Label: ECM Records, 2022
Personnel - Avishai Cohen: trumpet; Yonathan Avishai: piano; Barak Mori: bass; Ziv Ravitz: drums.
Picking out the quartet format, the Israeli trumpeter Avishai Cohen puts out Naked Truth, a much quieter follow up to the electronic-tinged Big Vicious, released on the ECM Records in 2020. Here, and just like happened on his masterpiece Cross My Palm With Silver (ECM, 2017), he teams up with pianist Yonathan Avishai and bassist Barak Mori. The exception is Ziv Ravitz, who holds the drum chair once occupied by Nasheet Waits. These are musicians with whom he has struck an excellent rapport through several years of collaboration.
The nine chapters of this suite put on display the sleek style of a trumpeter whose imperturbable sense of phrasing wraps around the listener since “Part I”, where he seeks a beautiful communion with Mori, until the last track, “Departure”, whose poem by Israeli writer Zelda Schneurson Mishkovsky (read by Cohen) is set against a combination of majestic piano chords, bass lyricism, and sculptural brushwork.
Flowing in nine, “Part II” initially bears the motif that started all the compositional process for this album, and there are bright trumpet melodies shining over arpeggiated piano sequences. In turn, affecting harmony leads to the sheer magnificence of classical realms on “Part III”, whereas on “Part IV”, the emotion hangs in the spaces left unfilled. Subtlety and introspective musing transpire in Ravitz’ drumming.
If “Part V” takes the form of a pastoral reflection, then “Part VII” emerges through a fine blend of spiritual modal-sounding jazz and pop melody reminiscent of The Beatles. Don’t expect a groove-laden recording; this is rather a program that focuses on spontaneous lyrical playing and understated rhythmic settings. The music of Cohen and his peers is inviting, and you won’t regret being transported to a musical world all their own.
Favorite Tracks:
02 - Part II ► 03 - Part III ► 04 - Part IV