Over four albums in six years (including one of John Zorn's Masada compositions), Koby Israelite has been one of the more consistently polished and satisfying artists under the "Radical Jewish Culture" rubric. Born in Tel Aviv and working in jazz and rock bands in London (where he continues to reside), Israelite's take on the jazz/rock/sephardica isn't surprising given the label's catalogue, but it is reliably fulfilling. He's a talented instrumentalist (here he's heard on accordion, piano and keyboard, percussion, mandolin, bouzouki, guitar and bass, and clarinet, flute and sax) and an interesting composer (all 12 compositions here are his, two of them written with the beautifully mournful singer Mor Karbasi), but where he shines most is in his dynamic-yet-organic arrangements.
One of the pitfalls of urban ethnic jazz experimentation is the risk of the various sounds not getting along, as if creating an audio diaspora, a clash of cultures, even a race riot rather like the cities the music reflects, where that is not always the intent. The breadth of areas from which Israelite draws at once makes him quite at home on Tzadik: rock guitar, Bacharach lyrics, Morricone rhythms and Hebrew songs. But few musicians manage to pile it on all at once the way he does. With nine additional players atop his already full bed, there's plenty of sound here, and enough electric instruments and heavy drums that it often feels more rakishly rockish than anything else. But there's much more underfoot. Music at once so smart and enjoyable transcends such divisions.
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