A Voice for Love

Photo courtesy of BCM

Every once in a while, you pick a CD out of the stack on your desk, sit down to listen, and get transfixed. I know Nicole Zuraitis is a Connecticut native, that she has recorded several albums with her husband, drummer and composer Dan Pugach, is a member of Sonica (with Thana Alexa and bassist Julia Adamy), and has issued four albums as a leader since 2013.  Her fifth album is now out––"How Love Begins" (Outside In Music) began percolating in the vocalist, composer, and pianist's mind when she met bassist Christian McBride in 2018 and he said that "we should do something together".  It took them two a few years to reconnect; when she sent him a large amount of her newer material, he chose the 10 that make up the album. Ms. Zuraitis chose the musicians; besides her husband on drums and McBride on bass, there's Gilad Hekselman (guitar) and Maya Kronfeld (organ,Wurlitzer, Rhodes) with pianist David Cook (three tracks), drummer Billy Kilson (three tracks), and Sonica (one track).  

The program is divided into two parts, "Oil" and "Water", each section having five songs.  In conversation, Ms. Zuraitis said that the first section is really about "how love begins" while the second half is about "how love ends". What one notices on first listen is how strong a voice she has, how articulate she is in all registers, , and how flexible her voice can be.  Pay attention as well to her piano work. Her McCoy Tyner-esque chords beneath the guitar solo on "Reverie" are both powerful and percussive, locking in with the bass and drums (in this instance, Mr. Kilson).  "Travel", a track she composed with fellow vocalist Cyrille Aimée, features lyrics by the poet Edna St. Vincent Millay plus a lyrical guitar solo. It's just voice and guitar on "Let Me Love You", a bluesy plea.  The intimacy and humor of the performance is an aural treat.

The "Water" section opens with "Two Fish"; based on a Hebrew poem written by Dahlia Rabikovich, the open seconds of the tune sound like the intro to Leslie Bricusse's "My Kind of Girl" before heading out on its path. It's really a sweet love song with lovely fills from pianist Cook and bluesy responses from Hekselman.  The love affair begins falling apart on the soulful "Well Planned, Well Played" but the music is buoyed by the gospel organ work of Ms. Kronfeld and Hekselman's bent notes. Mr. McBride takes a short but melodic solo. The love affair is but over on "Like Dew", a slow, sorrowful, ballad in which Ms. Zuraitis's emotional vocal takes center stage but don't disregard her fine piano work.  The program ends with "To The Garden", a Carole King-like melody that is both a vocal treat (delightful overdubbed vocal "responses") and a heartfelt musical experience––if you buy the CD, the "hidden track" is the original "Save It For a Rainy Day" in which the singer realizes that love has totally been eclipsed by a consistent and insistent storm. 

Slowly, steadily, Nicole Zuraitis is making inroads as a singer, pianist, and especially as a composer.  "How Love Begins" is a smashing album, filled with fine songs, excellent musicianship, led by a vocalist whose voice is inviting, intimate, playful, and emotionally real. Give the album several full spins and see how good you'll feel bathed in these sweet sounds.

For more information, go to www.nicolezmusic.com/.  To hear more and to purchase the album, go to  https://outsideinmusic.bandcamp.com/album/how-love-begins. 

Here's "Let Me Love You":

What I'm Listening To (2)

 I continue my journey through the new releases of 2022.

Guitarist and composer Gilad Hekselman started work on his new recording (his debut on Edition Records) just as the world was shutting down in March 2020.  Slowly but surely, the guitarist learned the process of "self-recording" as well as "distance" recording, building the songs layer by layer.  He moved back to New York City in December 2020 and continued the process for another six months.  The results can be heard on "Far Star"––you can't help but notice that the results are more joyful than introspective, the songs steeped in melody and rhythmic excitement.

The eight-song program opens with "Long Way From Home"; introduced by Hekselman whistling the melody, special guest Eric Harland jumps right in and the song takes off. The leader overdubs keys and bass but the focal point is the interaction between the guitar and drums.  The drummer appears on four other tracks including the hard-edged "Magic Chord" (which you can hear below) and "Fast Moving Century", a romp that features the keyboard work of Shai Maestro as well as a fiery guitar solo from Hekselman.  The title track is a sensitive ballad/ playful romp featuring the violin and viola work of Nathan Schram plus the fine rhythm section play of Oren Hardy (bass) and fellow Israeli Alon Benjamini on drums and percussion.  "The Headrocker" is actually a funky ditty enlivened by a hummable (or whistle-able) melody and the bright keyboard work of Nomok and percussionist Amir Bresler (two more Israeli-born artists).

The album closes with the guitar-drums duo (with overdubs)––this time, Hekselman shares the studio with Ziv Ravitz.  While the guitarist sticks to his more melodic side, Ravitz dances and cavorts, every once in a while returning to a more straight-forward role. Instead of bringing the program full-circle, the track continues the guitarist's search for new ways to connect traditional melody with different rhythms.

