1. Words Beyond (BUCKYBALL RECORDS)

JAZZ TIMES
Israeli-born pianist-composer Alon Nechushtan establishes a loose-tight chemistry with drummer Dan Weiss and bassist Francois Mouton on his second trio release. A New York resident since 2003, his potent partnership with Weiss and Mouton places a premium on group interplay at the same time it encourages individual solo expression. From the playful, Monkish opener, Muppet Shock, to the highly interactive Different Kind of Morning, the off-kilter Spinning the Clouds and the swinging Dr. Master Plan, this stellar threesome blends daring instincts and dazzling virtuosity into organic expression. Other highlights include the engaging jazz waltz Spring Soul Song, the epic Secret Short/Short Secret and the gorgeous ballad Heartbreakthrough, which shifts from Bill Evans-esque delicacy to rhapsodic Keith Jarrett terrain.Bill Milkowski.

DOWNBEAT
Israeli pianist Alon Nechushtan has recorded on John Zorn’s Tzadik label with a klezmer project featuring his originals, nine more of which appear here. The company Nechushtan keeps with Dan Weiss and Francois Moutin, two highly sought-after sidemen, gives advance notice of his standing. “Muppet Shock” searches playfully for a television theme hook with driving energy and acute punctuations. Weiss injects teeter-tot rhythms, and the three dice the beat with tenterhooks. Nechushtan scatters gemstones behind Moutin on “A Different Kind Of Morning,” the ride is thrilling, everyone is in step and bristling with virtuosity and enthusiasm, the recording hot and loud, Bad Plus-style. The leader’s left hand gets funky on “Spinning The Clouds” before a benign middle section, then he stomps out the riff from Sade’s “Smooth Operator” before some nice a cappella counterpoint. “Dr Master Plan” contains a Thelonious Monk-like percussive quality (as does “The Traveler”), a hint of “Straight No Chaser” in the chromatic line, before it spills into cantering swing and snatches of the riff from “Take The ‘A’ Train.” Like another expansive pianist, Michiel Braam, Nechushtan revels in boundless eclecticism. “Secret Short/Short Secret” is layered and forceful; “Entranced” is ecstatic rather than bewitched; “Heart-break-through” is resolved and confident, and doesn’t lack flashes of poignancy despite not playing for sympathy. Though, to my knowledge, this trio are not well journeyed together, they share tremendous simpatico. Nechushtan is a talent to watch, with a surfeit of ideas, an unbridled spirit and bold, two fisted sense of architecture. —Michael Jackson

JAZZ TIMES
Pianist Alon Nechushtan keeps his notes on their toes as he creates tightly-rung arabesques and vivacious pirouettes with his keys. He has an instinct for organizing purely improvised energy that requires the audiences’ undivided attention. His new CD, Words Beyond from Buckyball Records features drummer Dan Weiss and bassist Francois Moutin. As a threesome, their triple layers produce flapping motions that form mind-boggling mazes as the instruments bow and flex at different speeds changing the course of the movements in mid-stream and intersecting lines intermittently. Maintaining a springy constitution throughout “Muppet Shock”, the extemporaneous intervals are indicative of free thinking musicians. The spontaneous combustion of the cymbal strikes buttressing “Secret Short/Short Secret” bridge the transitions. The cascading droplets shaped by the piano keys through “A Different Kind of Morning” have a crystalline twinkle as the notes traipse softly, and shift to a frolicking canter along “Spinning The Clouds”. The brisk tremors of the keys across “Dr. Masterplan” form potmarks along the rippling drumbeats, and cool down to a gentle stroll in “Spring Soul Song” and “The Traveler”. Words Beyond is loosely based on Mendelssohn’s seminal “Songs Without Words” according to Alon Nechushtan’s, who claims that the music for the album came to him after playing Mendelssohn’s solo pieces on the piano. Nechushtan’s range is modulated to stay within the middle register of the piano, and what he achieves in those octaves exhibits his unbridled imagination. Susan Frances,

