The prolific
Israeli-born, Boston-based, drummer/composer Dor Herskovits' new album, Flying
Elephants, is chock-a-block with expressions of
love, humor and creativity. Like most great works of art, music, dance,
architecture, etc., the music on Flying Elephants began as just a seed of an
idea in the brain of Herskovits, which was then transferred to notes engraved
on paper. It came to exist in the material world, and then took on a life and
uniqueness of its own once Herskovits' band mates got a hold of the music and
ran it through their minds, bodies and ultimately their instruments. The result
is a resplendent suite of music, played by what is in essence a
"family", a band that Herskovits calls his "dream team";
Hery Paz - saxophones, Caio Afiune - guitar, Isaac Wilson - piano, Max Ridley -
bass, and Dor Herskovits - drums and compositions.
Flying
Elephants was conceived of with these specific musicians in mind - in fact,
choosing this cast was the very first step the leader took. Knowing their strengths
and utilizing their strong personal/musical connections, the album became a
true group effort, shining a light on the member's uniqueness, their fearless
and ego-less creative instincts, and unparalleled abilities as true
improvisers.
In Herskovits'
vision for this album, he aimed to make it a rich and complete work of art.
Combining the liner notes with poetry, paintings, and descriptive nuggets, in
order to create full, multi-faceted experience for his audience. He has also
created a stop motion animated video for the title track. "This shows the
eclectic nature of the album and the array of colors, atmospheres and purpose
each of the songs might play, for me, and for the listener, such as invoking
humor, introspection, peregrination, energy, aggression, romance, dance.
"It was a natural to have the album art work done by our saxophonist Hery
Paz, as his work is a big influence in my life," explains Herskovits.
Stylistically,
the album encompasses a wide variety of influences and styles - traditional
jazz (New Fashioned, Recursion), avant-garde/free jazz (Scottish Fold,
Bangin'), modern jazz (Palette, Come to light), Cinematic music (Recursion,
Flying Elephants) meditation music (Water), rock/metal (Flying Elephants),
progressive rock (Magenta), and classical (Sob). The drummer/bandleader
elaborates, "I believe that it is accessible music that can potentially
bring any listener in. Yet, it is fresh, original and has many layers one can
enjoy as the music is explored deeply."
The title
track, an avant-garde leaning lullaby, and the seed from which the entire album
was born, "Flying Elephants," is a gift to the drummer's newborn son,
in utero when the band was in the studio laying down this music. This
composition is a heartfelt soundtrack to his future dreams, which symbolizes
the power of our imaginations. "Flying Elephants" tells the story of,
"a baby in a crib who falls into a wonderful dream filled with adventure.
Elephants, stretched from a mobile coming to life, baby asking them to play,
they embark on a voyage, flying into a dream world, elephants joyfully marching
with heavy feet...Until baby is woken back to our world," explains
Herskovits.
"As the
knowledge of the pending baby inspired me to write a song for him, each of the
other compositions have their own story and identity, some of which are
embedded in this composition, and others took on a shape of their own as they
were performed. Since music is the most abstract art form, it also engages our
imagination in a powerful way and I wanted to celebrate that with this album.
To me, music always opened up an inner world and a strong spiritual connection
to people and nature. This is what always drew me to music, what excites me
about it and ultimately what I hope to pass on to the listeners."
Isaac
Wilson, is a pianist, keyboardist, and composer. A native of Los Angeles, he
began playing the piano at the age of 4, teaching himself to play his favorite
songs and piano works by ear. He moved to Boston to attend New England
Conservatory of Music, graduating in the spring of 2015, having studied with
Fred Hersch, Jason Moran, Ran Blake, and many others. While in Boston, Wilson
performed on numerous occasions with saxophone greats Jerry Bergonzi and George
Garzone. A recent recipient of a Master's Degree from Berklee's Global Jazz
Institute lead by Danilo Pérez, he studied under many Jazz luminaries while
attending the one-year program, and had the opportunity to perform at the 2015
Monterey Jazz Festival, the 2016 Panama Jazz Festival, and the 2016 Newport
Jazz Festival. Wilson also won first prize at the 2016 Keep an Eye Jazz Awards
in Amsterdam. Wilson has also conducted clinics around the world, and was on
faculty of the inaugural Berklee Newport Jazz Festival Summer High School
Program. Wilson is an artist committed to the exploration of folkloric music
from around the globe, and the possibilities of melding jazz with other genres
and disciplines within the Arts. He performs internationally and in the United
States in a wide variety of musical contexts, and his debut trio album,
Dis-Connect, was released in February of 2018.
