss began playing the drums at the age of six. He received his bachelor’s degree at Manhattan School of Music with a major in jazz percussion and minor in classical composition. Soon after getting his formal education, he began touring the world and recording with musicians such as David Binney, Lee Konitz, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Miguel Zenon, Kenny Werner and many others.

In addition to the drums, Weiss has been studying the tabla under his guru Pandit Samir Chatterjee for almost 20 years. This apprenticeship has been a major influence in his musical aesthetic, exemplified in two of his records where he performs classical Indian repertoire on drum set. David Adler All About Jazz ) wrote, “Weiss is arguably unique among today’s jazz drummers, transposing ideas from his tabla study to the drum kit, as heard most clearly on Tintal Drum Set Solo (Chhandayan , 2005) and Jhaptal Drum Set Solo.” Weiss was also named “The Top Up and Coming Percussionist” two years in a row in the 60th and 61st annual Downbeat’s Critic’s Poll and was featured in the New York Times as “One of the Five Most Promising Drummers of the New Generation.”

Weiss has led his trio, which includes Jacob Sacks on piano and Thomas Morgan on bass, for over a decade. Their two releases “Now Yes When” and “Timshel” have been critically acclaimed for their unique approach to song structure and endlessly creative improvisation. Weiss’s most ambitious work to date is “Fourteen,” a 14 piece ensemble composition that features a rhythm section, horns, voices, harp, percussion and organ.

Matt Brewer was born in Oklahoma City but spent most of his youth in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Born into a musical family, Matt was surrounded by music from an early age, both his father and grandfather being jazz musicians, and his mother an avid music lover and radio DJ (who, even before Matt was born, would play classic jazz albums for him). After graduating from the Interlochen Arts Academy, Matt attended the inagural class of The Juilliard Jazz Program and studied with bassists Rodney Whitaker and Ben Wolfe. After spending two years at Juilliard he decided to leave school to make time for his busy touring schedule. Since then he has worked with artists such as Greg Osby, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Lee Konitz, David Sanchez, Terence Blanchard, Antonio Sanchez, Vijay Iyer, Adam Rogers, Steve Coleman, Dave Binney, Aaron Parks, Jeff “Tain” Watts, and many others. He recently recorded his second album as a leader on the Criss Cross Jazz label. He is an adjunct faculty member at The New School, and has been a frequent guest artist/teacher at the Banff Center.

New York based saxophonist/composer SEAMUS BLAKE is recognized as one of the finest exponents of contemporary jazz. His music is known for its sophistication, bold improvisations and “sheer swagger". John Scofield, who hired Seamus for his “Quiet Band,” called him “extraordinary, a total saxophonist.” Throughout his 24 year career, Seamus has garnered considerable critical praise for his masterful playing, his fine compositional skills and for his facility as a leader. Superconductor is Seamus’ most ambitious project to date and was released in December 2015. The talent includes Nate Smith, Matt Garrison, Scott Kinsey, a 7 piece orchestral ensemble as well as special guest appearances by John Scofield and Gonzalo Rubalcaba. The album marks the debut of Seamus on EWI (electronic wind instrument).