Trombonist Yossi Itskovitch brings together a double sax team of Sam Barnett & Charlie Rose along with trumpeter Oscar Lattore, vocalist Tatiana Nova and a rhythm team of Marton Juhasz/dr, Fabio Guovea/g, Nadav Erlich/b and Iannis Oboils/p for a collection of
You can tell that Itskovitch has been under the tutlege of bop masters like Barry Harris and Slide Hampton, as there is a rich mix of clever harmonies and sophisticated charts melded to perfection like a stew. There’s an Ellingtonian elegance to Oboils’ piano on the intro to “Our Future” that leads to an agonizingly rich alto solo surrounded by a Greek Chorus of brass in the climax. Lattore tears through the charging rhythm section and sax accents on the biting “Keith” while Erlich opens up the agonizing “40 Years” with a solo that eventually brings in the cantoral horns in replay before Itskovitch cries out for peace when there is no peace, giving a same fete for the pleading “Yesterlives”.
Nova is framed in textured colors on the bright “Altars” and the team takes a drive down to the Latin Quarter on the kinetic “Yo Si Que Si” with Lattore at the helm. The colors are a mix of bold on a black canvas, like a musical El Greco. Gaze for awhile.