Russian-born New Yorker Sipiagin already has 13 CDs as leader to his credit plus two as co-leader of Opus 5, with which he tours Europe. His main US gigs are with the Mingus Big Band and various Dave Holland groups. This, for Gonzalo Rubalcaba’s label 5Passion, is arguably the most important in his career to date. His frontline partner (also with the Mingus Band and Opus 5) is Seamus Blake, but it’s the truly all-star rhythm section of Rubalcaba, Holland and Antonio Sánchez that at times dictates the pace here and puts pressure on the horns. Sipiagin’s seven originals, as usual, are based on impressions of places he’s visited. There are always hints of melody, but mostly one is conscious of short fanfaric horn parts either announcing or ending lengthy solos. The overall concept probably has the Miles-Shorter group as a general sat-nav, with Alex sounding more Davis-like than on previous albums and Blake’s soulful restraint has occasional snatches of Shorterisms. Rubalcaba is superb – mesmerising in flashes of technical brilliance, but equally so in his tender moments or when comping inspirationally behind solos by Holland, who is wonderful throughout and Sánchez, who has never sounded as subtle, spell-binding or swinging on record. A very ‘now’ section feel. ‘With the Tide’, the title tune and particularly the 11-minute ‘End of…’ are especially good, but so is the whole CD. There’s also a bonus: a specially composed Pat Metheny ballad, which brings out the best in Blake and Sipiagin.