Jerome Sabbagh: Heart

AAJ occasionally publishes reviews which call out the barbarism of digital-only albums (Heart is not one of these, please hang on in there). Item: the review of Brazilian saxophonist and flautist Vinicius Mendes' Macunaismo Tardio Vol. 1&2 (Notes On A Journey, 2024). The two albums collected on that vinyl double-LP, blinders both, were originally released separately as digital-only albums. Unsurprisingly, each failed to make any significant impact on jazz audiences either in Brazil or internationally. Notes On A Journey eventually woke up and smelled the coffee and released the vinyl edition.

AAJers who think digital-only albums are about as welcome as a Republican in an adjacent seat on a long-haul flight, will be delighted to encounter French-born, New York-based tenor saxophonist Jerome Sabbagh's Heart. Sabbagh has described himself as an "audiophile musician" and he presents his music with as much care as he puts into its creation. Accordingly, Heart is being released on vinyl, CD and reel-to-reel on August 30, 2024, with a digital release following six weeks later on October 11, at the back of the queue, where it should be.

And what a joy to listen to Heart, Sabbagh's tenth album as leader and the first release on his own Analog Tone Factory label. Sabbagh is joined on Heart, a trio recording, by his first-call bassist of 20 years, Joe Martin, and on drums, by the living legend Al Foster, with whom he has played frequently since the early 2010s.

Sabbagh describes Foster as his "favorite living jazz drummer," and he knows a thing or two about jazz drummers. He was one of Paul Motian's last saxophone players and for a decade he has led a quartet anchored by the great Ted Poor, whose own You Already Know (Impulse!, 2020) is a quietly sensational disc that deserves to be far better known. Heart's immediate predecessor, Vintage (Sunnyside, 2023), had drummer Johnathan Blake, who made two exquisite albums with tenor saxophone Jedi Oded Tzur (2020's Here Be Dragons and 2022's Isabela both ECM) before leaving to focus on his own band.

Like Vintage, Heart differs from most of Sabbagh's back catalog by being a mixture of standards and originals; in the main, Sabbah has previously focused on originals. The eight tracks on the new album comprise Duke Ellington's "Prelude To A Kiss," Wayne Shorter's "ESP," Allie Wrubel's "Gone With The Wind," Benny Carter's "When Lights Are Low," Johnny Green's "Body And Soul," Sabbagh's "Heart" and two scratch improvisations, "Right The First Time" and "Lead The Way." Check the YouTube of "Heart" below.

The vibe is typically sotto voce and reverential, and always lyrical and conversational, and the arrangements are no fuss and melody first. It is a beautiful sound. Recorded live in the studio, with no edits or overdubs, the old-school analog recording does the music proud.