Silvan Joray, Nadav Erlich, Jeff Ballard | "Updraft"

New York City-based guitarist and composer Silvan Joray is proud to present Updraft, his second album as a leader and first for the Ubuntu Music label. The album showcases his forward-thinking original style characterized by a transparent tone, crispy articulation, creative rhythmic ideas and extended techniques like quarter tones and „tapping“ which are not traditionally associated with jazz guitar playing. A follow up to his ambitious 2020 trio album, Cluster, Joray’s latest outing features once again Israeli double bass player Nadav Erlich and this time, living legend Jeff Ballard (Brad Mehldau, Chick Corea, Pat Metheny) on drums.

Born and raised in Switzerland, Joray embraces both the openness of European as well as the rootedness and swing of American jazz. While the music on Updraft is clearly influenced by the American jazz tradition, it doesn’t pretend to be something it’s not and is totally content with being in its own category. Renowned jazz bassist Larry Grenadier states: “Silvan along with Nadav and Jeff have made a musical statement together that has at its core a sense of history and at the same time moves the music towards the future with bold playing and fresh compositions. Sonically beautiful and captivating music.“

The recording includes seven original compositions and two short, freely improvised tracks. The serenity of joyful straight eighth grooves, as heard in “Kokodrillo“ or “Kaeppeleview“, complements the swinging energy of pieces like “Updraft" and “Kurtish". Joray is also passionate about playing jazz standards and pays tribute to two masters of the genre, Cole Porter and Andrew Hill, with "At Long Last Love" and “Subterfuge“.

Starting in September 2020, the trio had the chance to refine its band sound and interplay over the course of two years before going into the studio. At the same time, humanity faced some new challenges that heavily impacted everyone’s life. Updraft is Joray’s personal way of dealing with these difficult times and presents a collection of compositions that strive to lift our spirits and elevate our perspectives. The title of the album beautifully encapsulates this sentiment, and Joray’s innate gift for melody and lyricism shines through both in his playing and compositions.

Silvan Joray is currently based in New York City. He has gained recognition in the jazz community, having won special prizes at the UNISA International Strings Competition in South Africa 2022 and the Smietana Jazz Guitar Competition 2019 in Poland. He has performed at prestigious jazz festivals including the Krakow Summer Jazz Festival, Offbeat Jazzfestival Basel, and International Jazz Festival Bern, and has toured in Germany, Norway, Poland, Spain, and Israel. Silvan will be touring throughout the year – please see his website for details: www.silvanjoray.com.