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Aaron Goldberg / Ali Jackson Jr. / Omer Avital: Yes!
ByPart of Goldberg's ingenuity is that he appears to be a keen student of musical history. This is why pianists as diverse as Willie "The Lion" Smith, Thelonious Monk, Abdullah Ibrahim and Keith Jarrett lurk inside his feverish brain. He has listened intently to these masters, intently chopping up their essences and grinding the result into one authentic and personal voice which is singularly spare and intensely lyrical. Sensing the mood and emotion of the songs, Goldberg issues brightly colored, darting and probing lines that rise like the flight of so many beautiful butterflies. Avital's audacious, forthright and folksy style is a perfect foil for this sensuous approach, and the rusts and golden shades which he uses dapple the melody of songs with tonal brilliance and a sweeping palette of colors. Avital recalls the ebullience of the kibbutz as much as he does the blues of Charles Mingus. And then there is Jackson Jr., a percussionist who plays with superior intellect, like a young Max Roach, whose choice of gently stammering notes takes precedence over bludgeoning technique. Using this melodic approach, Jackson Jr. brings sweetness to the music that is otherwise elegiac and ponderous and beautiful but often sad.
Despite thisor, perhaps, because of tracks such as "Maraba Blue" and the longing of "Homeland"the music is uplifting and triumphant. The emotional artery that feeds the music played by these old cohorts becomes a mature blush that reaches one of its many high points on charts like "Epistrophy" and "Manic Depressive." This is when their empathy is at its greatest and the glue that binds the musicians shifts from one to the other as they showcase their enormous skills, rendering the album memorable for more than one reason.
Track Listing
Maraba Blue; Yes!; Aziel Dance; Epistrophy; El Soul; Way, Way Back; Homeland; The Shepherd; Manic Depressive.
Personnel
Aaron Goldberg
pianoAaron Goldberg: piano; Omer Avital: bass; Ali Jackson Jr.: drums.
Album information
Title: Yes! | Year Released: 2012 | Record Label: Sunnyside Records
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Aaron Goldberg / Ali Jackson Jr. / Omer Avital
CD/LP/Track Review
Aaron Goldberg
Raul D'Gama Rose
Sunnyside Records
United States
Omer Avital
Ali Jackson Jr.
Ahmad Jamal
Willie "The Lion" Smith
Thelonious Monk
abdullah ibrahim
Keith Jarrett
Charles Mingus
Max Roach
Yes!