In The Cross is trombonist Wycliffe Gordon's fifth outing as a leader on Criss Cross and perhaps his most personal statement. Augmenting a strong roots-to-modern jazz sextet with a gospel choir from Georgia, his home state, Gordon presents a joyful noise, referencing the vocabularies of Armstrong, Ellington and Jelly Roll Morton with an eye keenly honed in on the present day.

 Pollwinning trombonist Conrad Herwig and acclaimed trumpeter Brian Lynch join together for a burning program of Latin Jazz treatments of compositions by the great John Coltrane. Herwig and Lynch use the unique rapport they've achieved through their many years of association with the Latin master Eddie Palmieri to pilot their working group of Latin Jazz all-stars with fire, finesse, and flair. Their illustrious bandmates are baritone saxist/flautist Mario Rivera, pianist Edsel Gomez, bassist John Benitez, drummer Robby Ameen, and conga player Richie Flores. With all new arrangements by Herwig and Lynch, this CD is a most worthy follow-up to Herwig's Grammy nominated "The Latin Side of John Coltrane".

 For his fourth disc for Criss Cross drummer/leader Ralph Peterson has reconstituted The Fo'tet, his critically acclaimed forward-looking quartet featuring vibraphonist Bryan Carrott. Founding member clarinetist Don Byron returns after a nearly 15 years hiatus to revisit the group's truly unique, original sound. Percussionist Eguie Castillo augments the band to help it fuse Latin rhythms into the mix, including a Puerto Rican plena arrangement of Joe Henderson's Shade of Jade and a Brazilian samba flavored reworking of the leader's Keep it Simple. The bassist is Belden Bullock.

 Speaking eloquently to the benefits of keeping a working band together, One For All continues to add some distinctive flair to the mainstream tradition while building a singular book of originals and uniquely arranged standards. Blueslike, their fifth effort for Criss Cross, finds John Coltrane firmly in mind with an uptempo romp through Giant Steps, and a bossa-inflected Naima. Rounding out this program of jazz standards are a few band originals and an updated arrangement of the Bacharach trinket In Between the Heartaches.

 As he has done on his three previous Criss Cross dates, Russian trumpeter Alex Sipiagin brings together a cohort of New York's finest - here reedmen Chris Potter and David Binney, keyboardist David Kikoski, bassist Scott Colley, and drummer Gene Jackson - to perform on Equilibrium. Comprising seven stimulating Sipiagin originals, a Monk tune and a bossa, the album features not only the ensemble interplay and virtuosic soloing we've come to expect from Sipiagin's albums, but also several tunes on which the trumpeter brings his rich imagination and ravishing tone to the forefront.