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Zan Stewart on Yotam Silberstein “Next Page”…

www.nj.com

Next Page
Yotam Silberstein
Posi-Tone Records

Israeli-born guitarist and composer Yotam Silberstein’s new CD is part spiffy organ grooves, part smart modern jazz feel. The exemplary organist Sam Yahel, drummer Willie Jones III and creamy-toned tenor saxophonist Chris Cheek are the welcome others. The leader’s “Borsht” is a comely waltz, with Silberstein displaying his warm, gleaming sound and weaving well-constructed lines into flowing musical stories. Yahel and Jones back with aplomb; the organist, especially, is another beguiling improviser.

A dancing lilt underpins Silberstein’s “Blues for 007,” a blues waltz, as well as his pretty “Jalastra.” “Weekend in Mizpe” is tender and sweet, with emotive Silberstein and Cheek; Jobim’s “Ligia” is likewise heartfelt. Charlie Parker’s “Cheryl” shows off the leader’s bebop acumen, and includes some riveting chordal passages.
-Zan Stewart

 

 

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Music and More: Ralph Bowen….

jazzandblues.blogspot.com

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 03, 2009

Ralph Bowen – Dedicated (Positone, 2009)

I can’t help but be a homer and root for saxophonist Ralph Bowen who teaches at Rutgers and gigs quite a bit in my area (I actually booked him to play in my Library a few years ago.) This is a nice straight ahead album of confident modern jazz, with Sean Jones on trumpet, Adam Rogers on guitar, John Patitucci on bass and Antonio Sanchez on drums. “Canary Drums” opens the album with a mid-tempo groove. A flowing saxophone solo follows the melody building nicely to a cascading solo. “Qaiyam” burns hard with Bowen digging deep on tenor saxophone, splashy guitar accents and the bass and drums engine driving the music along in a muscular manner. It’s a textbook perfect piece of modern bebop. “Mr. Bebop” keeps that same groove going with some impressive ensemble playing, and a nice deep confident (but not smug) sounding tenor saxophone solo. Jones chimes in and stretches out on a blustery solo, and Rogers adds a tasteful solo of his own. The group comes back to improvise together nicely and take the tune out. It’s easy to imagine this tune being a favorite of the band when playing live, there’s a lot of room for everyone to blow and add their ideas to the common good. “Prof.” is a pleasant mid-tempo tune with a lyrical saxophone melody that evolves into a biting solo with some over blowing for emphasis. Rogers takes a fast paced and complex, yet understated solo, with the tone of his guitar seeming subdued. “E.R.” solo saxophone plaintive and bluesy, acting like a solo coda or encore to the album. This was an enjoyable album of modern based bebop jazz. The group keeps the energy level high and both the solos and the ensemble playing is at a very high level.

 

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MUSIC: ‘Blues for Brother Ray’ & ‘Hometown’

valdostadailytimes.com

May 28, 2009

MUSIC: ‘Blues for Brother Ray’ & ‘Hometown’

By Dean Poling

VDT View — BLUES FOR BROTHER RAY

Jim Rotondi

Trumpet player Jim Rotondi’s new CD is a jazzy homage to his mentor, the late Ray Charles. Rotondi once worked for the man whom he called “Mr. C.” Rotondi started as a child with piano and switched to trumpet at the age of 12. At 14, he heard the music of Clifford Brown, which changed his life. In 1984, he won first place in the International Trumpet Guild’s Jazz Trumpet Competition. His career has included playing on his own, with many musicians, and a stint with Ray Charles. This album’s title is as good as its name. Featuring Rotondi’s trumpet, “Blues for Brother Ray” soulfully moves through Charles hits and others such as “What I Say,” “Baby It’s Cold Outside,” “Cry Me a River,” “Georgia.”

HOMETOWN

Sam Yahel

Sam Yahel moves from the Hammond B-3 to piano in this bold CD. To those familiar with Yahel’s Hammond work, this move may seem new, but, for Yahel, this CD marks a return to his first instrument, the piano. “I’ve always considered myself a much more natural organ player than a piano player,” Yahel says. “I consider myself a very good piano player, but I have to work hard at it. … It varies from night to night. One night I might feel like I’m playing the piano well, another night the instrument is kicking my butt.” Songs on “Hometown” include John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy,” Thelonious Monk’s “Think of One,” Duke Ellington’s “Blue Pepper,” as well as original compositions such as Yahel’s “Hometown,” “So Long,” and “Oumou.”

