Unconditional Love

Apparently, the first one to steer and use the combination of the words ′′ the whole is bigger than all its parts ′′ was Aristotle. This phrase has many interpretations in different fields, but in my eyes, this is the essence of a good jazz composition. Mostly because creative and inspiring musicians make their friends sound better.

A week ago I received the new (yes, really a disc) of the saxophonist and composer Amit Friedman, Unconditional Love. Over the past few days he's been playing with me in a row, non stop. The album ′′ Unconditional Love ′′ is dedicated to his father who died in 2017 and also to Amit's two daughters (their photo playing is on the front of the disc). But the love that is felt in the ten tracks in the album is much exceeded than that of a son to his father and a father to his daughters. The album is a love song for music, jazz in general and Israeli jazz in particular. Friedman's music is diverse, accessible and pleasant to the ear, but not at the expense of the depth and complexity. Definitely one that you can listen to over and over again. Not to Friedman's debut album, ′′ Sunrise ′′ released in 2012, became the best-selling jazz album in Israel that year, his theme song entered the list of most played songs on 88 FM and in addition, we in Columbus chose the album for one of ten The albums of the decade in Israeli Jazz (2010-2020). The presence of Friedman who wrote almost the melodies is found in every album, and his ability to gather around him wonderful musicians who come to express their full power is notable and wonderful no less. Gilad Ebro's bass on the last strip (rendition of Paul McCarthney's ' junk '), is a great example of this. The power and creativity of Ebro, one of the best bassists that grew here, strengthens Friedman's creations and shapes them and joins him also Jonathan Rosen, one of the busy drummers in the country. The young (25) and talented pianist, Tom Oren, from the prominent of his generation in the world jazz scene is present not only in playing but also in adaptations and of course in his great solos. Oren and Friedman's duet, ′′ Real-Roll ", demonstrates the perfect coordination between the two alongside their processing and improvisation skills when the end result is impressive and delightful. One of the most beautiful and addictive segments of the album, Stride by Stride, is a melody written by Friedman for the lyrics (in English) by Autumn Elvis, in the voice of Doron Talmon (Jane Bordeaux) with more spectacular decorations by Amos Hoffman, and the sound of bells by the Prakshnist Ronnie Aver The rest of the tracks are great too and include Friedman's range of influences - blues, Brazilian music, Mediterranean and more. Unconditional Love is a delightful album and one of the best albums I've heard in a while. Don't allow yourself to miss him.