After his cracking Follow the White Rabbit début on ACT Music and following Alter Ego which established his reputation of one of the most interesting young personalities in music it is Yaron’s time now to début again, this time under legendary Blue Note label.
Given his late approach to the instrument and mind-blowing progress he achieved it was a matter of rather short time to him to move to the Big Apple. With his every day hunger for new music, this is a melting pot and the place to be. Herman’s approach raises on fascination in classic piano trio and one can clearly hear that he researched the paths his masters followed before.
You can hear in his music open organic improvisation core, like in Jarrett’s recordings, but also intellectual twists ala Paul Bley. All put cleverly together. But there is a tad of Meldau’s and Mcoy Tyner’s touch in his lines, too. The more you listen the more you find. On the top of this comes parallel fascination in classical piano and deep studies of the harmonies as well as research of the instrument boundaries.
Here he comes however with a DUO set with his equally talented colleague Ziv Ravitz behind the drums. He is a crazy capable musician and we still have a lot left to hear from him. It won’t take long as he is already signed to Swiss Intact. That suits his spirit for an improvisation well. This way Herman makes a comeback to his beginning. All due to the way he started. Some twelve years back on his début for Sketch it was a duo with another percussionist Sylvain Ghio.
This recording wins my heart with its intensity. From the first notes of opening Fast Life , it takes control and literally glues listener to the melody. Here is where Yaron explores Jarrett and Bley to the bottom, but still includes his own tissue to the piece. His left hand is operating with knocking out authority.
Coming after Vista is an extraordinary layout built on drum and piano conversation. It starts slowly and builds up on amazing connection between two players, but this is in choruses when culmination riches climax in quickly changing tempos. Intensity is so great that the piece seems to be much faster than it really is, and the piano clusters with last accord coming from the triangle is simply marvellous.
True Tour de Force comes on the piece called Nettish. Intensity of the dialogue which is happening here puts highest demand on the listener. One can’t listen to it in the background. But seriously, this power and passion just keep blossoming in every single piece. And they get you back just within seconds.
The only exception here is Volcano, a piece involving Islander vocalist Helgi Jonsson. That reminds me strongly Bjork’s universe and it comes out quickly that it was in fact produced by the same man.
This recording is psycho -motoric trip inside your mind. Driving you fast and keeps in your memory just a glitter of passed by lights. It is romantic and furious. So honest that any open soul can’t avoid it.
This is most fascinating piano & drums recording I heard since Mal Waldron and Max Roach. And it shares the same inner soul connection.