Eli Degibri has a “throwback” sound on his tenor: rich, thick with early morning fog that burns off in the afternoon. He fronts a quartet with Gadi Lehavi/p, Barak Mori/b and Ofri Nehemya/dr through a mix of standards and clever originals. He strips down with Lehavi on a wonderful duet on “Autumn in New York” that displays his palpable lyricism, while his breathy sound on the melodic title track builds up into a hot climax. The rhythm team is spicy on the danceable “Mambo” while an intricate and ectomorphic “The Spider” has some exotic Middle Eastern sensibilities. He switches to soprano on while Shlomo Ydov sings with open shirt exposing chest hair machismo on “Liora Mi Amor” before the leader takes mandolin to hand for a meditative and New Agey “Old Seven.” Creative yet holding on to traditions from multiple continents.
Plus Loin Music