ALL ABOUT JAZZ
Playing jazz can be like driving a car. Sometimes you can sit back, rely on cruise control, and simply revel in a straightforward journey, but more precise maneuvering is often required. Lightning quick reflexes, an ability to comfortably navigate hairpin turns, and a strong directional sense are equally important, and pianist Alon Nechushtan exhibits all of these traits from behind the driver’s seat on Words Beyond. The left-leaning klezmer jazz that Nechushtan delivered with his Talat band mates on Growl (Tzadik, 2006) is nowhere to be found here. Instead, Nechushtan relies on an aesthetic that leans heavily on shifts in the rhythmic sands of time and complex, two (or three) way conversations. Hearing how drummer extraordinaire Dan Weiss solos over a playful, broken bass presence on “Muppet Shock” or soaking in the piano-bass dialog on “Different Kind Of Morning,” demonstrates that this is high-level communication of the highest order. Nechushtan couldn’t have asked for more empathetic and appropriate colleagues, in terms of creating a fluid and flexible trio environment that’s heavy on rhythmic interaction, than Weiss and bassist Francois Moutin. Weiss’ rhythmic mastery, which covers everything from Indian music to modern jazz, and has been at the heart of some of saxophonist David Binney’s groundbreaking recordings, is always at the center of these pieces. Moutin can provide walking bass lines on the few, brief occasions that they’re called for, but his ability to serve as the go-between for Weiss and Nechushtan is a greater asset. He emphasizes choppy accents with the pianist (“The Traveler”) and the drummer (“Muppet Shock”), and cleverly navigates his way through a piece that moves from wonderfully discombobulated soul to sunny environs to menacing, avant-ballroom music and beyond (“Spinning The Clouds”). As a soloist, Moutin is also the standout musician on the album. His blinding speed and supple movements help to create first rate feature spots that enhance every track where he’s given room to do his work. As the man pulling the strings, Nechushtan is never short on ideas for his compositions, or in performance. He can comfortably erect a harmonic edifice around a single note (“Different Kind Of Morning”), deliver straightforward soloing over driving swing (“Dr. Master Plan’) and go it alone if his band mates drop out mid-track (“Spinning The Clouds”). While he prefers complex angles to straightaways, the music never strays into inaccessible territory, as he clearly prefers taking people along for a ride to driving solo. Alon Nechushtan’s Words Beyond is worlds beyond where most jazz musicians are willing and able to travel, making this album a worthwhile listening journey. DAN BILAWSKY

JAZZIS
New album by Israeli (resident in NY) pianist Alon Nechushtan, this time in a trio setting with bassist Francois Moutin and drummer Dan Weiss, which presents nine brilliant compositions by the leader and an exceptional performance by the trio. Nechushtan is of course fondly remembered for his fantastic work with the Talat (“The Growl” on Tzadik Records), which to this day is one of my favorite albums of the last decade. This album is completely different from his work with Talat, which combined Jazz and Klezmer / Hasidic music, and presents superb modern Jazz unrelated to any particular ethnic references. Nechushtan again shines both as a composer, with his tunes sounding like instant classics, which could have been composed by the likes of Chick Corea or Herbie Hancock and as player, displaying dazzling technique and sensitivity. His supporting team is also brilliant all the way, with Moutin doing some incredible stuff with his bass (don´t try this at home) and Weiss beating the hell out of the drum kit, but always right on the beat. Overall this is a great album, immensely enjoyable and deeply moving emotionally. I can´t imagine any true Jazz fan not falling in love with this album instantly, and therefore I recommend it wholeheartedly. A true must! Adam Baruch

JAZZ REVIEW
“New York-based pianist Alon Nechushtan has worked as a sideman with the likes of Frank London and Baya Kouyate and is the founder of the quintet TALAT, a critically acclaimed jazz-meets-klezmer ensemble. Nechushtan makes a bold statement with Words Beyond, his first release as leader of a progressive trio featuring bassist Francois Moutin and drummer Dan Weiss. The music is a hard swinging, soulful collection of nine of the pianist’s original compositions. Nechushtan has the ability to reshape a small morsel of melody into imaginative configurations. His ideas flow freely, utilizing both hands to emphasize a punchy, aggressive attack. Right from the opening blues of “Muppet Shock,” one can sense influences as diverse as Thelonious Monk, Oscar Peterson and Keith Jarrett. An unrelenting drive to swing as hard as he can is heard on tunes such as “Dr. Masterplan,” with a twisted reference to “Take the A-Train,” and the closing McCoy Tynerish “The Traveler.” Weiss and Moutin work well in support of Nechushtan, playing on top of the beat and reacting in accord to the pianist’s highly syncopated style. Moutin’s rapid-fire, thumb position soloing matches Nechushtan in both technique and intensity. Weiss keeps the grooves crackling with an enticing looseness, especially on the funkiness of “Entranced” and the glistening “Different Kind of Morning.” Exceptional camaraderie and engaging performances make Words Beyond a trio recording worthy of the most discerning listener. ”John Vincent Barron

