Here, with a quintet that includes regular friends Omri Mor on piano, Tal Yahalom on guitar and Yoed Nir on cello, it takes a further heartfelt look at some more of the nigunim that have arisen during Yosef's spiritual wanderings along with a few pieces of a more personal bent.
Yosef Gutman Levitt
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Soul Song Jerusalem-based composer and bassist Yosef Gutman continues his inspired run of collaborative albums with Shir Yedidot, a collection of chabad nigunim, which are Hasidic melodies along with a selection of his own compositions, but all inspired by the idea of melodies adorned with prayer and tears. This approach tends towards the lower key, but along with the uplift and positivity and the assembled players: regular travellers […]
Once again there is an impromptu group consisting of Yonathan Avishai on piano, Itay Sher on guitar and Yoed Nir on cello to colour in the compositions, but it is the interplay between Peter and Yosef that makes the album such an intriguing listen. Peter has clearly done a lot of travelling (he is an American who lived in Denmark but is now based in Ireland), but easily merges into new environments which makes this album a surprisingly comfortable fit for him.
Soul Song The purple patch for composer and bass player Yosef Gutman continues with two more judiciously chosen collaborations released on his own Soul Song label. Clearly itching to release more music, guitarist Gilad Hekselman appears on Why Ten? They are joined by friend and long-time collaborator Gilad Ronen on reeds and Ofri Nehemya on percussion. For Unity, the sound is a little fuller as Yosef is not […]
These pieces are Omri's improvisations and it was he who suggested to producer Gilad Ronen that a drum / piano duo would be the perfect way to flesh out his bowl full of ideas. Yosef and Gilad took it one step further, not only adding instrumentation but directing the sessions in a way that would draw the best from Omri, allowing him to focus purely on producing keyboard magic.
Sunshine pours out of these fourteen tracks, and although they were all penned by Yosef with assistance from producer Gilad Ronen, the input from the rest of the quartet is beyond essential. Soul Song's gentle, summery vibe is highlighted by Lionel's spidery guitar and the deft percussion that sits supporting all the other activity.
Soul Song The pairing of bassist Yosef Gutman Levitt and guitarist Tal Yahalom is an intriguing one, both wishing to bring greater attention to those melodies of the Hasidim that might otherwise escape the attention of the average gentile listener. This is their second album together and here, they turn their considerable skills to nigunim — traditional wordless Jewish melodies — that were transcribed and recorded by Eli Rivkin […]