Gently Disturbed – AVISHAI COHEN TRIO – 2008

Due to various intervening circumstances (such as chronic procrastination on my part), I’ve been putting off this review for a while. But now I’ve finally got around to reviewing this. I’ve already heard this more than a few times, which is my usual pre-review hearing. Most of you who will be familiar reading this will be fairly well versed in jazz, so I disclaim that I don’t know much about it. Nevertheless, I do know good music when I hear it.

Jazzers with a leather jackets!

So, is this?

Yep. Very much. Avishai Cohen is called by many as ‘the best jazz bass player’ or one of the best. That’s fine, but I still haven’t warmed much to the upright acoustic bass’ sound, especially high on the fingerboard. Not on. Otherwise, he is great. Good groover and all that, and even managed to make the high note thing sound cool on “Chutzpan”. It’s all right, Hindi speaking readers….even I sniggered at that name. The star of the trio however, is undoubtedly the piano player Shai Maestro (that is his name). Fantastic sense of melody, and an amazing grasp of mad rhythms. Check out “Pinzin Kinzin” for some mind****ing right-left hand jobbery.

The star of the trio however, is undoubtedly the piano player Shai Maestro

And melody? Absolutely stunning, touching stuff. Listen to “Eleven Wives” for simplicity, and “Seattle” for complex chord changes. “Eleven Wives” is also notable for great breaks from Avishai Cohen. But listen to them all, I say. This is quite a must listen. Not only that, I also think this is a good intro into jazz as a whole.

It’s not entirely perfect. I mean some of the tracks are boring as only jazz can be boring. Ironically for such a good album, it’s the title track that is the weakest (“Gently Disturbed”). But because of the caliber of the musicians involved, it’s not a steaming pile of sh** that some lesser musicians can come up with. It’s just that it doesn’t match up to the rest.

Even so, as a whole, I think this sounds very right.

Rawwwk!

-El Bajista

JAZZ farts? Right THIS WAY.

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