MIDWEST RECORDS
This expressive/progressive jazz pianist like to let it hang in left leaning fashion as you can hear echoes of Monk and progressive Jarrett (without the humming) running through this engaging set that doesn’t really like to acknowledge boundaries. Airy, bright and a lot more fun that you would normally associate with cerebral jazz, I guess eggheads need to crack a smile once in a while too. Fun stuff from places you would least expect it and a friendly listen to boot. Check it out ! CHRIS SPECTOR

ALL ABOUT JAZZ
Pianist Alon Nechushtan is in the thick of things, amid a vibrant New York City jazz culture that often spawns deviating tangents and inventive ideologies. Indeed, the pianist reveals astounding technical faculties and a far-reaching approach to composition. Nechushtan’s jazz-klezmer band TALAT, amid numerous forays into modern jazz and unconventional settings, intermittently gels to the beat of a markedly different drummer The program conveys Nechushtan’s unbounded vision, as he overhauls the tried and true. With the musicians’ pristine mode of execution abetted by precision-oriented passages, emotive dialogues and demanding time signatures, they impart a passionate stance and occasionally surge the sinuous flows into the upper stratosphere. They temper the proceedings on “Spring Soul Song,” which is fabricated on ballad-based overtones and a subtle jazz-waltz motif. Here, Nechushtan emits a glistening effect atop the venerable rhythm section’s crisp and fluid accompaniment. Moreover, the pianist summons a cheery panorama via a few sharp U-turns and undulating chord clusters. His uplifting storyline, effortless phraseology and acute penchant for suspense are enhanced by zinging harmonics. Words Beyond is, to a large extent, miles beyond customary piano trio fare, when viewed from a consortium of divergent perspectives. Personnel: Alon Nechushtan: piano; Francois Moutin: bass; Dan Weiss: drums. By GLENN ASTARITA

NEW YORK JAZZ RECORD
Dan Weiss, one of an elite handful of young creative drummers, is known for his multiple musical personalities, easily adapting to the dictates of diverse musical environments while maintaining a distinctive voice. Three recent releases demonstrate his versatility. Words Beyond, from pianist Alon Nechushtan, is a ‘straight’-ahead trio outing that is decidedly crooked, full of zig-zagging melodies and jagged rhythms that sustain a tense, restless mood. Although his melodies and chord voicings retain traces of blues and gospel, the complex phrases and forms push the music towards the future. Bassist François Moutin and Weiss are well able to maneuver the various twists and turns, acquitting themselves with seeming ease. Moutin, like Charles Mingus, plays with great speed, flash and funk, delivering dazzling solos on “Different Kind of Morning” and “Secret Short/Short Secret”, also engaging Nechushtan in an exciting dual/duel on the former track. Weiss sometimes sounds like several personalities at once, as on the opening “Muppet Shock”, his easy swinging ride cymbal in one hand, an aggressive snare drum in the other. Tom Greenland

THE FREE JAZZ BLOG
I seem to like a piano trio that is well marinated in rhythm. No matter how lush – both hands on the keyboard and the sustain pedal pressed – or how spare, if served with that extra dash of flavor, I’m hooked. Alon Nechushtan’s ‘Words Beyond’ hits the spot. From the opening moments of the jaunty ‘Muppet Shock’, the bass, drum and piano are perfectly immersed and proportioned.

Nechushtan works with the klezmer influenced group Talat, but the straight ahead “Words Beyond” is his debut under his own name. His co-creators are Dan Weiss on drums and Francois Moutin on bass. While the obvious ingredients are the highly complimentary accompaniment and strong melodic tunes, I think that the secret one is his fast and confident phrasing.

The aforementioned ‘Muppet Shock’ kicks off with a twinkling melody that bounces playfully off the rhythm section. After the Monk-like knot of a melody plays out, the group relaxes into uptempo solos, showcasing their ample chops. Nechushtan’s comping is minimal but buoys the proceedings precisely. ‘Different Kind of Morning’ evolves rapidly into a modern jazz tune, with a straightforward melody and inspired improvisation. Things keep chugging along with ‘Spinning the Clouds’, but this one features a lithe backbeat and some subtle hard bop inspired riffs. ‘Secret Short – Short Secret’ is a seven minute excursion that, to me, is the highlight of the album. It features the piano spinning a melody and harmony that makes great use of the lower register of the piano, which then leads into a solo by Moutin that is a joy to follow – I particularly enjoy the piano’s comping behind the bass. Even ‘Heartbreakthrough’, which is the sole ballad of the set, has a tender introspectiveness but contains just enough hint of the spice.

