All In

4-STARS All In is the second recording by Israeli-born guitarist Gil Livni, and it is a humdinger from start to finish, thanks to Livni's remarkable skills as a player and composer, and those of his stellar teammates: saxophonist Amit Friedman, organist Yonatan Riklis and drummer Yonatan Rosen. Singly or as a unit, they make All In a genuine pleasure to hear and applaud.

Livni plays a light and lyrical guitar, using for the most part inventive single-note runs to amplify and underscore his unique musical vision. An exception is Livni's fast-paced original, "Granted," wherein dense chordal progressions are used in place of the typical one-line statements. Livni wrote seven of the album's consistently charming numbers, adding to them the Beatles' "I Want You (She's So Heavy)," the alluring standard "I Thought About You" and Woodrow Johnson's bluesy missive, "Since I Fell for You."

Tenor saxophonist Friedman, who performs on seven tracks, is a hip and innovative soloist, as is organist Riklis, who helps lend the group its harmonic and rhythmic personality. Rosen supports them all the way with smooth and steady timekeeping. Friedman's absence on the trio numbers is scarcely missed, as everyone zeros in on the goal and has no trouble scoring whatever points are needed.

The quartet sprints from the starting gate on Livni's run-and-done "Wonder Woman," wherein everyone flashes his impressive chops, before slowing the pace with the blues-drenched "All In" and cheerful "Walk in the Park." Rock is the order of the day on "I Want You," gracefulness on "I Thought About You," liveliness on "Granted" (played sans tenor, as are "Walk in the Park" and "Pass the Ball").

The soulful "Since I Fell for You" leads to Livni's high-flying "Red Bird" and groove-centered finale, "Gentleman's Blues." Everyone is impressive there, as they are on every number. While Livni may not be a household name—or even an oft-heard name —in jazz circles either here or abroad, a few more recordings on the order of All In may well change that. Livni definitely has the talent; how far he climbs from here depends on his commitment and how sharp and well-reasoned his musical choices are. So far, so good.