| Jazz |
There are albums like this one that remind you of many other albums, such as some Italian jazz albums from the 80s. The comparison stops at the level of impression because, for the rest, Omer Leshem’s musical writing is very much that of a saxophonist of his time, probably influenced by a whole range of musical styles.
Recognized as a rising star of the tenor saxophone on the current New York jazz scene, Leshem is originally from Herzliya, Israel. He has been mentored by internationally renowned musicians, including Sam Yahel, David Binney, Tony Malaby, and Chris Cheek. With a solid background in classical and Israeli music, Leshem’s compositional style is influenced by a wide variety of genres and concepts, including classical European harmonies, Mediterranean rhythms and lyricism, and contemporary free jazz.
In terms of energy, one could certainly compare Omer Leshem to David Krakauer; there is a form of absolute and grating quality that appears here and there without warning, and truth be told, we like that! But that’s not the only thing we find in his work. Indeed, a piece like ‘David’s Devastating Journey’ is undoubtedly a direct inspiration from some classical music works. Leshem graduated with a Bachelor of Music from the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, led by Reggie Workman, as the top of his class. Additionally, he holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the New School for Social Research. His empirical research has explored how audiences perceive music and interact with performers during live concerts. Working with leading musicians such as Dave Douglas, Kris Davis, and Andy Milne, he examined how audience members’ empathy shapes their emotional musical experience.
This is likely where the progressive dramaturgy of this work comes from. One might think it starts with a troublemaker bouncing like a spring in all corners of the stage and progressively it’s the artist at his desk or in front of his piano sketching the lines of his score collection. It is impossible to understand this artist through one album, as his sources of inspiration are multiple. The titles of this album, when paired with the music, create a form of confusion and questioning, ‘Take an Advil, The Heroic Era of No Consequence, Go You Maniac, etc.’
Many things, listen after listen, will leave you pensive, to say the least, and this is precisely the point that makes this saxophonist and composer fascinating, aligning with the central point of art, which is precisely to provoke questions, disturb, and make one ponder. Mission accomplished!
Such an album deserves your attention. Indeed, you will need to focus on the multifaceted artistic personality of this artist, who resembles the brain of a great traveler. The introductions of each piece, as well as the melodies and arrangements, all align to form a meaning, a story of a journey that you will have to guess. Personally, I left a few days between each listening, time to digest what I had been able to discern, then I returned to it multiple times trying to approach it as if it were the first listening. On a perfectly digestible writing architecture, there is a form of very complex language; one can hear as much pain as laughter if one listens deeply. These are the reasons that make us place this album in our ‘Essentials’.
Thierry De Clemensat
USA correspondent – Paris-Move and ABS magazine
Editor in chief Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News
PARIS-MOVE, August 5th 2024
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