Human (ECM)
Shai Maestro
Released February 29, 2021
AllMusic Favorite Jazz Albums 2021
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About:
In its review of pianist Shai Maestro’s ECM leader debut The Dream Thief, All About Jazz spoke of “a searching lyrical atmosphere, emotional eloquence and communal virtuosity that serves the music.” All of which also applies to Human, where Maestro’s outgoing, highly communicative band with fellow Israeli Ofri Nemheya on drums and Peruvian bassist Jorge Roeder becomes a quartet with the inspired addition of US trumpeter Philip Dizack. Shai’s expansive pianism and differentiated touch is well-matched by Dizack’s alert, quick-thinking approach to improvising.
“Philip’s trumpet playing sounds to me like a human voice speaking to you,” says Shai Maestro, “and adding him to the trio takes us to our next level. It’s like we found a secret gear in the car all of a sudden. It’s a whole new adventure, and I absolutely love it.”
Raised in Milwaukee, Dizack honed his skills on tours and recordings with Bobby Watson, Dr.Lonnie Smith, Eddie Palmieri, Jimmy Cobb and more. In New York, Maestro and Dizack played together as sidemen on gigs with numerous groups and gigs. “We’ve shared the stage so often, in fact, that neither of now remembers what the first occasion was. But there was always a special understanding between us on how we see music and how we see life,” says Shai. “It’s one of those relationships that it feels like it’s always been there. “
The pianist describes the trumpeter as “a keen listener who also knows how to accompany, a difficult task when you are a horn player. It requires amazing ears, compassion, and the ability to play a huge dynamic range – to be another architect in the band. Philip can scream and whisper with his trumpet. I can take the back seat for a few minutes. Jorge has another melodic instrument to take into consideration now – wood and metal, a whole new set of colours. Both Jorge and Ofri are blossoming. I feel Ofri is starting to let the music “simmer”, cooking on a small flame, and letting it grow by itself, without interfering. Everyone is more challenged, more attentive. “
As ever, Maestro is taking the music forward while also respecting its sense of tradition, in a programme comprised almost entirely of original pieces, which explore a broad range of temperaments and colours. “Hank and Charlie” a feature for the bandleader and bassist Jorge Roeder, pays tribute to two of Shai’s musical influences. “Hank Jones and Charlie Haden are my heroes. Their finesse, minimalism, storytelling and sounds are breathtaking. I have been obsessed for many years with their album of spirituals and hymns, Steal Away. Though I’m not a religious person, I wrote this piece thinking about a kind of worship song, a prayer. It is my way of expressing my gratitude to two giants of this music.”
The one jazz standard on the album “In A Sentimental Mood” references the version played by its composer Duke Ellington in his 1963 collaboration with John Coltrane: “I’m obviously a huge Coltrane admirer, so this song has been with me for many years.” Shai’s new arrangement is also inspired by the expressive playing of a friend and contemporary, the vibraphonist Joel Ross. Shai says that he tried to take Ross’s sense of “notes flying around the room, embracing the sound and energy that comes your way” into account, “weaving this feeling into the melody and form of a song I love.”
Human marks Shai’s third appearance on ECM. Theo Bleckmann’s 2016 recording Elegy, with Maestro as contributing musician, came first, followed by The Dream Thief with the trio with Jorge Roeder and Ofri Nehemya, in 2018. “The music definitely involved since The Dream Thief. We are all different people now, and when music gives so much room for interpretation and improvisation the music changes with you. You grow as a human and the music grows with you. And living in New York changes you very quickly. Everyday I’ve been exposed to new people, new artists, new ways of making music. I have dived deeper into harmonic studies, into avant-garde playing, into playing drums myself and into the sometime abstract research of how to come up with a good melody. The majority of the songs came out in quick bursts of creativity. Usually at night, when it feels like the world around you is asleep and you have a rare moment where the street is quiet, the phone is off, and you can really develop something.” Album title Human has special resonance for Shai Maestro: “I played music for many years, trying to make it be ‘above’ life – an isolated experience where I looked for transcendence, a sort of escape from everyday life. But the more I play, the more I understand that the very act of trying to reach this state prevents it from happening. So I started accepting music-making as a part of my everyday experience. So, when working on Human, after writing each song and creating its universe I then just try to let it just be, without judgment because what I want to present is the human effort – and it’s full of opportunities, contrasts, colours, energy and life and is, finally, impossible to explain.”
Track Listing:
1. Time (Shai Maestro) 03:23
2. Mystery and Illusions (Shai Maestro) 08:32
3. Human (Shai Maestro) 02:34
4. GG (Shai Maestro) 04:44
5. The Thief’s Dream (Shai Maestro) 07:53
6. Hank and Charlie (Shai Maestro) 04:41
7. Compassion (Shai Maestro) 03:24
8. Prayer (Shai Maestro) 04:26
9. They Went to War (Shai Maestro) 05:22
10. In a Sentimental Mood (Irving Mills, Manny Kurtz, Duke Ellington) 05:47
11. Ima (For Talma Maestro) (Shai Maestro) 05:32
Personnel:
Shai Maestro: piano
Jorge Roeder: double bass
Ofri Nehemya: drums
Philip Dizack: trumpet
Recorded February 2020, at Studios La Buissonne, Pernes les Fontaines, by Gérard de Haro
Produced by Manfred Eicher
Mastered by Nicolas Baillard
Cover: Mayo Bucher
Design: Sascha Kleis
Review:
An Israeli-born pianist steeped in classical and post-bop traditions, Shai Maestro has worked with a bevy of progressive artists, including bassist Avishai Cohen, guitarist/singer Camila Meza, and vocalist Theo Bleckmann. He has also garnered attention for his own delicately textured trio albums, including his eponymous 2012 debut and 2018 ECM album The Dream Thief. Maestro further expands this approach on his sophomore ECM outing, 2021’s Human. Once again joining Maestro are his globally-minded trio bandmates Peruvian bassist Jorge Roeder and Israeli drummer Ofri Nehemya. Also coming on board here is Miluwakee-born trumpeter Philip Dizack. The 2005 winner of the Carmine Caruso International Trumpet Competition and a semi-finalist of the 2007 Thelonious Monk Jazz Competition, Dizack is an immensely adept improvisor with a style that straddles the line between the fluid impressionism of Miles Davis and avant-garde motifs of Kenny Wheeler. Together, they play a deeply atmospheric brand of jazz well-suited to the ECM style. Some tracks, like “GG” and “They Went to War” are languid, far-eyed ballads evoking the painterly work of artists like Keith Jarrett and Paul Bley. Others are more lively, and tracks like the gently rambling “Mystery and Illusions” and dancerly “The Thief’s Dream” display Maestro’s knack for briskly adventurous improvisation. We also get a dazzlingly buoyant take on Duke Ellington’s “In a Sentimental Mood” in which Maestro transforms the usually languorous ballad into a kinetic burst of pointillist group interplay. There are also a handful of gorgeous and dusky cuts without Dizack, including the dreamy “Compassion” and warmly-delivered ballad “Hank and Charlie” that further illuminate Maestro’s harmonically nuanced skills.
Matt Collar (AllMusic)
