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.

Roy Assaf and Eddy Khaimovich: Andarta

Origin Arts
By Ric Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 1.8.09
Buy CD: Andarta

Pianist Roy Assaf and bassist Eddy Khaimovich hail from Israel, as does Romen Itzik, the drummer in their quartet. But they didn't know each other before they met in New York in 2006, while attending the Manhattan School of Music.

Both Assaf and Khaimovich began their musical careers playing in classical organizations in Israel; neither became involved in the jazz scene until they'd been in the States for several years. They soon were recognized for their exceptional talents and began to play with name jazz units in the area: Assaf with luminaries such as Dizzy Gillespie and Billy Taylor, and Khaimovich with James Moody.

They also worked with trumpeter Roy Hargrove, who guests on this album. Saxophonist Robin Verheyen (a fellow student) rounds out the group.

Every tune is given a modernist treatment. The standards are re-harmonized and performed in different keys — for example, something originally written in F minor is shifted to F major — and the meters are varied throughout the performance.

Now, unless the listener has perfect pitch, or is totally familiar with the original chart, those changes won't be evident ... but they become a significant challenge to the musicians. (I've always felt such arrangement “adjustments” are done more for the sake of the artists than the audience.)

No matter: Everything is melodic, quite listenable and, most important, it all swings nicely. This may be truly modern jazz, but it's still very good.