Record Reviews

ELI HASSON ~ BADLANDS NOT ON LABEL (Barcode: 755491364093) ~ ISRAEL ~ Jazz Recorded: 2025 Released: 2026 This is the 2nd album by Israeli Jazz trumpeter / composer Eli HassonFind albums by this artist, recorded in a classic quartet setting with pianist Milton MichaeliFind albums by this artist, bassist Asaf ShchoriFind albums by this artist and drummer Haggai FershtmanFind albums by this artist. The album presents eight tracks, eight of which are original compositions, one (repeated twice) is by Japanese keyboardist / composer Ryuichi SakamotoFind albums by this artist, another one is by Paul MotianFind albums by this artist and finally one is by Neil YoungFind albums by this artist. The music is all strictly composed modern Jazz, which offers a slightly more conventional format that Hasson’s debut album. The presence of the piano is an important shift in the music’s character and adds significantly more harmonic depth and soloing strength. Of course the music is still quite open and less restricted than mainstream Jazz, but is just somewhat more listener friendly. All four musicians perform splendidly and manage to create a coherent atmosphere throughout the entire duration, which is not an easy task considering the fact that the music is kept most of the time at an extremely slow tempo, almost sluggish and full of tension and expectation, which of course reflects the atmosphere in Israel at the time the music was recorded, and the feeling of loss and grief. The leader allows the much younger members of his quartet a lot of space to present their individual contributions, and overall stays most of the time somewhat in the background, pushing them ever so gently in the right direction, which of course is a great way to be a responsible “father-figure”. Overall, this is a most rewarding piece of modern Jazz, which eschews empty gestures and presents condensed emotional content, full of excellent musicianship and classy attitude. I am happy to see that Hasson continues to write new music and record albums, as he certainly has a lot to say to all lovers of ambitious Jazz.

Updated: 14/01/2026Posted: 14/01/2026

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HAROLD RUBIN TRIO ~ AIR KISS SUITE OUTNOW 034 (Barcode: 7132893701528) ~ ISRAEL ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 2018 Released: 2018 This is a live album by Israeli Jazz clarinetist / composer / bandleader Harold RubinFind albums by this artist and my dear Friend, whose albums I released for many years on my JazzisFind albums on this label Records label. This impromptu recording, captured in Harold’s living room in his Jaffa apartment, was one of his last recordings before his lamented death in 2020. The music was recorded by a trio, which includes also two young Israeli improvisers: pianist Illay SabagFind albums by this artist and bassist Asaf ShchoriFind albums by this artist. The album presents four tracks, all parts of the suite which gives the album its title. All three musicians are co-credited as composers. The music is completely improvised, as appropriate for Rubin’s modus operandi in his late period, when he completely abandoned pre-conceived / composed music in favor of spur of the moment improvisation. And yet his music always included a “melodic” substance, which was embedded in his subconscious performing mechanisms. Despite his advanced age and poor health, his playing is absolutely vibrant and creative, with the two young musicians following his lead to the best of their abilities. Harold’s genius is still intact and this album proves that he was the greatest improviser of all time on the Israeli scene. Writing about this music seems to me as futile as writing about emotions, since the message received by the listener is in this case so absolutely personal and indescribable as they come. I have listened to Harold’s music for decades, and still every time I hear it the experience is new and as exciting as it was at the first time. I can only hope this incredible feeling can be shared by others. Overall, this is another document of Improvised Music at its absolute best, at its pure core so to speak, which should really grab all fans of this music deeply. Harold’s music remains, sadly almost completely unknown to the music lovers worldwide, in it probably will stay this way, but here is one more chance to get exposed to his Genius!

Updated: 19/04/2024Posted: 19/04/2024

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