Record Reviews

JOËLLE LÉANDRE ~ LIVE IN ISRAEL KADIMA COLLECTIVE 17 (Barcode: 634479851179) ~ FRANCE ~ Jazz Recorded: 2007 Released: 2008 French bassist Joëlle LéandreFind albums by this artist is one of a relatively few women pioneers on the Free Jazz and Improvised Music scene to earn a legendary status. Her activities on the scene have brought her in contact with the most distinguished performers, both European and American (such as Anthony BraxtonFind albums by this artist). She also worked in the field of contemporary Classical music with composers like Pierre BoulezFind albums by this artist and John CageFind albums by this artist. In 2007 Joëlle visited Israel and her live performances there have been recorded and are now issued on this double CD. The first CD includes 7 solo bass (and voice) performances and the second CD offers her playing in duo, trio and sextet settings with the top Israeli Improvised Music artists: Jean Claude JonesFind albums by this artist – bass, Steve HorensteinFind albums by this artist – baritone and soprano sax, flute, Sameer MakhoulFind albums by this artist – oud and voice, Assif TsaharFind albums by this artist – bass clarinet, Daniel SaridFind albums by this artist – piano, Hagai FershtmanFind albums by this artist – drums, Albert BegerFind albums by this artist – tenor sax and Ariel ShiboletFind albums by this artist – soprano sax. These wonderful musical moments are some of the highlights of the Improvised Music created in Israel, a small but quite lively scene led by Jones and consistently documented on his Kadima CollectiveFind albums on this label label. Connoisseurs of the genre will be quite delighted to hear this stuff.

CD 2 Recommend To A Friend

ARIEL SHIBOLET ~ UNTITLED (1959) KADIMA COLLECTIVE 09 ~ ISRAEL ~ Jazz Recorded: 2006 Released: 2006 This album brings together the Jerusalem based Kadima Collective member saxophonist Ariel Shibolet with four Bay Area Californians (Aurora Josephson – vocals, Jen Baker – trombone, Scott R. Looney – piano and Damon Smith – bass). The players got together one afternoon and performed the music captured here without any preparations in advance. “Natural, home-brewed, organic music” is what Shibolet calls it, and so it is. Of course the five players, being all free improvisers and familiar with the concept of spontaneity had no problem finding a common language creating music together. The result is quite surprising, presenting a wide range of musical concepts and interplay, all within the free jazz / contemporary improvised music vein. All track titles were given names of paintings by the great American artist Mark Rothko and the portraits of the players were drawn by Aurora – a nice touch pointing out the close relationship of different aspects of Art and Culture. Adventurous music for adventurous listeners.

CD-R 1 Recommend To A Friend

ARIEL SHIBOLET / BETWEEN THE STRINGS TRIO ~ LIVE AT THE TEL AVIV MUSEUM KADIMA COLLECTIVE 13 (Barcode: 634479391576) ~ ISRAEL ~ Jazz Recorded: 2006 Released: 2007 2nd album by Israeli saxophonist Ariel ShiboletFind albums by this artist, this time in cooperation with the Between The Strings TrioFind albums by this artist (Jean Claude JonesFind albums by this artist – bass, Daniel HoffmanFind albums by this artist – violin and Nori JacobyFind albums by this artist – viola), recorded live at the Tel Aviv Museum. The concert includes three parts, starting with a solo soprano saxophone performance by Ariel, continued by a piece by the string trio and concluded by a quartet performance by Ariel with the trio. Over 61 minutes of purely improvised music, challenging and difficult as always, but deeply rewarding to the disciples of the genre. Ariel’s playing is deeply rooted in the tradition of the late period John ColtraneFind albums by this artist, Steve LacyFind albums by this artist and Eric DolphyFind albums by this artist, based on complete control of the instrument, virtuosity and of course relentless passion. The balance between Ariel and the string trio, as well as their cooperative group improvisation is truly inspiring. Contrary to popular opinion improvised music is definitely still alive and kicking, and the fact that it still thrives here in Israel (although abandoned in other places) makes me especially proud, proving the multi-cultural openness of our society.

CD 1 Mini-Sleeve Recommend To A Friend

VARIOUS ARTISTS ~ WHITE NIGHT FESTIVAL 2006 KADIMA COLLECTIVE 11 (Barcode: 634479549090) ~ ISRAEL ~ Jazz Recorded: 2006 Released: 2007 The Annual “White Night” Festival in Tel Aviv is Israel’s only cultural event dedicated to Improvised Music and Free Jazz. It is a twelve-hour musical marathon promoting creative, improvised music and facilitating collaborations between Israeli Artists and artists from abroad. It also fosters the development of young musicians, exposing their work to the world. The 2006 event was the second year this beautiful event took place and hopefully the tradition will continue in the years to come. This album presents a selection of magic moments captured live during the festival’s performances, all quite different from each other but all fascinating and worthy of preserving for posterity. The participants include all the important Israeli improvisers active on the local scene: Harold RubinFind albums by this artist, Jean-Claude JonesFind albums by this artist, Steve HorensteinFind albums by this artist, Ariel ShiboletFind albums by this artist, Vyacheslav GanelinFind albums by this artist, Albert BegerFind albums by this artist and the Spheres DuoFind albums by this artist. Visiting musicians from Europe and US include John TchicaiFind albums by this artist, Kinetic TrioFind albums by this artist (Poland) and others. This is an extremely important document of the Israeli Improvised Music scene and anybody open-minded enough to expose himself to some challenging musical experiences should enjoy this music immensely.

CD-R 1 Mini-Sleeve Recommend To A Friend