Alon Nechushtan’s Beyond Words is a smart synthesis of styles and genres of jazz made modern. Stylistic homages to Monk and abstract quotes dot the playing and compositions. The net effect is a lively work showcasing excellent group cohesion and imaginative playing. Lots of fun! By Paul Acquaro

2. THE GROWL (TZADIK RECORDS)

JEWISH FORWARD
TALAT is a Dynamic new ensemble based in New York that plays original music crossing the borders of Jazz, Middle Eastern Groove and Klezmer. Featuring a quintet of some of the most talented players out of the new generation, this is a brilliant debut CD that will delight fans of Masada, Rashanim, Satlah and the Hasidic New Wave. Loping melodies, catchy hooks and improvisational fireworks from a new generation bringing Jewish music to exciting new places…”

ALL ABOUT JAZZ
Alon Nechushtan’s TALAT brings something unxepected to every track, playing blues, funk and even mellower tunes has compelling chemistry in abundance. This kind of fluidity cannot be accomplished unless solid relationships are both ecnouraged and formed between musicians.”

WORDS RHYTHMS MAGAZINE
Alon Nechushtans’ band TALAT is a group based out of New York City. Their meshing of Klezmer music with other musical discliplines is what makes up their sound. Using Klezmer as the backbone of the sound allows Talat to use Israel as not only a physical but musical melting pot homeland an thus other styles come into play: North African modes and Middle Eastern rhythms conduct themselves as if in a lively conversation in a busy market. Just about all the composition on the recording clock in at over 5 minutes allowing the band to stretch out with many fine improvisational passages. The Jazz aspects (as well as the textured, spacey grooves that serve as interludes) seem reflect the musicians New York City experiences as part of their melting pot sound.If you like challenging yet engaging improvisational instrumental music then Talat is for your ears !

BEYOND RACE MAGAZINE
Alon Nechushtan’s TALAT producess an unclassifiable sound with the release of their recent album, The Growl. With brasses blowing and cascading piano keys, the sextet fuses traditional cultural sounds with new grooves and jives of the modern jazz age. “The Growl” appropriately commences the album, boasting a diverse collection of sounds and audio experiences. Teasing the listening audience with a taste of their versatility, Talat utilizes 9 minutes and 29 seconds to relax the listener, have them dancing in their seats, and then entrancing them, in the final moments, with mystical jazzy compositions. Talat’s wide array of musical mastering and expertise coalesce in The Growl, a masterpiece guaranteed to leave a multicultural purring in your ears.

TIME OUT NEW YORK
Alon Nechushtan’s TALAT’s sly klez-jazz hybrid sounds right at home at John Zorn’s Tzadik Label, which has recently released the quintet’s debut: The Growl

JAZZIS
Alon Nechushtan’s TALAT is a NY based quintet with exceptional abilities and technique- hearing this album really knocked me out completely. Never before have I heard such a harmonious and clever interchange of Klezmer and jazz, almost painfully brilliant. The music cleverly moves between the Klezmer-like melodies and the jazz-like improvisations with such ease and elegance that the transition seems to be perfectly natural and smooth. The arrangements are devilishly clever and intricate, but easy on the ear, so this wonderful music should please even the less experienced listeners who had little experience with contemporary improvised music. This is a rare gem and an essential examp le of music transcending the limitations of what is considered humanly possible. A must!

ALL ABOUT JAZZ
Alon Nechushtan’s TALAT’s inaugural recording, The Growl, while paying its considerable dues to klezmer, covers more bases, including African and Middle Eastern music, plus spiritual themes, all processed through improvised contexts that plays on all the familiar shticks of klezmer, but stresses the quintet’s tight interplay and fluidity.

THE JEWISH FORWARD
Alon Nechushtans’ TALAT inclines toward Ashkenaz, Sephardic and modern Jazz all at once, and gets most of its juice from trumpeter Matt Shulman, reveals an unsuspected affinity for jewish music and a startling ability to combine it with free jazz, improvisation and multiphonic trumpet playing, which make it seems like singing and sometimes screaming – through the instruments while playing …

WASHINGTON POST
Composed of five accomplished musicians, TALAT plays original interpretations of klezmer, Middle Eastern grooves and African themes and spirituals, roaming between the borders of jazz, groove and improvisation. With piano, trumpet, saxophone, bass and percussion, TALAT offers improvised interludes, riveting solos and spontaneous team play. Combined with familiar riffs and lively rhythms, they create music that is as challenging as it is appealing. Bandleader and pianist Alon Nechushtan is a graduate of the New England Conservatory and the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, and the recipient of numerous awards and grants. The band’s debut recording on the prestigious Tzadik label earned accolades from music critics around the world. TALAT has toured in the US, Europe and the Middle East, and this is their DC debut.

