2011-11-25
Israeli-born Alon Nechushtan studied jazz and big band piano at the Boston New England Conservatory under Bob Brookmeyer and Fred Hersch. All tracks on Words Beyond were composed by Alon and recorded in one session with François Moutin on bass and Dan Weiss on drums, stellar musicians in their own right. According to Alon, instrumental music must convey the narrative it deserves. The genesis of this debut album was Mendelssohn’s Lieder ohne Worter—songs without words—and based on an old Chinese poem “The Traveler” where ‘entranced, sets off to a journey beyond words spinning the clouds, from dusk til dawn unravels the divine masterplan.’ Recommended tracks: #1 uptempo “Muppet Shock;” you’ll get lost in the rhythmic patterns in #2 “A Different Kind of Morning” (love this!) and #5 “Spring Soul Song” highlights Moutin’s virtuosity on upright bass. Words Beyond is a masterful accomplishment of jazz enlightenment. --Pam VandeKerkhoffJOEY DeFRANCESCO
SNAP SHOT
Yelena Eckemoff Quintet
In The Shadow Of A Cloud
TOM GAVORNIK
A Long Time Ago...
TODD BISHOP GROUP
Little Played Little Bird
Le Rex
Wild Man
THE BLUECAT EXPRESS
The Spirit of New Orleans
The opinions expressed in these reviews are those of the individual volunteers that submitted the article and do not necessarily reflect the views of WYCE or GRCMC; nor its staff, donors, or affiliates.