Nir Naaman: Independence

Nir Naaman Music
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Independence

Nir Naaman was born and raised in Israel, where every able-bodied citizen is required  to serve time in the military; he wound up playing lead alto saxophone in the Israeli Air Force Band. He moved to the States in 2004, graduated from the Berklee College of Music, and then earned a master’s degree in jazz studies from Purchase College. Next up was a stint at the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead program, at the Kennedy Center for the Arts in Washington, D.C., where he was mentored by George Cables, Billy Taylor, Curtis Fuller and others. 

Still striving to further his education, Naaman currently is enrolled in the doctor of musical arts program at Boston’s New England Conservatory. He splits his time between Boston and New York City, where he leads a quartet. 

Independence is Naaman’s debut album. He plays both alto and soprano sax, and composed all but three of the tunes: Ray Noble’s “The Very Thought of You,” Jimmy Van-Heusen/Johnny Burke’s “Polka Dots and Moonbeams” and the traditional “Eshal Elohai.” Naaman is supported by Marcus Printup (trumpet), George Cables and Roy Assaf (piano), Dezron Douglas (bass) and Gregory Hutchinson and Ulysses Owens Jr. (drums).

The varied album menu includes up-tempo, bop-tinged swingers; soft, danceable ballads; and the aforementioned Yemenite Jewish dance.

Naaman is a promising artist, and his combo is excellent. I look forward to hearing more from him.

The Cookers: Warriors

JLP Records
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Warriors

So, who are The Cookers?

Merely a septet of jazz icons whose youngest member is more than 50 years old; the rest are in their 70s. As a result, it’s difficult to name an artist or group that these guys haven’t (collectively) performed with.

The instrumentation consists of two trumpets (Eddie Henderson and David Weiss), alto sax and flute (Craig Handy), tenor sax (Billy Harper), piano (George Cables), bass (Cecil Mcbee) and drums (Billy Hart). Most of these artists are better known as sidemen than leaders: Cables, as one example, was the pianist for almost every group that Art Pepper led during his career. Most of the others here worked with Art Blakey, Miles Davis and other top groups that reigned from the 1960s on.

These guys aren’t merely masters of their instruments; they’re also composers and arrangers. All but one of this album’s tracks are originals by members of the septet; interestingly, most are done at balladic tempos. Everything is beautifully arranged and swings wonderfully.

This is pure jazz, as played by master artists. I loved it.