Record Reviews

REA BAR-NESS ~ REMEMBER & FORGET NOT ON LABEL (Barcode: 080000049018) ~ ISRAEL ~ Jazz Recorded: 2005 Released: 2006 There seem to be no limits to the explosion of musical talent emerging on the Israeli scene since the beginning of the 2000’s. This exceedingly wonderful debut album by drummer / composer Rea Bar-NessFind albums by this artist is so good that I (with so many years of Jazz behind my ears) could not believe I was listening to an album by young Israeli Jazz musicians when I heard it for the first time. This sounds as good as any Jazz ensemble featuring top world musicians. I know it sounds rather incredible, but it is 100 % true and very easily verifiable – just listen to it. Bar-Ness composed all the music and selected a superb team of musicians to perform it, which includes Omer AvitalFind albums by this artist / Gilad AbroFind albums by this artist – acoustic bass, Avishai CohenFind albums by this artist – trumpet, Omri MorFind albums by this artist – piano, Amos HoffmanFind albums by this artist – guitar and oud and Asaf YuriaFind albums by this artist – tenor sax. Omer Avital is an amazing bass player of the same magnitude as Avishai CohenFind albums by this artist, who is now considered one of the top bass players in the world. Amos Hoffman is an extremely gifted guitar player, but also a virtuoso oud player and he recently released a superb solo album featuring the oud (Middle-Eastern string instrument), where he plays some divine World music. Hoffman oud contributes some Middle-Eastern colorings to the album, but these are very subtle and tasty, which means that this is music is still very firmly based on the Jazz idiom and not moving towards Jazz-World Fusion, as many other Israeli albums do lately. If this is Rea’s debut album I can hardly wait for his next album. I have not heard anything that good in ages. If you are a Jazz lover – this is an absolute must!

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DANIEL ZAMIR ~ AMEN TAV 8 (Barcode: 7290010781539) ~ ISRAEL ~ Jazz Recorded: 2006 Released: 2006 This is the 4th album by brilliant Israeli saxophonist / composer Daniel ZamirFind albums by this artist, one of most renowned Israeli Jazz musicians born in the country, who also managed to establish an international career. Zamir was born to a secular family, but during his stay in the US re-discovered Jewish religion and became an orthodox Jew. Zamir lived in the US since 2000 and returned to Israel in 2006, where he now lives, writes music, performs and records. During his stay in US he was "discovered" by John ZornFind albums by this artist and eventually recorded four (so far) albums for Zorn´s TzadikFind albums on this label label. This is his first album recorded and released in Israel. His music is a wonderful mixture of Klezmer, Jewish music, Eastern European and of course Jazz, which is completely unique. His technical fluency and unlimited expressionist powers place his among the world´s saxophone virtuosi. He now plays the soprano saxophone exclusively and his sound is often reminiscent of John ColtraneFind albums by this artist´s. This album includes music composed entirely written by him and he´s accompanied by some of the best Israeli Jazz players: Omri MorFind albums by this artist – piano, Omer AvitalFind albums by this artist – bass and Daniel FriedmanFind albums by this artist – drums. Israeli trumpeter Avishai CohenFind albums by this artist guests on several tracks. The album is a beautiful listening experience to every sensitive music lover, with everybody being able to discover the many different facets of this great music. Wholeheartedly recommended!

CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend