Avishai Cohen (bass vocal); Elchin Shirinov (piano); Mark Giuliana (drums) + Gothenburg
Symphony Orchestra (conducted
by Alexander Hanson)
The technicolor “Director’s
Cut” of the Israeli bass master’s small
group’s biggest hits! Cohen
has previously augmented
his outstanding groups
to include strings, but this goes a step further, with
a 92-strong leviathan orchestra expanding a
selection of his old favourites to the epic symphonic scale. While
the undeniable rhythmic
and melodic intensity of his Arab/folk tunes suggest
they would survive this enlargement, I
have to say I had doubts whether they would benefit from
it.
My first listen was in
the lockdown home barber shop, where my drummer son’s formidable manual
dexterity was put to good use scaling back my overgrown locks.
Although the erstwhile trimmer does an excellent job, his slow but sure method ensured
we had plenty of time to savour all 12 songs on
the whole 60 minute album, as well as a bottle
of Old Peculier to
calm the (customer’s at least!) nerves.
This first outing
left me intrigued but underwhelmed in respect of comparison with the vibrant and
agile originals, and the hair cut was altogether more of a success!
However, as Cohen himself notes: “Of
course, 80 people won’t play a beat like two or three people would. There’s a
kind of inertia, which you have to get used to, and you have
to understand how they breathe. It’s like a
horse, at once beautiful, powerful and delicate.” With this in mind, subsequent listening
was conducted with the benefit of full high quality stereo reproduction with sub-woofer, and no
tonsorial distractions. In such
near-concert hall conditions (!) there
is a majestic sweep to the music, which will appeal
to many audiences across the classical and
popular spectrum - the real thing would no doubt be stunning.
Cohen marshals the
orchestra’s resources with some aplomb, approaching Mahlerian in
places, with swooning tuttis,
strutting bass section pizzicatos and majestic Wunderhorns, mingled
with stirring melodies borne
by the well drilled violins and wind sections. And
yet, despite the accuracy and power of the
orchestra, in most cases I felt the beating heart of
his music was diminished in this deluxe treatment.
Worse, there are several egregious forays into the twee vocals of
his later albums, especially When I’m Falling and Nature
Boy, where Cohen comes
across as a journeyman Kurt
Elling. The instrumental A
Child is Born (Thad Jones 1969) is a curious choice, with
the schmaltz relieved only by a nice bass solo.
The high spots
are unsurprisingly the songs with the strongest
tunes, which retain the jaunty folk rhythms, and showcase the power trio
of Cohen, Guiliana and Shirinov. The magnificent Song
for My Brother gains some new brass voices, while the
traditional, bouncing title song is one of the few with obviously improvised
sections. These feature a
great piano break and some subtle yet powerful drumming,
which also feature on Emotional
Storm. Likewise, Arab
Medley makes the most of the catchy rhythms,
with some authentic and rich
sung lines.
But these few songs
are the exception, and my final verdict is the same post hair-cut – while
this album may
attract some new listeners, the definitive jazz versions remain Cohen’s outstanding small
group originals and this de
luxe treatment
is something of an indulgence.
Chris K
Try/buy CD, Double
Vinyl LP
Label: Naïve/Believe, Catalogue
Number: M7370, Release Date : 16/04/2021
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