Assaf's modernistic approach to piano playing is refreshingly uncontrived.
Hailing from Israel and Belgium and brought together in New York City, The Roy Assaf / Eddy Khaimovich Quartet melds these cultural differences into a unique blend of sounds and influences. Along with the leaders are the Belgian saxophonist Robin Verheyen, drummer Ronen Itzik, and special guest, trumpet giant Roy Hargrove. With a dynamic composition style and dazzling piano technique, Roy Assaf was a recent recepient of the 2008 ASCAP Foundation?s Young Jazz Composer Award. Bassist Eddy Khaimovich has worked with many top performers in both jazz and classical music in venues throughout the U.S., Europe, and Israel.
Track Listing:
1 All of You 7:00
2 You Don't Know What Love Is 7:19
3 Stuv 5:36
4 On the Way? 6:31
5 The Saga of Imaba 8:46
6 Waltz for T 8:11
7 Andarta 8:17
Performers:
The Roy Assaf & Eddy Khaimovich Quartet is:
Roy Hargrove - Trumpet (1, 2, 4)
Robin Verheyen - Saxophones (1, 3-7)
Roy Assaf - Piano
Eddy Khaimovich - Double Bass
Ronen Itzik - Drums
Production Info:
Produced by Roy Assaf & Eddy Khaimovich
Co-produced by John Lee
Recorded & mixed by John Lee
on January 6, 8, 9, 2007
at Alley Cat Studio, South Orange, NJ
Mastered by Ed Littman, May 24, 2008
in North Haleden, NJ
Cover photo by Nathan Menifee
Band photos by Nikolas Smirnov
Cover design by John Bishop
Reviews of Andarta
All About Jazz.com (John Barron)
Pianist Roy Assaf and bassist Eddy Khaimovich are true musical soul mates. Much like the legendary partnerships of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, Donald Byrd and Pepper Adams, or Chick Corea and Gary Burton, Assaf and Khaimovich share unique similarities in their approach to playing and composing, perhaps as a result of their shared cultural h ...
Audiophile Audition (Birney K. Brown)
This release led by the Israeli-born, now New York-based pianist and bassist was much anticipated. They are masters of their instruments in addition to being talented arrangers and composers. One of the highlights of this disc is the superb engineering and mixing focusing on and highlighting their contributions, particularly the capturing of Khaim ...
All Music Guide (Adam Greenburg)
Two Israeli expatriates who stumbled upon one another on the New York jazz scene, pianist Roy Assaf and bassist Eddy Khaimovich put together a debut that capitalizes on the theme of modernization, updating not only classic compositions with new arrangements and reworkings, but updating the stylings of classic players through the quartet's stylings. ...
The Davis Enterprise (Ric Bang)
Pianist Roy Assaf and bassist Eddy Khaimovich hail from Israel, as does Romen Itzik, the drummer in their quartet. But they didn't know each other before they met in New York in 2006, while attending the Manhattan School of Music.
Both Assaf and Khaimovich began their musical careers playing in classical organizations in Israel; neither became i ...
CD HotList (Jeff Wanser)
Granted, the group doesn't have the catchiest name, but give them a chance. This pianist and bassist are joined by Ronen Itzik on drums and saxophonist Robin Verheyen to create a distinctive debut, with some help on several tracks from Roy Hargrove. They mix rhythmic complexity and harmonic experimentation into the mix without losing sight of the p ...