Vocalist Naama Embarks On A Musical Expedition On "Songs From The Road," Set For November 20 Release By La Reserve Records

Vocalist Naama Gheber plies her warm, supple alto as a vessel on which to take listeners on a trip—in more than one sense—on Songs from the Road, her eighth release, set for a November 20 release on La Reserve Records. The album’s eleven selections from the Great American Songbook all center around the theme of travel. What’s more, with the superb trio of pianist Aaron Diehl, bassist Dave Baron (who also arranged the songs), and drummer Kyle Poole accompanying Naama’s lovely, coruscating singing, it’s travel in style.

On the one hand, Songs from the Road’s material deals in the literal, physical, place-to-place sort of travel—from the Gershwins’ “There’s a Boat That’s Leavin’ Soon for New York” to Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer’s restless “Any Place I Hang My Hat Is Home” to the hidden Hollywood gem “Theme from Hotel.”

The vocalist hopes that the record’s listeners will appreciate its journeys on another level. “There’s nothing like being on stage in front of people taking them on a kind of journey,” she says. “What I’m after is something that will draw the listener in and allow them to experience an emotional journey, disconnecting them from reality for a bit.”

In that spirit, she blazes a trail that is clear, yet picturesque. Her delivery on Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin’s “My Ship” is somehow both opulent, gorgeously reflecting the luxurious trappings described in the lyrics, and direct, communicating the song’s romantic yearnings long before the words themselves do. She lends thoughtfulness and gravitas to the weightier sentiments of “Theme From Hotel” and “Detour Ahead,” but just as easily turns to the breezy swing of “Just in Time,” “On A Slow Boat,” and the tongue-in-cheek New York travelogue “That’s No Joke.”

Rarely, however, does Naama’s journey take her on the scenic route. The album’s tracks are tight and focused across the board, letting the songs and the stories they tell take priority. Yet if her accompanists don’t get to make epic statements here, like any master musician they find opportunities to express themselves. Diehl makes expansive developments on concise ideas on “My Ship,” but saves the real flash for his short intro to “Lonely Town.” Poole gets to shine on “Just in Time,” trading brushed fours with a scatting Naama. Baron, who’s also Naama’s husband, demonstrates their partnership in the duet-like early bars of “Trav’lin’ Light.” Everyone travels together, yet individually, on Songs from the Road.

Born January 2, 1991, in Be’er Sheva, Israel, Naama Gheber is the daughter of two scientists. Naama followed in her musical father’s footsteps by taking piano and voice lessons. It was the latter that took, not least because Israeli pop star Riki Gal was her teacher. A singer of blues and folk songs as well, Gal encouraged the pupil to learn jazz; Naama, who had spent four of her earliest years in Baltimore, was more than receptive to the American musical tradition.

She became even more entrenched in that tradition when, at 21, she matriculated at Tel Aviv’s Center for Jazz Studies. Three years after that, in 2015, she won a scholarship to the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, bringing Naama to New York City. Here, however, her education was as much a product of the city’s clubs and jam sessions as it was of the New School’s classrooms. By 2018, she had scored a residency at Mezzrow, the tiny jazz piano room in Greenwich Village (where she still performs monthly); soon after that, she was making the rounds of the New York scene.

In 2019 Naama recorded her first album, Dearly Beloved, with a quartet featuring vibraphonist Steve Nelson; 2022’s If I Knew Then, with pianist Ben Paterson’s trio, followed. Nelson returned, along with pianist Bruce Barth and her now husband, bassist Dave Baron, for 2023’s Where Flamingos Fly. Baron became her constant companion in both life and music, appearing on her subsequent releases (with otherwise varying ensembles) Wild Is Love (2024), Dream with Me (2025), ’Tis Autumn(2025), and They Say It’s Spring (2026). Songs for the Road, featuring pianist Aaron Diehl and drummer Kyle Poole along with Baron, is her eighth recording.

All of Naama’s albums have enjoyed success in the streaming platform realm, racking up millions of streams worldwide; the recently-released They Say It’s Spring has already garnered close to a million cross-platform.

In addition to her performances in the New York Metropolitan Area, Naama frequently takes to the road herself, appearing in North American and European cities from Washington, DC, Houston, and Vancouver to London, Paris, and Barcelona. “My intention with this new album,” she says, “was to explore the range of emotions that arise from travel. I wanted to make music that would accompany people during their travels and all the feelings they experience.” Naama knows whereof she sings.