Record Reviews

ALON OLEARTCHIK ~ OLEARTCHIK STYLE TAV 8 (Barcode: 7290105160362) ~ ISRAEL ~ Jazz Recorded: 2011 Released: 2011 When a person reaches certain age (and I´m saying this from personal experience) the urge to summarize one´s life achievements becomes imperative, for one reason or another. Israeli singer / songwriter / multi-instrumentalist Alon OleartchikFind albums by this artist (who is more or less my age) must have had similar thoughts when he decided to record this album, which is above all a life´s retrospective as far as his musical career is concerned. The album includes twelve songs, ten of which are his own compositions and nine have his lyrics. One of the songs he did not write comes from KaveretFind albums by this artist´s repertoire and the other is an Israeli classic. Historically the songs span a forty years period, starting with the Kaveret days in the early 1970s and ending now, with one new song, which was recently written. But the album also amalgamates Oleartchik´s love of all things Jazzy, as the songs are performed in a superb new arrangement, which involves him singing the songs accompanied by a classic Jazz piano trio. He also plays occasional guitar and a few guest musicians participate on selected songs. The trio comprises of pianist Elad AdarFind albums by this artist, bassist Max OleartchikFind albums by this artist (Alon´s son and a classic example of a second generation bassist) and drummer Shay VetzerFind albums by this artist. Oleartchik manages to perform these songs simply fabulously, with a clear and steady voice and intelligent phrasing, which when supported by the piano trio comes out as one of the best Jazz vocal recordings recorded in Israel. His original songs are remarkably adaptable and emerge marvelously delicious under these new arrangements. Oleartchik has a gift of making his music sound eternally young and fresh, relevant and kicking, as if untouched by time; a great gift indeed. Strangely (or perhaps not) this might easily be the best album Oleartchik ever recorded, but regardless it firmly places him in the Pantheon of contemporary Israeli music, a place he truly deserves to be in. His consistency, modesty and musical excellence are simply beyond reproach. This album is an ideal entry point for people not familiar with Oleartchik´s music and of course also a kind of "best of" (with a twist) for his faithful fans; Oleartchik style indeed. Absolutely not to be missed!

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