(Perhaps) No record label in jazz history has focused on cultivating a singular sound like Criss Cross Jazz. Since 1980, the Dutch label has released hundreds of albums extending the jazz traditions of the 1950s and 60s, with bold yet modest interrogations of the textures, forms, and tones that make hard-bop and straight-ahead jazz so pleasant to hold and so accessible across generations.
Criss Cross’s discography is an alternate history where jazz ensembles won a hard-fought battle to be central to the cultural discourse and septets perform for 21st-century martini-drinking guests at hotels on the moon.
Solid Jackson, Criss Cross’s 2024 release, is delightful. It features modern jazz luminaries and asks what they would sound like if transported… More