JAMBASE
Alon Nechushtan’s TALAT plays a lively, horn-heavy brand of jazz. Their roots are firmly and fundamentally planted in bebop, but their deep Jewish influences push them into unique territory :classy jazz with an adventurous spirit and not a shred of pretension, has a real creation on their hands, and they deserve to be heard :alluring, cerebral, technically impressive.

JAZZ IMPROV
Alon Nechushtan’s TALAT, an exciting quintet joins the ranks of groups like new Klezmer Trio and Masada with their release of The Growl, Has the ability to add a strong underlying harmonic foundation or simply mix the obvious amounts of klezmer and jazz, free or otherwise, with classical music influence and up to date harmonic sense that leans toward jazz from the past decade.This album has something for everybody and Talat is a group worthy of a lot more attention.

EJAZZ NEWS
Alon Nechushtan’s TALAT seamlessly merges Jewish Klezmer stylizations with Middle Eastern modalities into a largely, persuasive modern jazz vibe. With sonorous flows, prophetic themes and propulsive shifts in momentum, the musicians indulge in tension/release episodes, topped off with melodic storylines, where the artists fuse explorative frameworks with a dancehall type sensibility. Overall, this is a radiantly produced session, firmed-up by the group’s conveyance of good cheer and excellence in execution.”

MAZZMUZIKAS, BELGIUM
TALAT plays thrilling jazz music on the sharpest edge of the knife, accompanied by a good amount of melancholia. We also hear klezmer influences, loose completely, while just moments later everything falls back into its place. Shulman(Trumpet) and Mommaas (Sax) continuously chasing each other, playing

3. LIVE SHOWS

THE NEW YORKER
The sound of paper is as much part of the score as is the live accordion playing of the composer, Alon Nechushtan.by Emily Macel.

NEW YORK TIMES
In “Fold”, which features live music by the Israeli composer Alon Nechushtan, Ms. Pulvermacher explores the potential transformations of the acts of folding and unfolding with wild imagination. By Gia Kourlas

BACK STAGE
In “Fold,” Pulvermacher’s unearthing of the meanings and consequences of folding and unfolding is aided tremendously by Alon Nechushtan’s cleverly amalgamated scor, A simple folk song (with a lyric by Pulvermacher), Middle Eastern-flavored accordion music, hip-pop sounds, famous classical recordings, affecting text, and exuberant vocalizations impel the dancers’ intense interactions with elaborate origami creations. By Lisa Jo Sagolla.

NEW YORK TIMES
In “Iodine”, set to shards of sound in accompaniment composed by Alon Nechushtan, black flag is repeatedly hoisted. By Jennifer Dunning.

BACK STAGE
“The Score composed by Alon Nechushtan was varied with each vignette, rhythmic, tightly mimic the quick beat of the dance.” By Emily Macel.

NEW YORK SUN
“Drifting about to Alon Nechushtan’s whale song, proved a restful examination of choral movement.” By Helen Shaw.

THE VILLAGE VOICE
“The ominous noises and echoing voices of Alon Nechushtan’s music, they’re sometimes tender, sometimes fiercely manipulative with each other.” Deborah Jowitt.

BACK STAGE
The most exciting choreography of the evening occurred during the opening moments of Norman’s sextet, “Closer.” Bathed in an individual pool of light, each dancer, one at a time, presented an engrossing movement phrase in interpretation of the delicious jazz score composed by Alon Nechushtan. By Lisa Jo Sagolla.

DANCE INSIDER
“An original score by Alon Nechusthan of the Talat Trio lent a buoyant rhythm to the dance.” Darrah Carr.

HARTFORD COURANT
Plus, there’s a whole new cast of varsity players ready to please atrium aficionados, including the brilliant, genre bending, risk-taking Israeli pianist Alon Nechushtan.
Here’s the season lineup: AlonNechushtan Trio at the Hartford Library. Owen Mcnally

THE DAILY NEWS
Jessica Alba and her daughters, Honor, 6, and Haven, 2, visited the Children’s Museum of Manhattan recently, where they attended the “All Jazzed Up Performance” by Alon Nechushtan in the lower level, a spy tells us. After catching the performance, a low-key Alba and her excited girls headed to the main floor, where they were spotted playing in the EatSleepPlay: Building Health Every Day exhibit. “They stayed for several hours,” says our snitch.

