Yogev Shetrit and his fellow musicians are a brilliant bi-product of the land they live in. It would appear that in addition to being a pressure cooker, Israel is a melting pot of many cultures and musical genres which are represented here in a polished and mighty impressive set of world music style jazz that draws inspiration from a very rich tapestry of Yemenite, Arabic, western jazz and samba styles and rhythms. Throughout the album the musical glue that bonds the performance is ‘Israeli music’ of a kind that only those who spent years of living there will be able to easily identify.
Shetrit’s trio includes piano, bass and drums and brings to mind another such trio from the same country that was led by the renowned bass player Avishai Cohen. This trio and the guests accompanying it through the album exhibit a verve, talent and confidence that belies their anonymity. The album is an exciting mix of melodious tracks that owe much to middle eastern and north African influence, in addition two of the tracks are pure hard bop, further illustrating the breadth and talent of this trio.
The album’s core group of players is made up of leader and drummer Yogev Shetrit, who was declared a prodigy in his very early youth and spent his formative years attending renowned music schools in both Israel and the US. He is accompanied by Avri Borochov on bass, and Gil Zohar on piano. They are joined by a very large group of other musicians, the list of credits includes: Omri Mor on piano and karkabou (metal castanets), Yuval Gerstein on guitar, Ariel Levi on saxophone, with Miryam Shetrit and Joel Covington on backing vocals.
New Path is available direct from the artist on Bandcamp. The album’s sound is intimate but the recording quality is average and slightly compressed. The album consists of 11 tracks and is just over an hour long. From Moroccan themes to hard bop this is a must for music lovers who wish to mix up their jazz with the extra pizzazz offered by the fusion of world music.
Recommended track Café Atlas
Reuben Klein