Upon arriving in NYC in 2005 from his native Tel-Aviv on a
full scholarship to The New School, word spread like wildfire that an exciting
new player, guitarist Yotam Silberstein, had arrived on the scene. None other
than the legendary James Moody took him under his wing (providing an instant
endorsement of his prowess with jazz and all of its off-shoots/sub-genres), and
he quickly bonded with musicians such as Antonio Hart and Roy Hargrove. His
early success in NYC wasn't without precedent however, with Silberstein winning
the coveted "Israeli Jazz Player of The Year" award at age 21, and
quickly following that up with a critically-acclaimed debut album, a
performance at the prestigious Umbria Jazz Festival, and an extensive tour of
Europe and the Middle East. But having the nod from Moody raised his profile to
the extent that within six years of settling in the Big Apple, Silberstein had
been called upon to work with such luminaries as The Heath Brothers, Paquito D'
Rivera, Monty Alexander, Hargrove, the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Stars and
others. Most recently, Silberstein has been in the studio with the great John
Patitucci, laying down tracks for the bassist/composer's new trio recording,
Irmãos de Fé.
Now, Silberstein, along with guitarists such as Lage Lund,
Peter Bernstein and his fellow countryman Gilad Hekselman, represents one of
the inspiring and influential forces of jazz, and guitar, in NYC and around the
world. Following up four recordings as a leader (The Arrival - 2003, Next Page - 2009, Resonance - 2010
and Brasil - 2011), and dozens of recordings as a sideman, Silberstein is quite
proud and happy to present his new recording, The Village, to the world. It is
by far his finest work, in that Silberstein was able to bring together many
influences that are meaningful to him, including music from the Middle East,
Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Argentina, Uruguay and of course jazz and blues, all
fully absorbed and forged into a unique and coherent voice. The Village will be
released on the jazz & people label on January 27, 2017 (released in Europe
on December 2).
For the recording of The Village Silberstein surrounded
himself with close friends,
Aaron Goldberg (piano), Reuben Rogers (bass) and Greg
Hutchinson (drums), who collectively could only be described as a world-class,
dream-team rhythm section, allowing the grandeur of the guitarist's mastery to
shine through unadulterated. "I was so happy in the studio looking around
and seeing my band members who are each virtuosos on their instruments, and
dear friends; they understand and support my musical vision, and play my music
as if they wrote it!," said Silberstein.
Yotam Silberstein and The Village offer additional,
unequivocal proof that Israel is a promised land for jazz musicians, and
testimony that the art form of jazz guitar, and the harmonic language of jazz,
brought to life by Kenny Burrell, Wes Montgomery, Grant Green, Lennie Tristano
and many others, is alive and evolving in the music of Yotam Silberstein.
More about the music on
The Village with Yotam Silberstein:
1. Parabens - "Congrats" in Portuguese. I wrote
this little blues two years ago on my birthday, and because of that, and
because the rhythm is "baião" from northern Brazil, I decided to name
it "Parabens".
2. Milonga Gris. The
first time I heard this haunting piece, composed by one of my biggest
influences, the great Carlos "Negro" Aguirre, I was completely blown
away. I wanted to do something different with it, later I got to play it with
my dear friend and incredible musician Andrès Beeuwsaert, who also contributed
this arrangement.
3. Nocturno is a little lullaby, a night song. I first
recorded this tune on my album Brasil with Roy Hargrove and Toninho Horta, but
I felt the need to do something different with it, and I really like this
quartet's version of it.
4. The Village is dedicated to Greenwich Village, NYC, which
is a very important place for me. Musically and spiritually, it is the vibrant
center of jazz scene and this song reflects that, to me. It also refers to the
fact that the world has become one global village, with easy access through the
Internet and social media to different styles of music and musicians from all
over the planet.
5. Stav - "Autumn" in Hebrew. I originally wrote
this for a film soundtrack (the film never came out), so I decided to keep it
for this album. Originally I wrote the melody for cello, but Reuben Rogers
plays it more beautifully than I could have imagined.
6. Fuzz is dedicated to my friend and great tenor player
Asaf Yuria. The guys are swinging really hard on this one!
7. I wrote Albayzin after a very inspiring visit to the
beautiful city of Granada, Spain. After the death of the great Paco de Lucia, I
decided to dedicate this one to his memory.
8. Changes - meaning chords/harmony, and this song has a lot
of them!
9. O Voo da mosca - "the flight of the fly" in
Portuguese, was written by one of my favorite musicians and biggest influences,
Jacob do Bandolim, from Brasil. This song was so difficult to translate from
mandolin to guitar, that it took me about two years to work on it, but I'm very
happy with the result.
10. October was written on a beautiful Fall day in October.
I was sitting in Prospect Park in Brooklyn with my guitar and felt very
inspired to write this.
11. Lennie Bird was composed by another one of my major
influences, the great Lennie Tristano. It's based on the chord changes of the
standard, "How High the Moon."
Upcoming Tour Dates in Celebration of The Village:
December 29 - Bar Next Door, NYC - Duet with Peter Bernstein
January 16 - 12 on 14 - Warsaw, Poland
January 18 - Unterfahrt - Munich, Germany
January 20 - Jazz Club Lustenau - Lustenau, Austria
January 21 - Zigzag, Berlin, Germany
January 26 - Sunset/Sunside Jazz Club - Paris, France
February 8 - The Jazz Standard - NYC CD RELEASE CELEBRATION!
W/Glenn Zaleski, Matt Penman & Eric Harland
February 20-26 - Velenje Workshop, Slovenia
March 5 - Atlanta Jewish Music Festival, Georgia
March 18 - Copernic - Paris, France
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