More than ten years ago, bassist/composer Noam Wiesenberg
left Tel-Aviv and descended upon Boston (graduating Berklee in 2010, Magna Cum
Laude in Jazz Performance), and eventually New York City, with the aspiration
of playing alongside the world's greatest musicians. After many years of doing
just that (with the likes of Camila Meza, Kevin Hays, Antonio Sanchez, Gilad
Hekselman, Ari Hoenig, Billy Hart, Seamus Blake, Shai Maestro, Will Vinson, Uri
Caine, Lage Lund, Dave Liebman and many others), the time has come to release
his debut album, and his premiere as a composer and bandleader, Roads Diverge.
They say, "timing is everything". Making choices
without fear of consequence can be daunting. And, in Robert Frost's famous poem
"The Road Not Taken" the author stresses the importance of choosing
the road less traveled. All of these factors played a significant part in the
conception, production and delivery of the album you hold in your hands, Roads
Diverge. "I think I have been hiding in other people's projects and music
a little bit, and it feels good to make this choice for myself. I've never gone
down the path of releasing my music before, so this is definitely a 'road less
traveled' for me, but it feels like the right time to do it!" The album, featuring
Noam Wiesenberg (bass, compositions), Philip Dizack (trumpet & FX),
Immanuel Wilkins (alto sax, clarinet), Shai Maestro (piano/Fender Rhodes), Kush
Abadey (drums), and special guest Dayna Stephens (tenor sax), will be released
this May 18, 2018 on Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records.
"It has taken me a long time to internalize that the
choice itself is what is important, the act of choosing rather than which
choice to make. It is often better to choose the 'wrong' path than to remain
still and safe. By making a choice you are making progress, for better or for
worse, and you are allowing yourself to grow," said the bassist.
"Taking the road less traveled is the only way to discover new
territories, which is so true in many aspects of life, and especially when it
comes to a life in jazz and improvised music. I wanted to draw attention to not
only the 'roads' in this music, but also to the point where they diverge. This
album is about the power of choice, and the power of making choices. This is a
strong idea for me, both conceptually and personally, and I am filled with
pride and joy over this project."
More on Roads Diverge: The album opens with Prelude, with
Wiesenberg offering us a "glimpse" of his wonderful sound, touch and
phrasing, foreshadowing Shir Le'Shir. The warm, dreamy sound underneath
Wiesenberg's bass is a synth pedal on the Fender Rhodes (played by Shai
Maestro).
Resfeber is an untranslatable word in Swedish that means,
"the restless race of the traveler's heart before the journey
begins". "I love untranslatable words. They say something about a
culture that has a word that no other culture/language has. If the Inuit have fifty
different words for snow, does that mean they can differentiate types of snow
better than others? I tried to captured the traveler's restlessness in this
composition, which comes to a peak during the horns' soli in the middle of the
track."
The exquisite folk song/lullaby-like melody of Shir Le'Shir
is for Wiesenberg's niece, written for her when she was born."Shir
Le'Shir" means "a song for Shir." "I wanted to write a
melody that would sound like a song that has lyrics. A type of a chant for what
I wish for her future," expressed Wiesenberg.
Where Do We Go From Here grew out of an exercise from a
composition group Wiesenberg was part of. The exercise was to write a tune
using only three chords, with an option to use a fourth chord, but only once.
"This enabled me to explore and exploit the melodic possibilities on top
of a minimal amount of chords," explained Wiesenberg. "I wrote it in
one day, and its actually one of my favorite compositions that I've written so
far."
The title track Roads Diverge is about one's journey. This
was strongly influenced by Wayne Shorter, with a powerful counterpoint bass
line that perhaps adds some danger to the melody. There are no chord changes -
the composition is strictly about voice leading and counterpoint. "I had
the honor to have the great Dayna Stephens to play tenor on this track. His
solo here is one of the highlights of this record in my opinion," said
Wiesenberg.
Capricorn Lady was written for the bassist's wife, a
Capricorn (born on the last day of the year - December 31).
Davka is a funny, very Israeli word that means
"specifically" or "exactly", and is usually said with an
"in your face" attitude, though sometimes also used subtly. The music
(in eleven) conveys the humorous paradox in its meaning.
Melody For Ido (featuring Shai Maestro on Fender Rhodes) was
written eight years ago, and is dedicated to Wiesenberg's brother, Ido.
"It was one of the compositions that just came to me naturally, and was
finished in a day or two," said the artist.
Closing the album is The Tourist (by Radiohead), the only
non-original on the album. "This song is part of the classic album - OK
Computer which was a big part of my high-school soundtrack. When I heard it
again a few weeks before going into the studio, I knew I wanted to do a solo
version of that song. I ended up recording three-four layers of bass using arco
and pizzicato," explained Wiesenberg.
More on Noam Wiesenberg: This extraordinary musician was
born into a musical family, exposed to many different genres at an early age.
After twelve years of playing the cello, Wiesenberg and the double bass found
each other when he was twenty. The first of several musical crossroads, he
chose to focus on jazz as he was mesmerized by the capabilities of jazz
musicians. Following this transition, he quickly became an integral part of the
Israeli Jazz scene. His classical background informs both his composition and
arranging, and has lead to collaborations with some of the top symphony
orchestras in Israel, including The Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, The Israel
Symphony Orchestra Rishon LeZion, The Haifa Symphony Orchestra, and the Israel
Defense Force Education Unit Orchestra.
Wiesenberg studied composition and arranging at the
Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, and Jazz Performance at the Rimon School
of Jazz and Contemporary Music. He moved to the USA in 2008 to further his
formal studies, and in 2010 graduated Magna Cum Laude in Jazz Performance from
The Berklee College of Music in Boston. He then realized a life-long dream and
moved to New York City, joining many of his friends and mentors, and becoming a
much in-demand collaborator with a who's who of this music. Wiesenberg has
toured Africa, India, Europe and the U.S., performing at venues including Monterey
Jazz Festival, Vittoria Jazz Festival, Langnau Jazz Night, The Kennedy Center,
the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Town Hall, Jazz
Standard, Blue Note, Small's Jazz Club, Smoke Jazz Club, Le Poisson Rouge,
Joe's Pub and many others.
As an arranger, his extensive international work includes an
arrangement for the Metropole Orkest with Grammy award winning singer Lalah
Hathaway, conducted by the multiple Grammy award winner Vince Mendoza.
Additionally, Wiesenberg wrote string quartet arrangements for Chilean
singer-guitarist Camila Meza's new project - Camila Meza & Nectar
Orchestra, and was the arranger and musical director for a recent nonet project
led by luminary drummer Ari Hoenig.
Following a decade-long career as an arranger and performer
of the work of other musicians, Noam Wiesenberg will release his debut album,
Roads Diverge, on May 18, 2018.
No comments:
Post a Comment