NEW YORK TIMES
Red Hook Jazz Festival (Sunday) This proudly grass-roots festival takes place on two consecutive Sundays in a community garden near the industrial Brooklyn waterfront. Highlights of the first installment include Trio X, featuring Joe McPhee on saxophone and trumpet, with the guest violinist and vocalist Rosi Hertlein; a pair of trios led respectively by the guitarist Ben Monder and the keyboardist Shai Maestro; and the Alon Nechushtan Quintet, featuring the tenor saxophonist Donny McCaslin and others. (Also on June 21.) From 1 to 6 p.m., Urban Meadow, (Chinen)

JWEEKLY
Pianist and composer Alon Nechushtan doesn’t always create Jewish jazz, but when he does, it’s recognizably Jewish-sounding. He may use a Hasidic melody, a klezmer or Israeli dance rhythm or something straight from the synagogue — or a combination thereof. It’s that Jewish musical anchor that sets Nechushtan, 42, apart from some of his more experimental colleagues in the Radical Jewish Culture scene (and, yes, that’s a thing, referring to the avant-garde Jewish music scene that has emerged in the last three decades).

“In my eyes,” says the Israel-raised, New York-based musician, “you can play with a lot of things, but something has to be there at the core.”Nechushtan will exhibit his jazz chops, as well as teach a workshop titled “Fusing Middle Eastern Musical Elements with Jazz,” during a rapid-fire, two-day swing through the Bay Area next weekend. First, he’ll be part of the annual Flower Piano program in Golden Gate Park’s botanical garden from 12 to 2 p.m. Saturday, July 20, performing a solo piano set in the Ancient Plant Garden while others play nearby in the Rhododendron Garden, the Conifer Lawn and other gorgeous spots. He promises “a few melodies from early klezmer” and notes that “I do take requests.” Later that day at 7:30 p.m., a quartet Nechushtan has put together will open for the Shay Salhov Quartet at a small music hall in San Jose called Art Boutiki. They’ll play mainly jazz and contemporary jazz, but for sure “you’ll hear klezmer tunes … a Jewish blend with jazz,” he says. The next day, Sunday July 21, Nechushtan will teach a workshop on how to infuse jazz with Middle Eastern musical elements from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the California Jazz Conservatory in Berkeley. He says he’ll shine a light on Judeo-Arabic musical modes, unique rhythms and beat patterns, and Andalusian and klezmer styles.. Then, to cap his whirlwind schedule, he will perform less than three hours later, at 4 p.m, with the Alon Nechushtan Trio in an Oakland Jazz Workshop concert at Jack London Square. By the time the last note is played, Nechushtan will have done four events in about 30 hours. Oh, and a mere four days before all of that happens, he’ll be leading his Talat quartet in a concert of his arrangements of Chabad-Lubavitch nigguns (melodies) in Brooklyn, New York. He describes those pieces as “my twist” on when his grandfather took him to a Chabad village near where he grew up in Rishon LeTzion, Israel.

Talat released a Jewish-inflected jazz CD called “The Growl” on the Tzadik label in 2007. Nechushtan himself has released four additional CDs and a concert DVD. He has performed at Carnegie Hall and Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, and on tours through China, Israel and the Philippines. Last summer he gave a talk and demonstration at the Freight & Salvage in Berkeley titled “What is Jewish Music?” In addition, Nechushtan composes for jazz orchestra, classical settings and ambient electronics. His works have been featured on several CDs and have been performed in the United States and Israel. When it comes to adding Jewish elements to music, Nechushtan offers several professional tips.

“Rhythm may be the most important, because rhythm is close to dance, and klezmer is for the dance,” he says. “Many of the rhythms were not created by Jews, but adopted.” Next, he points to “the modes that came from the synagogue, [which] existed from Andalusian times and earlier. If you look at the Jews of Djerba, an island off Tunisia, they weren’t occupied by outside forces.” In fact, they date their origin to Jews who arrived from Jerusalem following the destruction of the First Temple. He calls these modes “a direct link to what we might have perceived in the First Temple. You can hear these modes coming up in our faces. These are ours, not altered.”

Last summer, Nechushtan was composer, librettist, dialogist, pianist and one-man production crew for “Survival Codes,” a three-hour jazz opera that premiered at the Brooklyn Music School. A fictional work in English with modern references, the opera tells the story of Soviet Jews’ hope during decades of anti-Semitism and persecution. “It took me a lot of time to write it, to rehearse,” he says. “Two months of daily rehearsals with a cast of 40.”

