Save for a major revamp of "Lullaby Of The Leaves", trombonist CONRAD HERWIG's fifth Criss Cross release, Land Of Shadows, is a programme of originals performed by a hard-swinging sextet that features trumpeter TIM HAGANS, tenorist BEN SCHACHTER and Criss Cross regulars pianist DAVID KIKOSKI, bassist JAMES GENUS and drummer JEFF 'TAIN' WATTS. A veteran of the Mingus Big Band and Eddie Palmieri's Latin combo, Herwig continues to turn heads by displaying virtuosity of the highest order.