Rotem Sivan Trio: A New Dance

You can only imagine the hurricane-like storm of hyperbole that accompanies every new release by every single fresh young jazz artist on today's scene. We are promised, every time, that the artist in question (...always immensely-talented) is a "musical genius" and "true innovator" who is going to "transform the jazz world as we know it." The only thing such purple prose engenders in me is a healthy sense of skepticism. You hear such stuff once, twice, a million times and when you get the goods, the disappointment instantly sets in. But, hey, the hype might start a conversation, or it may make one wax philosophical, or it may simply sell CDs. What the hype machine cannot consider is that some young artists may appear on the scene as fully-formed musical giants, while others may need a few albums under their belt to hit their stride. Still others might need a formative experience as a sideman under the wings of an established artist, and others might simply slip quietly into lives that don't involve being the next big thing in the jazz world.

All of this is worth mentioning because the release of For Emotional Use Only (Fresh Sound New Talent, 2014), the second album by Israeli-born guitarist Rotem Sivan, was accompanied by the usual intensely glowing corona of hype; a sure sign that somewhere, a publicist was sleeping soundly at night. And that album was quite good, a bit derivative perhaps, but Sivan seemed to be a name to watch. Fleet-fingered, harmonically-rich, and with a "pure jazz" guitar concept derived from the likes of John Abercrombie, Jim Hall, and Tal Farlow, Sivan had just enough left-field stuff going on to stand out a bit from the hoi polloi.

Sivan's convictions come to far greater fruition on A New Dance; an album with a hype-fulfilling surfeit of passion, individualism, charm, and unadulterated jazz sweat. A New Dance succeeds, in part, on sheer group chemistry. Sivan wisely retained the services of the gifted young Israeli bassist Haggai Cohen Milo. Their sparkling, inventive and energetic interactions with new drummer Colin Stranahan are catalytic; taking Sivan's music to a whole 'nother level. The proof is in the trio's work with the standard repertoire. "Angel Eyes"—a bluesy ballad traditionally given a slow-burn. late-night vibe—is convincingly cast in a completely different light. Cohen-Milo takes the melody over Sivan's rapidly strummed chords as Stranahan's cymbals ease in. The focus abruptly shifts, and the energy level goes way up, as Sivan takes the lead and Stranahan prods and pokes with off- centered fills and accents that increase the tension and swing like hell. The trio take Thelonious Monk's classic "In Walked Bud" to new places as well. Here, Sivan's understated spontaneity seems almost childlike as the trio slowly immerses itself into Monk's world. Again, Sivan swaps leads with Cohen- Milo, but the result is an intense trio conversation that invites the listener to lean forward and anticipate the next change. Most startling of all is Oded Tzur's impossibly breathy saxophone intro to "I Fall In Love Too Easily." It took me a full minute to figure out what was going on. What follows is pure jazz ballad lushness.

Sivan's excellent originals comprise the bulk of this album and, while they draw on a surprisingly diverse musical palette, their focus is unswervingly jazz-oriented. Both "One for Aba" and "Yam" are lovely lead sheet-type tunes that draw on the ethnic music of Sivan's native land. The title track is restlessly inventive and sunny in the vein of Pat Metheny's Bright Size Life (ECM Records, 1976), while "I Wish You Were Here" is an effortless ballad that frames a dark, woody solo by the immensely-talented Cohen-Milo. The biggest departure is the set's lone vocal number, "Almond Tree," an easygoing slice of the singer-songwriter pie that seems incongruous couched amongst Sivan's brainy, highly detailed jazz guitar creations. Singer Daniel Wright, firmly in the mellow, reflective style of Michael Franks and Kenny Rankin, acquits himself quite well. "Fingerprints," by contrast, is a fast-paced tune that could be classified as a "burner" if it wasn't rife with a dizzying variety of modulations, twists, turns and pauses. Here, Stranahan carries the day: his playing is virtuosic yet preserves that magical happy-go-lucky spirit of fun. Jazz is fun!

So, yeah, the hype may be right on the money regarding Rotem Sivan.

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