Nechushtan admits that balancing his multifaceted career, which also includes working with ballet companies, is challenging “Ten years ago I asked Uri Caine, a monster musician and composer, how do you do all that? One of the things he told me is you go project-to-project, take the time needed and then you go on.” Though Nechushtan’s opera lost money, he subscribes to the maxim that success is “jumping from one failure to another failure without losing enthusiasm.” He adds: “When you think about it this way, even if a project loses money, is it a failure? I don’t know. I’m already looking at writing the next opera.” Andrew Muchin

TABLET MAGAZINE
There is the history of textbooks and academic tomes. There is the history of witness testimony. And then there is the history, conveyed through art, suspended between truth-telling and imagination, which is the beginning of myth. Watching a rehearsal of Alon Nechushtan’s new jazz-opera Survival Codes, I thought about the relationship between history and mythology. The play is about the world of Soviet Jewish refuseniks—a slice of recent Jewish narrative familiar to me through family stories, books, and films. Yet, it occurred to me, there is something about musical theater that has the power to move history deeper into mythology. The birth of a myth is not a mysterious, inexplicable moment, buried in time. It was happening right in front of me, at rehearsal, in the creaky, old building of the Brooklyn Music School, among the eerily empty rows of seats, with a scattering of a few friends, press members, and the play’s director, James Martinelli, who was shouting directives to the actors, and working out the tech cues.

YEDIOT (ISRAEL)
|Alon’s success as a musician quite amazes him, considering the fact that he is three-quarters deaf. “in the first months of my life, some kind of disease damaged my hearing.” At the age of three, his parents took him for tests and discovered that Alon is completely deaf in his left ear, and that he has only 75% hearing in his left ear. “I know the term ‘stereo,’ I understand what it means, but I’ve never experienced stereophonic hearing,” he says as he directs his eyes forward, to the street, to point his left ear at me. “If too many different voices come from several different sources, sometimes it just sounds like noise,” he admits.

The compensation for the limited hearing was the musical family background. “My mother is a music teacher,” he says, “we had a piano at home and I learned to read sheet music and play it from a young age. When I was growing up there was always classical music in the air.” But Alon did not expect the moment when he could develop a career in music. “I was aware that I don’t hear normally, that I have a hearing problem. That’s why I started my musical career as a composer. On paper, what I need is a good understanding of music and imagination.” Nearly a decade ago, he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in composition at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and was recognized as a modern composer.

But about a decade ago, when he moved from Jerusalem to Boston, he decided to dare and go on stage. “The composer sits at the back of the stage and the musicians stand in the front, performing the music and giving it their interpretation. I depend on them. I felt that I had to overcome this distance. I wanted to play the pieces I write myself, despite the limitations. I decided that I did want to get to the front of the stage, to say : ‘Now I’m here! I wrote this music, I play it, I’m responsible for it from beginning to end,’ and I reached this point when I moved to New York.”

Out of the thousands of people Alon has played alongside, only a few close friends are aware of his hearing impairment. “I don’t usually tell people about it. It always amazes and pleases me that I am able to improvise with them without them noticing. I never had to apologize. I never said, excuse me, I can’t hear. I found that if I sit at the right angle to the hearing ear , I can understand the music perfectly. They always tell jokes about the blind sniper, or the shoemaker who walks barefoot. A musician who is almost deaf, it’s almost a joke. But it turns out that it is possible.” Orli Santo

BLU FAT
ALON NECHUSHTAN playing in L.A. July 10-12 : There’s a real toughness of mind and spirit in the way Alon Nechushtan grabs hold of his music and hurls it into the air. Born in Tel Aviv, the New York-based pianist/composer brings his Russian/Hungarian/Transylvanian/Uzbekistanian roots to bear in choice new jazz meltdowns that pay their respects to the classical and folk strains of his forebears while savoring jazz’s freedom to, well, totally mess with ‘em. Nechushtan has gotten big props for his probing and athletic piano in various jazz and klezmer groups (he leads the band Talat, which released a 2007 record on John Zorn’s Tzadik label), and has composed for large ensembles in the U.S. and Israel.

Among a healthy heaping platter of other things, Latin, blues and a touch of gospel twine with Ashkenaz/Sephardic and Coltrane-/Tyner-ish modalities on Nechushtan’s new Venture Bound (enja), a happily bold batch of tunes done with the aid of a ripping band including sax men Donny McCaslin and John Ellis, trumpeter Duane Eubanks, bassist Chris Lightcap and drummer Adam Cruz. In tracks like the opener “L’Avventura” you’ll hear a post-post bop that kills so nice with its easy flow of simply great chords, the melodies and harmonies going every which way (and seemingly in opposite directions sometimes). The band fits Nechushtan’s exploratory moods like they were born to do so, hopping through devilish times and countertimes spliced into single lines with gleeful ease and flair.

