Our new album,
Jazz from the Middle to the East Vol II, was released on i-tunes last month. Check it out! I'm really proud of this record, and humbled to get to play with my friends, Gilad Chazav and Shay Zelman.
Listen to us
here: (Christmas 2012)
Playing Jazz and making records with my Israeli Friends Was one of the highlights of my olmsted experience.
below are some nice
reviews of these
albums published in jazz times...enjoy!
Shalom Ya'll, Stew :)
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Chatzav / Welch / Zelman Trio: Jazz From The Middle To The East - Songs From The White City Volume 2 (2015)
.jpg "Chatsav / Welch / Zelman Trio: Jazz from the Middle to the East - Songs from the White City Volume 2")
Whereas the first album in the series saw him giving much room to his trio members to showcase their talent, in this second album, Gilad Chatsav really takes the lead on every piece, thus confirming his competence as a jazz pianist and his well-seated position on the Israeli jazz scene.
Jazz from the Middle to the East—Songs from the White City volume 2 is the second album in the series, still featuring Stewart Welch on bass and joined in this time by very active Israeli drummer Shay Zelman. The album consists of 10 tracks, including four covers, four original compositions and one arrangement of an Israeli popular song by icon singer Ofra Haza.
The album opens with a romping rendition of Wes Montgomery's Four on Six, where we recognize Gilad Chatsav's fondness for lively tempos and the spirit of jazz. The first few notes of Errol Garner's notorious ballad, Misty, set the mood of the album and Chatsav's fluid and swinging solo keeps the attention of all of us, straightforward jazz lovers. Keeping in the same vein, the trio performs another popular cover, Beatrice, with the same ease. Unlike the original, which is elegant and smooth, Chatsav's interpretation is definitely livelier, omitting a tender introduction and delving right into the melody whilst keeping his trio into a tight-knit performance. As a last cover, Chatsav is unafraid to tackle the freewheeling, fiery, cerebral Giant Steps. Although I've always personally enjoyed McCoy Tyner's version, Gilad Chatsav's more intimate interpretation is as compelling. Chatsav, I find, is less concerned about making it sound like an exercise but concentrates more on the recurring melody.
Lament for Kent is undoubtedly the follow-up from November in Prague which appeared on Volume 1 of the series, as if it formed a diptych. Welch's bass playing on these two tunes is so convincingly sad the listener can only imagine the story behind it. The tune starts in a mournful tone but soon morphs into a fiery crescendo with Chatsav's piano solo, the kind his followers wish he'd perform more often. One of my favourite tunes on the album is the appropriately titled, cinematic Music for a French Film, which reveals a more vulnerable side of Gilad Chatsav. Through the simple, languid phrasing, Chatsav does a bit of soul-searching in performing a softer melody which culminates in a short, heart-stirring spiraling of notes, and even though, he doesn't quite dare surrender completely, the tune is infectious. Another one of my favourite is Stew's Blues, where Chatsav returns to more familiar territory and engages in an upbeat tune, introduced by a short bass solo before ending the piece with a repeating chorus, which is one of Chatsav's signatures.
Except for Na'ama, one of Ofra Haza's most popular songs and one of Chatsav's personal favourites, which sticks like a sore thumb in this otherwise very cool jazz set, and Faustina Sokolov's vocals which sound too forced, Jazz from the Middle to the East-Songs from the White City volume 2 is an enjoyable mix of well-executed up-tempo standards and softer tunes, which every aficionado of Israeli jazz musicians should include in their collection.
Now that listeners are more familiar with Chatsav's evident musicianship, we can only hope for his next album to include solely original compositions.
Personnel: Gilad Chatsav: piano; Stewart Welch: bass; Shay Zelman: drums
Record Label: Kicha Studios
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Welch / Chazav / Israeli Trio: Jazz From The Middle To The East: Songs From Tel Aviv (2013)
Gilad Chatsav's third album,
Jazz from the Middle to the East—Songs from
Tel Aviv, grabs you from the start. Not necessarily because of its musical ingenuity, but because of its diversity of styles and rhythms. The album features ten pieces, all original compositions by Chatsav, saving two by Welch as well as two arrangements ("Caravan" and "Ode to the Bay").
Gilad Chatsav teams up again with old friend and bassist Stewart Welch and is joined this time by Boston-based drummer Noam Israeli, who is carving himself a serious career in the United States. The interplay between the trio is natural and they came up with tunes that slowly reveal their textures as you listen to them repeatedly.
Whilst Chatsav is the one leading his trio, he gives Welch ample room to showcase his musicianship and, although he may seem minor at first, Israeli's performance and constant backing is intrinsic to each piece.
The set undoubtedly comes from the cool jazz tradition, though it includes Latin and Middle Eastern undertones. The album opens with the quick tempo of "Olmsted Blues," which suggests a classical approach to jazz, followed by "Down in Jaffa," which is reminiscent of Choro music, with its fast and happy rhythm. "Sinai" and "Bloom," both Chatsav's original compositions, which he had already released on his previous album
Places, show how distinguished a composer he is (and we can just imagine how he'd excel at improvisation.) In these versions, he plays solos that are uninhibited, yet elegant and which clearly demonstrate that Chatsav, in spite of his involvement with other musical genres, he is foremost a jazz pianist. The atmospheric start of "Sinai," supported by the bass and drums droning beat, slowly leads Chatsav into an earnest solo which clearly validates the range of his musical ability. The prudent approach to "Bloom," with its melody ebbing in and out at first, soon turns into a more confident variety of fluctuating tempos, which Chatsav teases the listener with, as if he didn't want to abandon the melody, sounding almost improvised. My only regret is that it doesn't last long enough to be enjoyed to its fullest. One of my favorite pieces has to be "November in Prague," which reveals a melancholic, almost plaintive, conversation between the bass and the piano. Chatsav's sorrowful and minimalist playing benefits from Welch's accompaniment which introduces and propels the melody.
"Don't Worry" is another Chatsav composition, of which the fluency meanders through a couple of musical lines, and which, once again, confirms how Chatsav enjoys inspiring his listeners to feel a range of emotions in just a few minutes. He includes two arrangements from two very different sources, Otis Redding's famous "Ode to the Bay" and Duke Ellington's jazz standard "Caravan." The latter sounds much less exotic than its original version, but is balanced by "Ode to the Bay"'s playful mid-tempo. The alternate take on "Olmsted Blues" brings the set to a full circle.
Altogether, a very enjoyable album. Keep an eye out for Gilad Chatsav, there is serious potential here.
Track Listing: Olmsted Blues; Down in Jaffa; City Slicker; Sinai; November in Prague; Bloom; Ode to the Bay; Don't Worry; Caravan; Olmsted Blues (alternate take).
Personnel: Gilad Chatsav: piano; Stewart Welch: upright bass; Noam Israeli: drums.
Record Label: Bar Ilan University Studios Israel
