Yaniv Taubenhouse Trio: Here from There

Young New York-based and Israeli-born pianist Yaniv Taubenhouse, who pursued an advanced musical education at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music after having previously studied under acclaimed Israeli and European instructors, is essentially a classically-trained pianist. Since moving to Fayetteville, Arkansas in 2010 to study at the University of Arkansas, jazz has been his professional pursuit and the classic piano trio, his preferred format. The Yaniv Taubenhouse Trio delivers their debut album with an audacious date on Here from There, perhaps a personal reference from the jazz pianist in describing his musical journey from Israel to the U.S. culminating in this first solo album as leader.

Though now performing throughout New York since moving there in 2013, this debut was recorded in Fayetteville with bassist Garrett Jones and drummer Darren Novotny—two Arkansas natives the pianist met during his stay there—with whom he collaborated with and led to the formation of this new trio and recording. Except for two standards, the eleven-track project provides all-new material from Taubenhouse beginning with the brief "Prelude of the Ozarks," a solo piano offering from the leader displaying his excellent classical skills as he introduces his new music.

The hard-driving contemporary-sounding "Coming Back" offers the first glimpse of the pianist's compositional talents on a nine-minute musical statements that essentially states "I'm not coming back, I've just arrived." Well the new kid on the block has indeed arrived and the beautiful title track demonstrates the leader's warm side with soft touches on the keys accompanied well by Novotny's brushes and Jones's laid back upright bass lines. "Joey Boy" however, is another story, as it contains a bluesy-tinged melody with nice bass and drum solos giving this piece, a night club groove to it.

The Walter Gross piece "Tenderly" and Sammy Cahn's classic "Time After Time," are the two jazz standards reimagined here by Taubenhouse, who pens cleaver new arrangements making these time-honored songs sound almost new. The fresh new sound keeps coming on the superb "Uncle Robert," the swinging slightly Latin-tinged "Train to a Green Mountain," and the dark-toned finale, "Hope."

Not very well know yet, but jazz pianist Yaniv Taubenhouse is definitely poised to be one of the new young lions of jazz to watch out for and his impressive Here from There debut, is a serious musical statement sure to shine some light on the young pianist who's current musical obscurity is certain to be brief. A technician on the keys and a talented writer, Taubenhouse provides an enjoyable session of music where jazz and classical merge to forge one of the finest trio performances found on today's jazz landscape.