 

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jazz.com review of SAM YAHEL: OUMOU

www.jazz.com

SAM YAHEL: OUMOU

TRACK

Oumou

ARTIST

Sam Yahel (piano)

CD

Hometown (Positone 8048)

Buy Track

Musicians:

Sam Yahel (piano), Matt Penman (bass), Jochen Rueckert(drums).

Composed by Sam Yahel

Recorded: Brooklyn, NY, October 22, 2007

Sam_yahel--hometown 

RATING: 89/100 (learn more)

Sam Yahel is best known as the electronic keyboard specialist from Joshua Redman�s Elastic Band. By his own admission, he has always considered himself an organ player, so this track is an interesting example of how he approaches the acoustic piano. �Oumou� is an inspired, rhythmically delicious Yahel composition that is introduced by Penman stating the repeating melody line on the lower register of his instrument. He is soon joined by what sounds like Yahel playing the muted strings of his piano in a delicate pizzicato accompaniment. Undaunted by the lack of electronics, Yahel has found a way to create a texturally interesting effect within the confines of his purely acoustical environment. As the rhythmically swaying tune is allowed to expand over Penman�s throbbing bass, Yahel�s piano improvisations build tension. Ruckert skillfully adds his own brand of subtle cymbal and tom-tom work to the mix. Yahel�s increasingly rapid right hand arpeggios erupt to the surface like a bubbling geyser of creativity until he slowly releases the pressure with some syncopated chording. At the coda, Penman�s bass and Yahel�s renewed pizzicato accompaniment fades to silence. A brief glimpse into the acoustic promise of this artist.

Reviewer: Ralph A. Miriello

 

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A Review of Next Page from AAJ.com


By J Hunter

Next Page has been pegged as an organ trio disc. The problem with that is saxman Chris Cheek appears on five of the disc’s nine cuts. True, keyboardist Sam Yahel never lays out, but to completely dismiss Cheek’s role in Yotam Silberstein’s second release as a leader—even for simplicity’s sake—is to ignore a range of color that helps make Next special.

Simplicity is what this date is all about, as Silberstein’s unadorned hollow-body guitar work freely invites comparisons to releases from the heyday of Blue Note Records. In that light, when Silberstein adds Cheek’s multi-faceted tenor to the mix, one specific Blue Note release springs to mind: Grant Green’s Grantstand (Blue Note, 1961), where Green and then-employer “Brother” Jack McDuff teamed with tenor man Yusef Lateef and drummer Al Harewood to create that contradiction in terms, an underrated classic.

Like fellow countryman Roni Ben-Hur, Silberstein eschews any effects not available before 1965, which makes his waltzing opener “Borsht” an easy doppelganger for a lost track from Green’s prime. Silberstein’s licks have the same elegant, enticing quality that stood Green in good stead until his death in 1978. Willie Jones III keeps the drums minimal, giving his leader plenty of room to move; Yahel is right with Jones in the “Man Who Wasn’t There” contest, fading in just long enough to make a point before retreating into the background. Yahel’s attack isn’t as rich as McDuff’s, but the modern textures Yahel gives “Borsht” (and the entire date) is one factor that makes Next a 21st-century heavyweight, and not a wannabe dreaming of a long-gone 52nd Street.

Another 21st-century factor is Cheek, one of this generation’s more interesting reed players. On the Silberstein original “Jalastra,” Cheek displays the spare, site-specific sound he’s best known for. Between his work and Yahel’s own bubbling contributions, “Jalastra” is the most contemporary track on the date. Cheek’s initial appearance on Peter Tinturin’s “Foolin’ Myself” has an exaggerated quality that could be seen as parody; in actuality, it’s really just a latter-day approach to the piece that lets Silberstein launch a tantalizing counter before the tune’s first solo spot even arrives.

