Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Avishai Cohen: Almah

11

Avishai Cohen: Almah

By

Sign in to view read count
Avishai Cohen: Almah
After a dozen albums as leader and a career that has seen him perform with Chick Corea, Mark Guiliana and Alicia Keys, Almah finds bassist Avishai Cohen returning to his first loves. Those "first loves," according to the press notes, are classical music and, more particularly, chamber music. Almah is a return to these loves, but with a healthy dose of Middle Eastern inspiration and at least one certified jazz standard (Thad Jones' "A Child Is Born," which receives a graceful and mellow interpretation here).

Although the credits state "All songs written and composed by Avishai Cohen" the exceptions to this rule are in the majority. Six tunes come from composers such as Jones, Moshe Vilensky and Nachum Hayman. Five tunes are Cohen's, including "Linearity," which combines with Vladimir Zakharov's "On A Black Horse."

The return to first loves means that Almah is much more of a classical music album than it is a jazz album. The instrumental line up puts the emphasis on strings, oboe and English horn. "Overture 'Noam' Op.1"—a floating, beautifully-paced, composition from Cohen—gives a strong hint just by its title. Yoram Lachish's oboe features strongly, while Cohen's decision to use two violas beefs up the string quartet's middle and lower registers.

The jazz breaks through—Cohen's electric bass on "On A Black Horse/Linearity" or his punchy pizzicato double bass on "Song For My Brother," the drumming of Ofri Nehemya, Nitai Hershkovits' sparkling piano solo on Hayman's "Kefel." It never overwhelms the classical influences however: but at its best this music combines its stylistic influences beautifully—most exquisitely on Cohen's "Hayo Hayta."

If the neat classification of music by genre is crucial, then Almah will prove to be an exercise in frustration. If the pleasure of listening to beautifully-crafted music, beautifully played, is paramount then Almah fits the bill.

Track Listing

Overture “Noam” Op.1; Song For My Brother; On A Black Horse/Linearity; A Child Is Born; Arab Medley; Southern Lullaby; Hayo Hayta; Shlosre; Kefel; Kumi Venetze Hasadeh.

Personnel

Avishai Cohen: double bass, electric bass, vocals (10); Nitai Hershkovits: piano; Ofri Nehemya: drums; Cordelia Hagmann: violin; Amit Landau: viola; Noam Haimovitz Weinschel: viola; Yael Shapira: cello; Yoram Lachish: oboe, English horn; Amir Bresler: drums (10); Keren Tannenbaum: violin (10); Galia Hai: viola (10).

Album information

Title: Almah | Year Released: 2014 | Record Label: Parlophone

Comments

Tags

Concerts


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Love Is Passing Thru
Roberto Magris
Candid
Sunny Five
Inside Colours Live
Julie Sassoon

Popular

Eagle's Point
Chris Potter
Light Streams
John Donegan - The Irish Sextet

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.