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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    High quality, 6 panel digifile with a velvety soft-touch laminate finish

    Includes unlimited streaming of Criss Cross via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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      $10 USD or more 

     

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

    Comes with album artwork booklet PDF + album cover photo as a jpg
    Purchasable with gift card

      $7 USD  or more

     

1.
2.
Charmed Life 06:23
3.
4.
Exchange 06:46
5.
6.
Mrs PC 05:44
7.
Criss Cross 06:22
8.
Press Gang 04:56
9.
El Barranco 07:55

about

PERSONNEL

Tori Freestone - tenor saxophone, soprano sax, flute
Alcyona Mick - piano
Brigitte Beraha - voice (tracks 1 and 8)

ALBUM CREDITS

Recorded on 2nd October 2017 at Artesuono Studio, Udine, Italy
Mixed and mastered by Stefano Amerio
Produced by Tori Freestone and Alcyona Mick
Executive Producer - Michael Janisch
Artwork - Sophie Moates

credits

released March 23, 2018

ABOUT THE ALBUM

With the playful opening bars of new release Criss Cross, the sublime world of tenor saxophonist and flautist Tori Freestone and pianist Alcyona Mick (plus guest vocalist Brigitte Beraha) is encapsulated through creative intrigue and improvisational dexterity, frequently glinting with mischievous spontaneity. Known for diverse roles in jazz, folk and world music, Freestone and Mick have been friends for years, performing together in different ensembles, including the London Jazz Orchestra. But it was casual duo explorations in music from their combined eclectic influences, taking in the output of Thelonious Monk, which led to an enthusiastic invitation from Manchester Jazz Festival’s artistic director, Steve Mead, to develop the project for live performance in 2015.

“I’d always felt the two of us were like-minded”, explains Freestone. “We were in Tenerife, playing together quite a lot, and it felt so easy and so lovely (on rainy days, we’d just pull out another Monk tune); and we kept saying we should do it more often – and actually made it happen. Quite different from my trio with bassist Dave Manington and drummer Tim Giles – which is specifically chordless and very rhythmic – here we both shape the rhythm in a different way, following whatever direction the music takes us in; and with such amazing piano-playing, I can bring out the harmony in new and existing compositions”. Alcyona Mick reinforces the merits of the collaboration: “There’s plenty of space for creativity; and though a duo can be more challenging, I have much more freedom to use the whole piano – in this case, the beautifully warm, richly dark sound of a Fazioli Concert Grand at Stefano Amerio’s Artesuono studio in Italy”.

In Tori Freestone’s mathematically challenging 8/11 ‘Hermetica’, Brigitte Beraha’s characteristically high, wordless tones intertwine with Brazilian-imbued flute and piano in breathtaking synchronicity, while ‘Charmed Life’ offers a lyrical beauty far from its trio origins as balmy tenor melodies are enfolded by Mick’s sensitively rippling undercurrents. As well as interpreting the inherent quirkiness of ‘Criss Cross’ (“I love how the form of the middle eight is so weird”, says Freestone), the spirit of Monk can also be found in Mick’s strutting, bluesy promenade, ‘Strange Behaviour’; and previously conceived for quintet, and then two pianos, her bustling ‘Exchange’ features complex, dancing keyboard figures and vehement conversations with Freestone’s soprano. The concerto-like breadth of Alcyona’s ‘Goodnight Computer’ demonstrates how they regularly open out on the bandstand, these wayfaring twelve minutes painting fluctuating vistas and moods. Tori’s folk-tune ‘Press Gang’ (from her 2016 release, El Barranco), takes on a new guise, Beraha’s emotive vocal elucidating its dark poetry; and comedic, theme-tune-like ‘Mrs PC’ (from the In the Chop House album) leaps and shrieks with unfettered glee.

“We have great understanding and confidence in each others’ playing”, enthuses Freestone. “In fact, we sometimes find we’ve chosen to express exactly the same thing, prompting the mutual question, ‘How did you know I was going to do that?!’. We like to accept the challenge of whatever is put in front of us, finding a new way of getting inside the music; and Alcyona’s been working a lot on the world music scene recently, so it’s great to have her back on the jazz stage. Though the duo format can present a degree of vulnerability, this project especially engenders warmth, enjoyment and openness amongst the intensity and complexity. It’s both fun and heavy – a developing journey through the material and styles we love, all with the sheer joy of playing. On Criss Cross, we are delighted to have covered that range of emotions, which is so important to us”.

PRESS HIGHLIGHTS

"The no-hiding-place exposure of an improvising sax/piano duo is a tough call but the British pairing of pianist Alcyona Mick and tenor saxophonist Tori Freestone make light of it."
The Guardian

"E​legant, engaging and original music, played with magnificent panache.​"
★★★★​ All about Jazz​

"Rooted in quirky invention."
★★★★ Jazzwise Magazine

"​A fine listen​."​
Bebop Spoken Here

​"W​ide-ranging, empathetic and quirkily humorous​."
Jazz Views​

"Composed textures - rubato motifs, rhythmic themes, melodic embellishments and instinctive, unbridled improvisation."
Concerto Magazine

​"A warm and distinctive duo recording. The musical chemistry between the pair is pleasingly obvious throughout."
★★★★​ The Jazz Mann​

"Get hold of Criss Cross... Full of originality and joy."
Morning Star

"These two agile and mutually attuned musical minds have created a brilliant duo album with pace, wit, rhythm and emotional depth."
Hi-Fi News & Record Review

"Criss Cross blooms into something rather special... There is warmth and openness to this music that completely absorbs the listener... Without a doubt one of the finest albums of the year."
Jazz Journal

“Here fiery, there lyrical... Simple touching melodies and full of wit insight and delight.”
★★★★ Jazzthetik Magazine

“A captivating hybrid of serene elegance and daring.”
Musikreviews Magazine

“Elements of Latin, folk and far eastern music influence this diverse album... Something for everyone.”
Musik an sich

An atmospheric album that can’t be pigeonholed into a specific genre.”
Der Hörspiegel

"There is a rare alchemy between the improvisers, a real synergy... Criss Cross is a beautiful discovery."
Citizen Jazz

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Tori Freestone & Alcyona Mick London, UK

The Whirlwind Artist Page for the Criss Cross series of albums from Alcyona Mick & Tori Freestone.

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