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Oded Tzur
“You will not hear anything more beautiful today.”
– Télérama, France
New York saxophonist Oded Tzúr has ushered in a new era for his instrument by giving it a whole new voice — one that is described by The Guardian as a “unique tenor sax whisper”. Often recalled by the artist as a 10-year leap of faith, this complete reimagining of the instrument has established him as a torchbearer of Spiritual Jazz. His music is more than a conversation, states the New York City Jazz Record: “It is an interactive prayer".
Tzúr’s body of work anoints music as the epicenter of a spiritual discipline: a prophet that tells us not about the future, but about who we really are. Through myth-like suites of abstract narrative, the bandleader tells the story of an all powerful deity, experiencing everything from sobering murmurs to cathartic, unabashed ecstasy.
“The Coltrane Quartet of the 21st Century“
– CD Journal, Japan
Following his 2022 release Isabela, which was named one of the 10 best Jazz albums of the year by The Guardian, Tzúr continues his epic journey with My Prophet, to be released on ECM Records in 2024. Accompanied by his long-time colleagues Nitai Hershkovits on piano and Petros Klampanis on bass, and joined by the newest member of the band — Brazilian drummer Cyrano Almeida — this is Tzúr’s most accomplished work to date. While remaining a seamless continuation of his previous meditations, My Prophet is as wild and daring as it is centered and focused, and promises to uplift the listener to new heights.
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Oded Tzur: My Prophet
by Neri Pollastri
Terzo album per ECM per il tenorsassofonista di Tel Aviv, ormai da anni residente a New York, Oded Tzúr, ancora una volta attivo con il suo quartetto, nel quale tuttavia c'è adesso un nuovo batterista --il brasiliano Cyrano Almeida. La musica proposta dall'artista conserva la cifra originale che gli conoscevamo e che egli trae dal suo studio con il flautista indiano Hariprasad Chaurasia, che gli permette da un lato di fondere culture musicali tra loro diversissime, dall'altro di produrre con ...
Continue ReadingOded Tzur: My Prophet
by Mike Jurkovic
Simultaneously an open call to prayer and a frisky dance of the debutantes, “Epilogue" and “Child You" beckon and pirouette the muse, the spirit, the higher gods of our calling to come and celebrate My Prophet. Crazy good from the solemn “Epilogue" to the rattling closer, “Last Bike Ride In Paris," My Prophet is the current crown jewel in the burgeoning basket of jewels that Israeli-born but Brooklyn-wise saxophonist Oded Tzur has given the world. His fifth overall--including ...
Continue ReadingOded Tzur: My Prophet
by Chris May
Much like listening to late period John Coltrane or modern-day Charles Lloyd, listening to Oded Tzur is akin to a spiritual experience. The tenor saxophonist's fifth album, My Prophet, is his most affecting yet. Simultaneously corporeal and metaphysical, soulful and cerebral. Inexplicably, despite having four breathtakingly singular and near-perfect albums out and about already, not to mention wall-to-wall media affirmation, Brooklyn-based, Tel Aviv-born Tzur is still a relatively niche name. At its most passionate, his music lacks ...
Continue ReadingOded Tzur: The Agony And The Ecstasy
by Chris May
In late April 2024, in the weeks leading up to the release of his fifth album, My Prophet, Oded Tzur wrote to his mailing list subscribers: “Dear Friends, I'm very excited to share with you that my new album is coming out on ECM Records on June 7." Further down the page, Brooklyn-based, Tel Aviv-born Tzur revealed that My Prophet almost never happened. The recording schedule had been caught up in the trauma immediately following the October 7, 2023 attack ...
Continue ReadingRhythms Meet Algorithms: Sparks Fly When Jazz Musician Oded Tzur Partners With Engineer Vansh Makh
by David Bruggink
Jazz and mobile apps may not be typically mentioned in the same breath, but saxophonist Oded Tzur, celebrated by All About Jazz for a string of albums merging jazz with Indian classical music, is changing that perception. Vansh Makh, a Bay area-based engineer, joined forces with Tzur to create Timeseer, described as “the first and only HiFi Indian classical music app." Timeseer offers a distinctly visual approach to rhythm, portraying complex musical patterns through accessible geometric designs. Devotees ...
Continue ReadingChris May's Best Albums Of 2022
by Chris May
It was a good year for jazz, as the world recovered from The Great Pause and bands got together once more for real-time live recordings. Twelve of 2022's absolute top albums are presented here, half of them new recordings, the other half reissues or previously unreleased archive items. Number One Best New Album Of 2022 Oded TzurIsabela ECM Records Oded Tzur's 2020 album, Here Be Dragons, the Israeli-born, New York-based tenor ...
Continue ReadingOded Tzur: Isabela
by Mario Calvitti
A due anni di distanza dall'eccellente disco di esordio su ECM Here Be Dragons, preceduto da due CD pubblicati per Enja, che aveva sollevato lodi sperticate da parte di un po' tutta la critica, il sassofonista israeliano (ma basato a New York) Oded Tzur prova a bissarne il successo e non fallisce. Il nuovo lavoro ribadisce in pieno l'ottima impressione suscitata dall'album precedente e conferma il sassofonista come uno dei più interessanti tra gli astri nascenti del nuovo jazz internazionale. ...
Continue ReadingSaxophonist Oded Tzur's Releases "Translator's Note" on Yellowbird/ENJA
Source:
Michael Bloom Media Relations
Saxophonist Oded Tzur's latest effort, Translator's Note (Yellowbird/Enja Records) is is now available! Starting in 2012, Oded led a rehearsal in Brooklyn with Shai Maestro, Petros Klampanis and Ziv Ravitz. The immediate connection between the four musicians led to the creation of the Oded Tzur Quartet, an ensemble that explores relationships between the jazz setting and Indian musics melodic architecture. Oded Tzur is a New York City-based saxophonist, composer and bandleader. His work draws on Indian classical music and Jazz, ...
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Child You
From: My ProphetBy Oded Tzur
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Oded Tzur
Location: New York City
Instrument: Saxophone, tenor
