What a pleasure to be able to round off a year with a new release on my own label! This excellent album by Israeli saxophonist / composer / arranger Ofer Shapiro is a real treat not only for me, but for every Jazz lover around the globe. At the time when Jazz seems to be lost and the majority of Jazz albums recorded are simply going nowhere, this album is a pillar of sanity, pointing towards where Jazz should be going. Beautiful compositions, perfect and sensitive delivery, eschewing gimmickry and show off, this is simply a perfect example of music done for the sake of music. Neither Ofer nor I had any intentions of proving anything here. This was simply a piece of music, which Ofer had to record and I had to release, as it would have been a crime to leave it unearthed and as a result not enjoyed by many. The other members of the quintet, three Israeli musicians: guitarist Ofer Ganor, bassist Assaf Hakimi and drummer Shay Zelman, and the great American baritone saxophonist Gary Smulyan (who was invited in advance by Ofer to take part in this recording during his visit in Israel) are all seasoned players, but the chemistry displayed here goes way beyond simple skillfulness, these guys really cook! The individual compositions were the first thing that really caught my attention, reminding me immediately of the great Jazz standards composed by such Giants as Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock in their heyday. Therefore when I saw in the notes, which Ofer sent to me, that the first tune is a tribute to Wayne, a fuzzy warm feeling filled my chest – we were on the same wavelength. Although the album creates the impression of being recorded sometime in the 1960s (stylistically, mind you, not sonically, as the recording quality is just superb), it is definitely not dated, on the contrary it is modern in every way. It simply synthesizes the best of the Jazz heritage and legacy into a modern form, preserving the beauty and the gutsy feel and adding contemporary sound and approach, mainly as far as the arrangements and the individual improvisations are concerned. I'm proud of being a part of this project and can't imagine any Jazz lover not enjoying this music to the fullest. As I said in my short liner notes: "It's an immense pleasure, as usual, to release another excellent Israeli Jazz album. The maturing Israeli Jazz scene produces many exceptional Artists, Ofer Shapiro being a fine example of this phenomenon. Listen and enjoy!"
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