Two recent releases do covers on Eddie Harris’ “Freedom Jazz Dance”. Is something in the air?
If you aren’t a member of the Tribe, “Hagiga” translates from Hebrew to “A Festival Offering”. Reading right to left, Alon Farber plays soprano and alto saxes with a team of Yehonatan Cohen/ts-fl-cl, Obed Meir/tb, Eden Giat/p, Assaf Hakimi/b and Roy Oliel on an album of mostly originals dedicated to social issues of the day, mostly the ever difficult to grasp “freedom”. Sarai Zak-Levi adds her warm voice to blend with Farber’s soprano sax on the Latin pulsed “Theme For Michael” to exquisite effectd, while she’s as warm as a Mediterranean sunset alongside his alto for the graceful “Israeli Song”, blending well with Cohen’s flute on the galloping “You’ll See The Way”. The team digs in deep with Hakimi’s electric bass p ulse on the soulful bop “Reflection of Freedom/Freedom Jazz Dance” and gets funky with Farber and O liel on the back beat of “Farbalak”. Rony Iwryn’s percussion adds to the urgency of the horns led by Meir on the exciting “Hammouda”, while the harmonies float well like clouds on the misty “Ima (Mother)”. Sweet as sabra fruit.
Bassist Leon Lee Dorsey brings together a sizzling trio with pianist Manuel Valera and hard bop vet Mike Clark on drums on a mix of originals and a couple standards. Eddie Harris’ “Freedom Jaz Dance” has Clark opening the album up in sizzling style, leading to modal chords a la Hancock via Valera, while Hilton Ruiz’s “Home Cookin’” is a bluesy church outing with Dorsey leading the boogaloo. Ruiz’s
New Arrival” is urgently directed by Clark, and Valera delivers a gorgeous intro to a graceful take of “How Insensitive” . Dorsey’s own tunes include an askance, loose and Monkish “Baptism”, an ebullient ballad “Until the End of Time” and a gospel strut of the blues on “Chillin”. A blue plate special of bop.