Label: ECM Records, 2021

Personnel - Shai Maestro: piano; Jorge Roeder: bass; Ofri Nehemya: drums; Philip Dizack: trumpet.

The Israeli-born, Brooklyn-based pianist Shai Maestro appears on the ECM label for the second time as a leader with Human, an album featuring the same rhythmic foundation of his previous work - bassist Jorge Roeder and drummer Ofri Nehemya - plus the excellent trumpeter Philip Dizack, who brings further melodic possibilities to the table. With huge ears, the members of this quartet achieve top-notch levels of musicianship in the course of a cohesive narrative that consists of 10 Maestro originals and one jazz standard.

“Time” gets the show on the road like a liberation hymn with plenty of sophistication. Yet, it’s the mid-tempo waltz “Mystery and Illusions” that instantly grabs my attention with its amiable musical temperament and organic constitution. The dynamics are intensified, and the emotions flow naturally with the stirring piano and the lofty trumpet conjugating their sounds with tasteful poise.

Maestro is a fluent, well-rounded pianist with a soulful approach to musicality, and that transpires on the title cut, “Human”, a short but memorable number where he delves deep in harmonic resplendence. His signature lyricism is also patented on “GG”, a 3/4 composition containing melodically challenging routes to be delivered in unison with Dizack.

If “Hank and Charlie”, a tribute to the duo formed by pianist Hank Jones and bassist Charlie Haden, probes gentle balladry with an attractive, polished aesthetic, then a reading of Duke Ellington’s “In a Sentimental Mood” gets a modern hip-hop-ish vibe. This version was partly influenced by multi-generational artists, the contemporary vibraphonist Joel Ross and the jazz giant who most popularized it, John Coltrane.

In “Prayer”, the fidgety drum work of Nehemya creates a fervent contrast with the calm acoustic surroundings. Having jazz, folk and ambient sounds coalescing together, as well as a mix of tradition and originality at its essence, Human is a record to revisit.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Mystery and Illusions ► 03 - Human ► 10 - In a Sentimental Mood