Jazz Articles about Omer Avital

Omer Avital: Free Forever

by Charles Walker
May 17, 2011

Omer AvitalFree ForeverSmalls Records2011 Bassist Omer Avital is not a household name. Despite a surge of media coverage about the rise of Israeli expats on the New York jazz scene, despite playing a central role in a variety of ensembles at the now-beloved Smalls jazz club, and despite appearing on several dozen recordings, Avital's name continues to register as little more than a faint echo in the background of the jazz ...

Omer Avital: Arrival

by Ernest Barteldes
October 11, 2007

Though the picture on this disc's cover might bring to mind some kind of 1970s folk-rock star, the music inside has nothing to do with that. The Israeli-born bassist weaves through a variety of feels, from simple funky beats to more complex rhythmical patterns with some Latin-inspired moments in between. On “Big Time, Avital begins with a heavily syncopated bass line for his sextet to follow, the piece running just under four minutes in a showcase for ...

Omer Avital Group: Room To Grow

by J Hunter
August 1, 2007

In 1996, the Omer Avital Group was in transition. Due to their increasing workload outside the band, Avital was forced to replace original members Ali Jackson and Mark Turner. Losing musicians of that quality would have crippled other groups; but if Room To Grow (recorded live at Smalls the following year) is any indication, the band didn't miss a beat when drummer Joe Strasser and tenor player Grant Stewart took their places.

Room To Grow has only three tracks--one original ...

Omer Avital Group: Room to Grow

by Tom Greenland
June 3, 2007

Opening with the soul-full call of the acoustic bass, Omer Avital's Room to Grow speaks from and to the heart with the very first note. Recorded live in early 1997, the album is the second in a series on Smalls Records documenting the bassist's growth as an instrumentalist, composer, arranger and bandleader. Like its predecessor, Asking No Permission, Room features a four-saxophone sextet, retaining the services of Greg Tardy (tenor) and Myron Walden (alto) from the original group, with additional ...

Omer Avital Group: Room to Grow

by Jim Santella
February 8, 2007

Recorded 1997 at Smalls in New York, this session maintains the growth that was spawned by the late John Coltrane thirty to forty years earlier. Along with the traditional elements that made their way into jazz from European classical music, Omer Avital's ensembles add Middle Eastern ties that broaden the harmonic horizon and create fresh new attire. Theirs is an exciting adventure that merely evolves from the roots of the master.

The combination of four saxophones with bass ...

Omer Avital: The Ancient Art of Giving

by Tom Greenland
November 22, 2006

In a (re)return of the prodigious prodigal son, the Israeli-born and New York City-seasoned Omer Avital is back on the block after extended musical fieldwork in his native land. The Ancient Art of Giving presents the vibrant and eclectic bassist with a host of jazz adepts: Mark Turner (tenor), Avishai Cohen (trumpet), Aaron Goldberg (piano) and Ali Jackson (drums), all veterans of and close collaborators in the underground (literally!) scene at Smalls, a “new -breed Mecca under the auspices of ...

Omer Avital: The Ancient Art of Giving

by Jim Santella
September 25, 2006

In a live appearance at Fat Cat in New York, Omer Avital's quintet interprets seven of the bassist's compositions with emotions bared and a collective sigh for the program's connection to tradition. Echoes of Israel combine with a hard bop New York feeling to marry modern jazz with the past.

Trumpeter Avishai Cohen and tenor saxophonist Mark Turner carry the quintet's front line with suave tones and comfortable harmonies. Pianist Aaron Goldberg sparkles with uplifting cascades, while drummer ...