Trumpeter Alex Sipiagin is bold, bright and beautiful as well as in a Freddie Hubbard frame of mind with this recent alum teamed with Diego Rivera/ts, Art Hirahara/p-key, Boris Kozlov/b and Rudy Royston/dr in a mix of originals and post bopping covers.
With Hirahara on keyboards, Sipiagin sears through the funky soul beat on “Doppio” and sleek “No Doubts” with a bravura and confident, double timing to Royston’s relentless beat on Wayne Shorter’s “Twelve More Bars” and creating rich harmony with Rivera. Sipiagin goes into a rich aria on a quartet take of Shorter’s “Infant Eyes”, and gives space for Hirahara’s acoustic work on the snappy “Hindsight”, providing room for Rivera’s bel canto spotlight on “Novgrorod Bells”. The team creates some dark mooded pieces on the assertive “Dolphin’s View” and the rhythm team rides the whip on the frantic “Rush Hour”. Impressive chops and muscle flexing.