NEW RELEASES - HARRIS EISENSTADT / NICOLE MITCHELL, SHAULI EINAV, IAN O'BRIEN

HARRIS EISENSTADT / NICOLE MITCHELL - GOLDEN STATE

A really beautiful record from drummer Harris Eisenstadt – very different than most of his other work! The set comes out of a residence at Cal Arts by Eisenstadt, at the same time that flautist Nicole Mitchell was there too – and the result is a beautiful blend of Harris' unique sense of timing and spacing, and Mitchell's own sublime work on flute! The record still has lots of the spiritual undertones of Nicole's own records, thanks in part to work from Sara Schoenbeck on bassoon and Mark Dresser on bass – but there's also a different quality, too – a spirit that's very open and free – sometimes a bit dark and contemplative, but always basking in the glow of these newly discovered musical friendships. The rapport between the players comes through right away – and holds strongly over the course of tracks that include "It Is Never Safe To Be", "Sandy", "Unless All The Evidence Is In", "Dogmatic In Any Case", and "Flabbergasted By The Unconventional".  ~ Dusty Groove

SHAULI EINAV - GENERATIONS

A really wonderful set from reedman Shauli Einav – a player who's been around for a few years, but who we're only discovering with this album – an artist who really grabs us right away with his soulful work on tenor and soprano sax! As with many albums on the excellent Posi-tone label, there's a depth there that isn't immediately evident from the cover – a timeless approach to the music, but one that's really personal, too – immensely soulful in ways that remind us of some of our favorite indie jazz sets of years back, but with a vibe that's definitely Einav's own. Shauli has a slightly raspy touch to his tenor that really stands out – and he's set up wonderfully here in a quintet with Itai Kriss on flute, Don Friedman on piano, Or Bareket on bass, and Eliot Zigmund on drums – on titles that include a lot of classics by folks like John Coltrane, Harold Land, and Andrew Hill – tunes that include "Compulsion", "Land Of Nod", "Waltz For Zweetie", "Thermo Blues", "As You Like It", "Crescent", and "Renewal".  ~ Dusty Groove

IAN O'BRIEN - UNDERSTANDING IS EVERYTHING

A cosmic batch of keyboards from Ian O'Brien – including Fender Rhodes, Arp, moog, and more – served up in a sweet instrumental set that's got plenty of echoes from the best spacey scene of the 70s! Ian covers work by both Herbie Hancock and Lonnie Liston-Smith on the set – which will give you an idea of the righteous quality to the music – tunes that have a really rich, soulful vibe – one that's even different from O'Brien's earlier music, and which reflect a growing sense of social responsibility on this planet! The album's the sort that will have lots of new ears loving Ian's music – including our own – and titles include "Spiraling Prism", "The Explanation", "The Hexagon Of The Heavens", "Love Beams", "My Dreams Of Peace", and "Faded Memories".  ~ Dusty Groove