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Jazz Articles about Roni Ben-Hur
Flying Blind
by Patrick Burnette
Time to plunge our hands into the review-copy grab-bag and hope nothing bites. Good news—no flesh wounds, just four brand-spankin' new 2021 releases by artists who are also new to us (if not the public at large) and all of them have something to offer. Trigger warning—the Dave Mathews Band may be mentioned, briefly during this episode.Playlist Discussion of Paul Bedal's album Cerulian Stars (BACE Records) 7:45 Discussion of Jeff Coffin's album Let It Shine (Ear Up Records) ...
Continue ReadingAndrea Brachfeld: Brazilian Whispers
by Dan Bilawsky
While Brazilian Whispers marks Andrea Brachfeld's first thorough exploration of the titular stream of sound, you'd never know it from the results. Teaming up with Bill O'Connell, her longtime pianist and sounding board, the veteran flutist, who's typically engaged in Afro-Cuban affairs or straight ahead suggestions, sounds like she's been playing this music all her life. Rather than spread focus across a massive realm of Brazilian territory, Brachfeld homes in on the music of one of the ...
Continue ReadingRoni Ben-Hur & Santi Debriano Featuring Duduka Da Fonseca: Our Thing
by Ernest Barteldes
Recorded in early 2011, Our Thing marks the first studio collaboration of guitarist Roni Ben-Hur and bassist Santi Debriano. They have worked together in a live setting on numerous occasions and are joined, in this endeavor, by drummer/percussionist Duduka Da Fonseca, who brings an extra flavor to the music.The CD opens with Thelonious Monk's “Green Chimneys," a complex track that allows the musicians to fully stretch their chops. Da Fonseca and Debriano begin with a samba-like groove, and ...
Continue ReadingRoni Ben-Hur: Fortuna
by Andrew Velez
This is a worthy follow-up to Roni Ben-Hur's Smile (Motema, 2009), on which he was memorably paired with fellow guitarist Gene Bertoncini. The Israeli-born composer and arranger is teamed here with three stalwarts, the late pianist Ronnie Mathews, percussionist Steve Kroon and drummer Lewis Nash. This is the same rhythm section Ben-Hur used for the album that preceded Smile, 2005's Keepin' It Open (Motema Music). They're joined by bassist Rufus Reid, with whom Ben-Hur worked on the guitarist's fourth release ...
Continue ReadingRoni Ben-Hur: Fortuna
by J Hunter
The most famous lyric from Charlie Chaplin's bittersweet song “Smile" is, “Smile, though your heart is aching/Smile, even though it's breaking." Roni Ben-Hur knows that methodology, and how: Smile (Motema, 2008), Ben-Hur's benefit disc with fellow guitarist Gene Bertoncini, was originally conceived as a duet with Ben-Hur's longtime bassist Earl May, who died before recording began. Another Ben-Hur sideman, pianist Ronnie Mathews, was battling cancer during the Fortuna sessions, and succumbed to the disease shortly afterwards. In that light, it ...
Continue ReadingRoni Ben-Hur: Keepin' It Open
by Budd Kopman
Roni Ben-Hur, originally from Israel, has been a mainstay of the New York straight-ahead scene for twenty years now. Having a style that is clearly out of the Wes Montgomery/Grant Green mold, Ben-Hur makes no apologies for his predilection for the sound and style of the Blue Note label from the fifties and sixties. Like saxophonist Scott Hamilton, Ben-Hur has internalized this music and plays from within its essence, rather than at it, adding the sounds and emotions from his ...
Continue ReadingRoni Ben-Hur: Keepin' It Open
by Andrew Rowan
Guitarist Roni Ben-Hur has assembled an impressive cast for Keepin' It Open: trumpeter Jeremy Pelt, pianist Ronnie Mathews, bassist Santi Debriano, drummer Lewis Nash and percussionist Steve Kroon--a who's who of contemporary mainstream jazz exploring a beautifully varied selection of tunes. The proceedings open with Ben-Hur in the time-honored guitar trio setting, offering a fleet yet relaxed reading of “Can't We Be Friends. Also included on this session are thoughtful treatments of familiar material like “Indian Summer ...
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