All About Jazz
review by: Eyal Hareuveni
“We don’t determine music, the music determines us; we only follow it to the end of our life: then it goes on without us.”
—Steve Lacy
Israeli free jazz saxophonist Albert Beger, 45, has dedicated his fifth disc, Listening, to the late great saxophonist Steve Lacy. But unlike the Lacy quote, on Listening Beger delays his surrender to the music and opts for a more accessible musical statement. This disc, the first outing with a quintet after recording with quartet and trio formats where Beger was the main soloist, is the best Beger has delivered so far. With this collaborative quintet Beger is able to share the leading chores with two other soloists, but mainly Yoni Silver on the alto sax and bass clarinet. The quintet keeps Beger on the edge, pushing him forward, balancing him, but always in a very measured manner, too often too measured.
With the quintet Beger chose to record seven tracks, spanning a very short 45 minutes, with tight and focused arrangements. This compactness is one of the great virtues of Listening. But after the initial enjoyment from this exciting quintet, and knowing Beger’s composing skills and his willingness to push ahead any boundaries, I found myself wishing that he would take more risks and stretch out a little more, especially with such sympathetic players.
The opening explosive track, “What a Day,” represents Beger’s attitude on this disc. It begins with a simple Aylerian anthem-like theme that all players follow, but soon enough Beger begins a wild and fiery, tough, too short solo that is followed by a Hendrixian distorted guitar solo by Yiftach Kadan, side by side with a passioned solo by Yoni Silver on the alto sax, but then it finishes quite abruptly after a short replication of the theme, leaving one wishing for more of this head. Only on “Karma” does the quintet play with total abandon, with intense high energy drumming by Fershtman, but again it ends too soon.
Listening also features Beger’s sentimental side in his homage to one of the main influences on his playing, Albert Ayler, on the sweet and innocent ballad “Albert” and on another quiet and beautiful track, “Sasha”; but his cohorts in the quintet, Silver and Kadan, always counter Beger’s sentimentality.
On the last track, “Baba Yogi” (Beger is a dedicated yoga student), Beger’s improvisations pay a debt to Lacy and one of the forefathers of the small Israeli free jazz scene, clarinet player Harold Rubin, with whom Beger began playing free jazz.
“Music speaks for itself, and needs no explanation or justification; either it is alive, or it is not.” Again, a Lacy quote that Beger and his producer, Yossi Acchoti, chose for the liner notes. Indeed, the music through Listening is full of vitality, and it speaks volumes on behalf of Beger.
Maelstorm Magazine
review by: Avi Shaked
On the free jazz front, the influence of Dave Holland’s Quartet’s Conference of the Birds is clear and up front, laying harmonies and melodies that are later used as terminals for improvising on and across the border of avant-garde, with atonal, sometimes out of proportion, enriching and unpredicted notes.
But despite being labeled (and marketed) as a jazz album, there are certain factors here that transfer this into being rock.
The most obvious of all is probably the violent, punching rhythm section that manages to deliver an intense beat while not compromising on creativity. Then, there’s a certain scent of classic rock – not only on the title track where you have an early 70’s sounding organ work that remains in the background while affecting the atmosphere of the whole piece, but also throughout the other album’s tracks. These two boost up even the gentle moments found here, and allow them to develop into imaginative, untamed realms.
However, that’s not all, as you can learn straight from raging opening track “What a Day,” which towards its end develops into a King Crimson kind of thrash, a-la “Starless and Bible Black,” with a wildly stretching guitar leading the way for a chaotic celebration, and then a furious return to the main theme.
And if for a moment, “I Was Here Before” and “Albert” lead you to believe the attack is over in favor of mellower, yet still adventurous and unexpected compositions, “Karma” will definitely set you straight: this is one track which could have fitted naturally on King Crimson’s highly acclaimed and influential 1974 album Red. If there ever was an album that managed to recreate that dark, suspended and tense atmosphere of that album, Listening is it! That alone should be enough to intrigue masses of progressive rock enthusiasts out there.
Listening is a rare album that bridges jazz sensitivity and exploration with classic progressive rock aesthetics, thematic playing with developing concepts, all in a modest way while remaining passionate and truthful throughout.
Brilliant! (10/10)
