Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Roy Assaf Trio: Second Row Behind The Painter

5

Roy Assaf Trio: Second Row Behind The Painter

By

View read count
Roy Assaf Trio: Second Row Behind The Painter
Pianist Roy Assaf decided to try a different studio tactic when he set out to make this record. Instead of simply having his trio take multiple passes at tracks on a single predetermined playlist, he decided to have the group simulate a stay at a club. They recorded multiple sets, accumulating almost five hours worth of recorded music. When all was said and done, he sifted through it all to come up with the best material for this album. It's a novel way to bridge the studio-live divide, and it worked like a charm here.

Assaf and company dole out twelve numbers culled from those sets on Second Row Behind The Painter, referencing everything from Middle Eastern modality to futuristic funk to the work of Duke Ellington. Nothing is off limits and everything is open to (re)interpretation. A sense of contentment carries through Frank Loesser's "Never Will I Marry," Michel Petrucciani's "It's A Dance" is born from concentric musical circles, eventually settling into a proper place, and Ellington's "I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)" is given the Brad Mehldau-meets-Jon Brion treatment, with drummer Jake Goldbas playing the Matt Chamberlain role to perfection. The only other cover—Israeli songwriter Naomi Shemer's "Kvar Acharei Chatzot"—is an obvious nod to Assaf's homeland; here, the pianist is in a reflective, Aaron Goldberg-esque state of peacefulness.

The rest of the album is made up of Assaf originals and interludes—off-the-cuff creations that Assaf, Goldbas, and bassist Raviv Markovitz created. "Interlude #1" grows out of rustlings and rumblings, turning into a showcase for Goldbas' goings-on; "Interlude #2" finds the drummer playing a fairly static role, as spare ideas from his band mates come to the fore; and "Interlude #3" is something of a gentle unraveling.

The Assaf originals prove to be just as wide-ranging as the rest of the material. "Second Row Behind The Painter" is both mournful and graceful; "Con Grew" comes off like some lost jam from a Robert Glasper session; and "Folk-Lore" is eight minutes of pure joy, introduced by a funky drum-and-bass hook-up. If Assaf really has another four hours of this stuff in the can, he should really consider putting some more of it out there. This is primo trio stuff.

Track Listing

Second Row Behind The Painter; Babel; Never Will I Marry; It's A Dance; Interlude #1; I Got It Bad; Interlude #2; Interlude #3; Con Grew; Folk-Lore; Kvar Acharei Chatzot; Budva.

Personnel

Roy Assaf
piano

Roy Assaf: piano, synthesizer; Raviv Markovitz: bass; Jake Goldbas: drums.

Album information

Title: Second Row Behind The Painter | Year Released: 2014 | Record Label: One Trick Dog Records

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.

Near

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.