Ofri Nehemya: Time Traveler

This is the debut album from Israeli drummer and composer Ofri Nehemya. It features compositions written over a decade ago that have developed and evolved over the intervening years as his influences widened and his career took flight.

As a 17-year-old Nehemya joined Israeli saxophonist Eli Degibri quartet before moving to play on a global tour with bassist Avishai Cohen. His next move was to New York, where he recorded albums with Omer Avital before a collaboration with pianist Shai Maestro led to him touring and providing the rhythmic centre for two excellent albums for ECM records: The Dream Thief (2018) and Human (2021). That experience has shaped his music, which blends fusion, contemporary jazz and Middle Eastern influences over the eight compositions that make up Time Traveler.

The album opens with "Drive." The track builds with tight drumming from Nehemya supported by acoustic bass from Tal Mashiach, with piano runs from Tomer Bar and some inventive electric guitar from Nitzan Bar . There is a change of pace for "Katniss;" Mashiach puts his bass down for a moment to open the track with acoustic guitar before retrieving it for a melodic solo. Piano and guitar fluidly weave around a gentle melody in this standout track.

Nehemya is in continuous motion on this album, as evidenced by "Just Sayin,'" where he seemingly fills every moment with his potent but precise drumming. This often contrasts well with Bar's melodic guitar runs. "Memories, A Mother's Light" is a more reflective composition; the gentle melody moving from piano to guitar as Mashiach anchors and Nehemya takes a step back. He returns to his propulsive best on "Armors and Doubts," as Bar's guitar takes flight after a melodic opening.

"Ten Years From Now" is built on a framework of Latin rhythms with guitar and piano building serpentine solos. Drums and bass build a jazz-funk groove on "Endless Universe" with Tomer Bar moving to Fender Rhodes for his solo. The album ends with "One For Myself" and if a drummer cannot end his debut album with an enterprising three-minute drum solo, then when can he?

Nehemya gives a taut, dynamic performance throughout, with his band providing a fresh and vibrant energy. This personal project blends rhythmic twists and turns, connecting the fusion and jazz-rock of the past with a crisper contemporary sound. Nehemya explains, "Before stepping into my next musical endeavors, I wanted to give these pieces the stage they deserve to let them shine in their own time." Clearly intending to close this chapter of his musical journey and move forward, there is much here for him to build on.

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