Hery Paz,
saxophonist and painter originally from Cuba, embodies a rich and diverse color
and sonic palette. His eclecticism is explicit not only in painting but also in
his distinction as a musician and composer. He has won the acclaim and respect
of legendary jazz musicians such as Fred Hersch, who called him, " . . . a
revelation, a musician of extraordinary strength". Paz is currently an
integral element of the creative music scene in New York City, where he has
worked with artists such as Francisco Mela, Ralph Alessi, Fred Hersch, Dave
Liebman, Thomas Morgan, George Garzone, Tony Malaby, Ingrid Laubrock, Kris
Davis, Ethan Iverson, Miguel Zenón, Frank Carlberg, Tom Rainey, Gerald Cleaver,
Bob Moses, Ran Blake, Joe Morris, Charles Downs and Michael Attias. Paz also
holds a Master's degree from the New England Conservatory in Boston.
Guitarist
and composer Caio Afiune is making a lasting impression on the East Coast jazz
scene. Currently in Boston, Afiune has not only been performing extensively as
a leader and a sideman, but is a part time faculty member of the prestigious
New England Conservatory. Originally from São Paulo, Afiune's compositions
uniquely blend together the essence of Brazil and his immensely deep knowledge
of the North American jazz tradition. He can be seen performing along jazz
giants such as Jerry Bergonzi, Luciana Souza, Jaques and Paula Morelenbaum,
Mark Zaleski, Phil Grenadier, and most recently Christian Sands.
Max Ridley
is a Boston-based musician, composer and educator. He was awarded full-tuition
scholarships to study at Berklee College of Music for both his undergraduate
and graduate degrees. Ridley earned his graduate degree from Berklee's Global
Jazz Institute under the direction of pianist and educator Danilo Perez and has
gone on to share the stage with renown musicians such as Kenny Werner, Ingrid
Jensen, Bob Mover, Jason Palmer, George Garzone, Terri Lyne Carrington,
Ra-Kalam Bob Moses and Perico Sambeat. He has performed in venues such as the
Blue Note, Dizzy's Club at Jazz @ Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center and the
Umbria Jazz Festival. Ridley has toured domestically and internationally and
has also spent time embedded in the artistic community of Valencia, Spain,
which he considers his second home. Ridley remains very active in the musical
community of Boston as a first-call sideman, leader and co-leader of various
groups.
Dor Herskovits
is an Israeli drummer and composer based in Boston. As a sought after sideman,
he plays in various jazz and experimental groups on the Boston-New York line.
He has also toured around the US, Canada, Europe and China. Herskovits has
recorded many albums as a sideman, featured on labels such as Newvelle and
Endectomorph music, alongside musicians such Grammy award-winning guitarist
Bill Frisell, Michael Blake and Jason Palmer. He has also performed with George
Garzone, Jon Cowherd, Steve Cardenas, Elan Mehler, TJ and the revenge, Bert
Seager's Tet-rap-tych, Max Ridley's Basement Philharmonic, Daniel Rotem and
Xiongguan Zhang. As co-leader of Earprint, he received critical acclaim from
publications such as Downbeat magazine, NPR's critics' poll and many more. In
2018, he established the Dor Herskovits Quintet, featuring saxophonist Hery
Paz, guitarist Caio Afiune, pianist Isaac Wilson and bassist Max Ridley. Their
debut album Flying Elephants will be released in September 2019.
Also coming
out this Fall featuring Dor Herskovits, EARPRINT Presents EASY LISTENING,
(Available October 18, 2019, also on Endectomorph Music)
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