Jazz combined with a classic string section is of course nothing new. Famous are the recordings of saxophonist and bebop legend Charlie Parker with strings from 1949, while pianist Chick Corea successfully fuses with a chamber orchestra in 2012 on his album The Continents. His protégé, the Israeli bassist and composer Avashai Cohen also decided to combine jazz with classical music on his fourteenth
… album. Almah thus became a varied album on which the two styles sometimes almost seem to compete with each other. At best it sounds when the jazz band and strings section collectively get going, as in the cinematic and exciting On A Black Horse / Linearity. Here the entire ensemble gives the throttle for inspired solos by Cohen and pianist Nitai Hershkovits. When classical music takes over, it sometimes threatens to collapse. Cohen seems to lack the compositional qualities for this. Fortunately these moments are sporadic and Almah is above all a strong record by a jazz musician with a sense of adventure. (MR)more
