Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » David Buchbinder: Odessa / Havana

234

David Buchbinder: Odessa / Havana

By

View read count
David Buchbinder: Odessa / Havana
How is it possible to create a fusion between Jewish and Cuban music? The two cultures seem to be at odds with each other—the laid back, relaxed syncopation of the Latin tradition and the spiritual urgency of the Jewish faith and its music. Canadian trumpeter David Buchbinder, however, successfully achieves just such a combination on his collaboration with pianist Hilario Durán, Odessa / Havana.

The recording does not merely take certain elements from each tradition; rather, it encompasses, or fuses the two cultures. Buchbinder and Durán take the listener on a journey from the salsa, rumba and son of Cuba, through the hills of Spain and other areas of Europe where the Jews settled, and into the heart of Israel and its modal klezmer music. The end result is a cohesive, informative album that innovates while staying surprisingly accessible. It's also a breathtaking journey that suggests these two disparate musical cultures have more in common than meets the eye.

The opening tune, "Lailadance," encapsulates the entire record. It begins with a slow vamp played by Durán and accompanied by bassist Roberto Occhipinto. Buchbinder enters over the rest of the band; his melody envisions a Cuban man in a white suit strolling lazily down a moonlit street. Suddenly, but imperceptibly, the music changes and the entire band (composed of trumpet, piano, flute, violin, bass, drums and percussion) joins in for the true melody—a salsa-infused line that is simply taken over by the klezmer feel, building with each repetition until a frenzied tipping point is reached. All the while, in the background, the drums and percussion keep a meandering salsa beat. The track is a revelation, and the rest of the album confirms that this is not an aberration.

Every song on Odessa / Havana is danceable, but how to dance? Are we at a nightclub or a Jewish celebration? Is there a step to be followed? Even the frantic "Freylekh's Tumbao," the closest thing on the album to overtly Jewish music, has clever interludes that would leave a Jewish celebrant scratching his head and wondering if he had come to the right party.

Through it all, this album is pure jazz. In no other musical idiom could this music thrive. Improvisation is the glue that melds the two cultures together, breaking all barriers and eliminating any feeling of resistance to such a unique combination. Buchbinder and Durán have succeeded in creating a precedent that others are sure to follow, but until they do, Odessa / Havana is enough to whet the appetite of world music lovers everywhere.

Track Listing

Lailadance; Impresiones; Cadiz; Next One; Rumba Judia; Prayer; Colaboracion; Freylekhs Tumbao.

Personnel

David Buchbinder: trumpet; Hilario Duran: piano; Aleksander Gajic: violin; Quinsin Nachoff: reeds; Roberto Occhipinti: bass; Mark Kelso: drums; Dafnis Prieto: drums; Rich Shadrach Lazar: percussion; Jorge Luis "Papiosco" Torres: percussion.

Album information

Title: Odessa / Havana | Year Released: 2008 | Record Label: Tzadik

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.