Now 10 albums as a leader into his career, Gilad Hekselman has continued to mature as a composer and musician. "Far Star" has much to offer the curious listener. 

For more information, go to www.giladhekselman.com.  To hear more and to buy the album, go to  to https://giladhekselman.bandcamp.com/album/far-star. 

Hear "Magic Chord" featuring Eric Harland:

Photo: Lauren Desberg

The trio of Jeremy Siskind (piano, compositions), Nancy Harms (vocals), and Lucas Pino (tenor saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet) came together a decade ago as the Housewarming Project. The ensemble's goal was to introduce "accessible art music to audiences through in-home concerts" (from 

jeremysiskind.com/housewarming-project/) and they succeeded playing over 150 concerts and an on-line series of YouTube videos before the pandemic shut them down.  Yet, the cessation of concerts plus a 2020 New Jazz Works grant from Chamber Music America gave Siskind the opportunity to create an original program for the ensemble.

"Songs of Rebirth" (Outside In Music) is credited to Mr. Siskind with Ms. Harms and Mr. Pino; not the Housewarming Project because the two-CD, 22-song program was created and recorded during the Lockdown. Separated into two thematically-linked groups of tunes, Disk 1 is subtitled "True Believers" because the majority of the 12 pieces talks about positive changes created by the forced slowdown. Disk 2, or "Cynics and Snags", is comprised of "darker" tunes. Still, Siskin "dots" the program with five takes of "Quarantine" open with the line "I break/broke quarantine for you, my dear/sweet/love"––no version is over 1:13 and each has a different arrangement.  The last two have quite dark lyrics but subtle yet humorous musical backgrounds ("#3" is my favorite due to the delightful arrangement for three clarinets.  

Ms. Harms' vocal stand out. "Long Beach, In Fog" (on disk 2) is a stunning take on a love song while the swinging "New York City" has the feel of a Broadway shop-stopper.  Pay attention to how Pino plays throughout the album, how he'll shadow the vocal line or the pianist's left hand, how his range on bass clarinet allows him to set the pace or solo with abandon.  There's a chamber music feel to "Normal"; at times, the trio play together, at others, the piano and bass clarinet both play counterpoint (first few times through, the song was reminiscent of a Stephen Sondheim piece although there's also a touch of JS Bach there as well). 

While "Normal" closes Disk One, Two closes with two splendid pieces.  First is the ruminative "Forgiveness", an elegy for lost love while "Another Birthday" is a melodic rant against about getting old. Yet dig the delightful solos from piano and clarinet and the playful vocal.  Over all, "Songs of Rebirth" is an impressive program not for the trio's technical prowess but for how they present each song, each one a story, each one told with wit, with emotion and intelligence.  Don't shy away because there are "art songs"––embrace the musical adventure.  Kudos to Jeremy Siskind, Nancy Harms, and Lucas Pino for stoking the fires of imagination!

For more information, go to https://jeremysiskind.com/. To hear more and to purchase the two-CD or digital set, go to https://outsideinmusic.bandcamp.com/album/songs-of-rebirth. 

Hear "Drinking Song":

Israeli Jazz Fest in NYC

JANUARY 10-12: THE ISRAELI JAZZ FESTIVAL

CURATED BY GILAD HEKSELMAN

Sun 1/10: 

Oded Tzur Ensemble 

Oded Tzur, Tenor Saxophone, Shai Maestro, Piano, 

Linda Oh, Bass, Colin Stranahan, Drums

Eden Ladin Group

An Israeli pianist with an extraordinary touch and approach to harmony and time. He'll be playing his original music with a band consisting of some of the best NYC musicians on the scene, including Dayna Stephens - tenor saxophone, Desmond white - bass and Daniel Dor - drums

Mon 1/11: 

Yotam Silberstein and Gilad Hekselman Duo

Two of NY's most established Israeli jazz guitarists will join for a set of duets, playing jazz standards, Israeli songs and originals

Gadi Lehavi Band

Gadi is new in the Big Apple, but since a very young age the pianist has been playing with some of the greats such as, Ravi Coltrane, Dave Liebman, Eli Degibri, John Patitucci and more. Gadi will be presenting his band performing originals and standards

Tues 1/12:

Dida

Singer song-writer and guitarist Dida will bring her folksy-bluesy guitar playing, witty lyrics and playful attitude to open the final night of the festival 

Ziv Ravitz Trio

World renowned drummer Ziv Ravitz is one of the most in-demand musicians in the business, touring the world with various ensembles including Shai Maestro's trio, the legendary Lee Konitz, Yaron Herman and many others 

For reservations and more info call 212 989 9319, located at 29 Cornelia Street, Greenwich Village, NYC 10014, email us - info@corneliastreetcafe.com