That’s not to say Cheek doesn’t get with the Old School program: With a little more fuzz, his solo on the lush ballad “Canção” could have sprouted from the bell of another Blue Note legend, Dexter Gordon. Yahel’s got a right to play the blues because he does it so darned well, as he demonstrates on the next great action-movie theme song, “Blues for 007,” and he puts a little extra swirl into “Ani Eshtagea,” a song from Silberstein’s childhood in Israel. While Jones seems to relish his support role on Next, he steps out in fine bombastic style on the out section of a sizzling “If Ever I Would Leave You.”

Despite all the Grant Green parallels, Yotam Silberstein isn’t piggy-backing on memories. He’s forging his own path with skill and style, and Next Page could lead to one long, good book.

Track listing: Borsht; Foolin

Personnel: Yotam Silberstein: guitar; Sam Yahel: organ; Willie Jones III: drums; Chris Cheek: tenor sax.

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Another AAJ review for Yotam Silberstein “Next Page”…

www.allaboutjazz.com

Yotam Silberstein began playing guitar when he was 10. His first interests were rock and pop, but five years later he began studying jazz. After he finished high school in Tel Aviv, Silberstein moved to New York City. He continued pursuing jazz and, over the years, has played with Kenny BarronAvishai CohenRoy Hargrove and John Faddis among others. Silberstein made his recording debut with The Arrival (Fresh Sound New Talent, 2004).

Here, Silberstein finds a comfortable niche in mainstream jazz. He has locked into the vocabulary with a well-timed sense of rhythm. His playing is persuasive, his notes eloquent and juicy enough to essay time signatures and shape the music tastefully.

“Borsht” serves up swing. Silberstein keeps the tempo in constant shift, accenting on his single note runs, his chords the shadow of his ruminations. It is a salivating start to the program that is made all the more ripe by Sam Yahel, whose legato lines on the organ stimulate the drive.

Chris Cheek plays with a deep sense of belonging on his solo spots. One of the most effective comes on the ballad “Weekend in Mizpe,” which basks in the glow of his tenor. Silberstein sets up a seamless tangent, biting down and then letting loose a flurry of notes. The parallels between him and Cheek are obtuse, yet convincing.

The hard bop of “Cheryl” sees the band is in its element, never faltering in the blistering pace it sets up. The three-way conversations between Silberstein, Cheek and Yahel are heady as they trade riffs and ideas. Willie Jones III is a crackling rhythm machine, the final cog in a well-oiled machine.

A solid performance from the band, and a mark for Silberstein on his continuing journey.

 

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CDs of Note: Yotam Silberstein “Next Page”…

kenfrancklingjazznotes.blogspot.com

Yotam Silberstein, Next Page (Posi-Tone)
Fans of Peter Bernstein and Howard Alden are likely to love this one, from a player of the next generation in the mainstream swing style, enhanced by his modern sense of harmonics and personal sense of phrasing. Yotam Silberstein grew up in Israel and his playing sometimes is colored by his Middle Eastern roots. The New School graduate and Thelonious Monk guitar competition semifinalist (2005) is joined on this session by Sam Yahel on organ, and Willie Jones III on drum, with Chris Cheek on tenor sax on five of the 10 tracks. So it is half organ-guitar trio and half a quartet project.

An array of originals are complemented by fresh takes on two standards, “Foolin’ Myself” and “If Ever I Would Leave You,” as well as “Ani Eshtagea,” a Venezuelan folk song performed by many Israeli singers. The latter tune and Silberstein’s energetic “Borsht” and reflective “Cancao “are standouts. This is a player fast on the rise. I heard him in April with Sylvia Cuenca’s band, and he deserves a close listen, whether with his own band or working with others.

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A Review of Spike Wilner’s Three to Go from AAJ.com

by George Kanzler

At a small jazz festival a few years ago the advertised theme was a celebration of Duke Ellington’s music. But some featured acts, including one highly regarded younger pianist, obviously hadn’t taken the theme very seriously, his only begrudging nod to it being a rendition of the jam session standby, “C-Jam Blues,” hardly a tune representative of Ellington’s artistry. Pianist Spike Wilner demonstrates a better, more thoughtful and creative approach in the two pieces of Ellingtonia included on this urbane quintet CD.

