4 Stars on FT - Gilad Atzmon & the Orient House Ensemble: Songs of the Metropolis
ft.com
The saxophonist/clarinettist eloquently mixes modal jazz, Middle Eastern scales and funky beats
Gilad Atzmon’s seventh album with his long-running quartet is a peon to a recent past, when urban spaces belonged to the people who lived in them, and cities had distinct emotional characters.
The saxophonist/clarinettist portrays the idiosyncrasies with a masterly blend of controlled passion and sharp focus, eloquently mixing modal jazz, Middle Eastern scales and funky beats.
“Vienna” is captured with a charming waltz, tragedy-haunted “Tel Aviv” with a funk-driven mash-up and “Buenos Aires” with a haunting, stately theme that gains pathos from an echo of accordion.
Gilad Atzmon & the Orient House Ensemble
Songs of the Metropolis
(World Village)
