On his fourth date for
ECM, trumpeter
Avishai Cohen leads a band he formed with friends after returning to Israel in 2013. The electro-acoustic ensemble includes guitarists Uzi Ramirez and Yonatan Albalak (also on electric bass) and drummers Aviv Cohen and
Ziv Ravitz (who also did the live studio sampling); they deliver a program of nine originals and two covers. It is easily the most accessible album of
Cohen's career thus far, in that it will likely appeal to listeners not normally drawn to jazz. There are several reasons for this. First is that
Cohen's writing is songlike. The melodies are often hummable and there are many different stylistic forays into psychedelic rock, R&B and funk, Hebrew folk, and sound system electronica. It was cut over three days at Studios La Buissonne in France and produced by
Manfred Eicher.
Opener "Honey Fountain" commences with a sonar ping followed by a bassline and a skeletal double-time shuffle as
Cohen enters with a lithe, flowing midtempo ballad and the electric guitars commingle behind him with atmospheric slide and airy fingerpicking. Though "Hidden Chamber" reveals some trumpet abstraction, it quickly evolves into a somber processional with staggered, shimmering guitars, a wave of ambient electronica, and whispering cymbals framing a mournful melody. The lyric line is carried even as the tune's intensity ramps up with rumbling basslines and sine-wave synths, all without losing the somber martial flavor. "King Kutner" is a rock tune with bluesy lead guitar and a popping bassline framed by snare breaks and a punchy kick drum. Its chorus nods directly at
Heart's "Crazy on You" before
Cohen enters to take it afield before falling in line.
Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" is a complete reinvention, although it remains recognizable. The guitars are used impressionistically: one plays flamenco lines around
Cohen's horn on the melody, and the other creates an open harmonic system as the snare holds down a basic beat with few embellishments. The other cover is
Massive Attack's "Teardrop." Its reverbed drums and treated guitars flit across the foreground weightlessly as the bassline, synths, and samples find room to hover in the margin.
Cohen's harmonic articulation of
Liz Fraser's lyric line is a revelation: At its root, it's eerily similar to
Traffic's "Dear Mr. Fantasy." The kick drums and tom-toms assume a dubwise flavor, adding heft to the sparse six-string embellishments before the tune travels off into trip-hop land and then returns with more complex textural dimensions. "The Things You Tell Me" is a hooky,
Bill Frisell-esque Americana tune that slips in a quote from the intro to
Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper." "This Time Is Different" is bumping, swinging, jazz-funk with great soloing from
Cohen. "Teno Neno" emerges from mid-'70s soul with whammy-bar guitars, space, and a melody that resonates like a seductive love song. This band is one to keep an eye on if you have catholic tastes.
Big Vicious wanders freely between its many influences to emerge with a compelling identity of its own. ~ Thom Jurek