One track is Duke’s fetching ballad “Brown Penny,” originally a song from the 1946 Broadway production of Beggar’s Holiday, the melody treated caressingly by Ryan Kisor’s trumpet and Joel Frahm’s tenor sax, framing a lyrically limpid Wilner solo. The other is “Reflections in D,” a piano feature recorded in a trio by Duke that Wilner affectionately fleshes out to a quintet version, further revealing the dimensions of the sumptuous theme. Like those two surprising examples of Ellingtonia, the rest of the album is marked by Wilner’s fresh, or freshly imagined, repertoire choices and loving attention to detail in arrangements that draw equally on the best traditions of swing and bop, suggesting a kinship to the jazz recordings of the ’50s that featured musicians and arrangers conversant in both idioms.

The CD opener is a hard bop treatment of the 1929 Jack King/Dorothy Parker song “How Am I To Know?” (To find out how it sounded as a ballad, see Ava Gardner sing it in the film Pandora and the Flying Dutchman). “The Breeze and I” playfully winks at the tune’s lounge lizard popularity; “The Lamp Is Low” swings with a gently rocking edge and Dizzy Gillespie’s “Con Alma” eschews the Latin tinge to become a straight, rolling jazz waltz, Kisor’s solo recalling the poignancy of Chet Baker. A highlight throughout is the logic and lucidity of Wilner’s solos, most of them clearly drawing on the melodies as well as harmonies of the material.

Track listing: How Am I to Know; Three to Go; Brown Penny; The Breeze and I; The Lamp Is Low; Black Forest; Reflections in D; Con Alma; Mr. Mags.

Personnel: Spike Wilner: piano; Ryan Kisor: trumpet; Joel Frahm: tenor sax; Ugonna Okegwo: bass; Montez Coleman: drums.

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Heres a short write-up about “In the Paint” by David Binney and Alan Ferber…


David Binney / Alan Ferber – In The Paint

Release date: April 21st 2009

Availability: CD, MP3 Download, iTunes

David Binney’s excellent work with David Simon (“Afinidad”, “Fiestas De Agosto”, “Oceanos”) produced landmarks in intelligent, immersive jazz. The relatively new partnership with Alan Ferber returns to that productive vein after the 2006 departure with Bill Frisell on “Out Of Airplanes”.

The sextet – David Binney (alto sax), Alan Ferber (trombone), Peter Schlamb (vibes), John Escreet (piano), Thomas Morgan (bass), Gerald Cleaver (drums) – is full voiced, exploring distinctive harmonisation between alto sax and trombone.

“Paris”, a clear stand-out on an album of many successes, features new vibes player Peter Schlamb to great effect.

But there are strong, memorable compositions (the upbeat opener “Growin’ Up”, the more meditative title track and “Everybody’s Wonderland”, the Ornette Coleman-like “La Tequira”, the closer, “Our Inventions”) throughout a very fine album.

Highly recommended.

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Review of Playdate from allmusic.com

www.allmusic.comby Ken Dryden
Playdate is a reunion of three childhood friends, pianist Noah Baerman, saxophonist Wayne Escoffery, and guitarist Amanda Monaco. Though Baerman is listed first on the cover, this project, which includes drummer Vinnie Sperrazza and bassist Henry Lugo, feels more like a collective project, with no one musician appearing dominant. Escoffrey is likely the most familiar to jazz fans, having recorded extensively as a leader; with his wife, vocalist Carolyn Leonhart; and also with the Mingus Big Band — though Baerman and Monaco have each released several CDs of their own. Monaco contributed the conversational post-bop vehicle “Copper Tone,” while Baerman’s “Remember the Goldfish” is a playful cooker. Escoffery’s infectious soprano and Monaco’s engaging guitar make up the centerpiece of Sperrazza’s African-flavored “Milan Kundera.” Two pieces came from outside the group. The loping ballad “Baby Man” was penned by the late John Stubblefield in honor of his newborn son back in the 1970s; it became a favorite of the late Mary Lou Williams. This version is also a tender affair, with lush, soulful tenor and intimate guitar. “Yes, Yes, Oh Yes!” was penned by former Art Blakey pianist, bandleader, and jazz educator James Williams, an overlooked gem he recorded near the end of his life. Playdate is a rewarding session that merits a follow-up date.