It’s great how nothing comes off forced or contrived in the kaleidoscopic variety this composer wedges into his longer pieces such as “Snow Flow” and “The Gratitude Suite,” the latter hybridizing klezmer-aligned melodic lines with lovely Eberhard Weber-ish bass melodicisms and one very fine trumpet solo. “Haunted Blues” is anything but as the band scales great pyramids of harmonic/melodic/rhythmic interplay; “Snow Flow” and “F.A.Q.” make even more clear Nechushtan’s disciplined compositional approach, which gives his pieces a satisfying (and helpful) sense of shape and symmetry –– and he and his soloists thus make every note count. Nope, nothing drags on too long in this new jazz, in tunes that are in reality quite short ‘n’ sweet but have the effect of having really taken you someplace. Venture Bound is beautiful, invigorating music, smartly conceived and joyfully played. Who could ask for more?

Alon Nechushtan is flying high right about now and most likely nowhere near peaking. If you’re in L.A., you owe it to yourself to catch him doing what he does at these three performances: on July 10, 8 p.m., at the Levantine Center; July 11, 7 p.m., at Upstairs at Vitellos Jazz Club; and July 12, 8 p.m., at Curve Line Space. – John Payne

EAR RELEVANT
2024 SoundNow Festival (Concert 1) January 28, 2024 Core Dance Studio Decatur, GA – USA Atlanta Contemporary Ensemble: Amy Wilson, coductor; Charles Gunsaullus, violin; Brittany Ross, viola; Ben Shirley, cello; Gabriel Monticello, bass; Judith Klein, flute; Bora Moon, clarinet; Eric Fontaine, saxophone; Caleb Herron, percussion; Frankie Freeman & Paul Jenkins, dancers; Krista M. Jones, visual artist.

Alon NECHUSHTAN:  Fractured Fairy Tales by Alon Nechushtan, scored for violin, viola, and cello, was fashioned in a decidedly post-Bartok style, offering a comfortable volley between consonance and dissonance that seemed to reflect the color consonances and shape dissonances of the art in question. Howard Wershil EarRelevant, Atlanta’s voice for classical and post-classical music

JWEEKLY
Finding an Israeli pianist with an affinity for klezmer music might seem like an easy task, but Alon Nechushtan is more than a rarity. Though he grew up in Rishon LeTzion, a suburb just north of Tel Aviv, and graduated with a degree in classical composition from the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, Nechushtan didn’t start exploring Jewish music until he landed in Boston in 2003. His interest in jazz had been piqued in Israel via New York saxophonist Arnie Lawrence, who mentored a rising generation of Israeli jazz stars after moving to Jerusalem in 1997. But it wasn’t until he connected with Hankus Netsky, the chair of New England Conservatory’s contemporary improvisation department, that Nechushtan found his way into klezmer, the secular celebratory music of Ashkenazi Jewry.

MOUNTAIN VIEW VOICE
Alon Nechushtan and Global Beat: New York-based composer and pianist Alon Nechushtan and the group Global Beat will perform a lively concert drawn from a variety of genres, including jazz, Latin and klezmer. Nechushtan, originally from Israel, has performed at prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, received commissions from organizations including the Smithsonian Museum, toured internationally, composed for many ensembles and orchestras worldwide and also released numerous albums.  Feb. 3, 7 p.m., Albert and Janet Schultz Cultural Arts Hall, Oshman Family JCC, 3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto, $20-$40, paloaltojcc.org/events. Heather Zimmerman

4. VENTURE BOUND (ENJA RECORDS)

DOWNBEAT
Recently, during his West Coast tour, pianist Alon Nechushtan perched at the piano at Los Angeles’ intimate nightclub Vitello’s on a Friday night. The crowd was rest- less, but he quickly won them over. With unyield- ing assurance, he led his pick-up band through an extended set that touched upon blues, modal stan- dards and closed with a swinging touch of klezmer propelled by drummer Chris Wabich’s tambou- rine and Nechushtan’s own percussive rattle. The Israeli-born musician consistently demonstrated his vast skill-set with confidence and humor.It was the pen that brought him to the United States as a classical composition major at Boston’s New England Conservatory. Today, more than a decade later, Nechushtan is part of a growing cir- cle of jazz musicians bridging the musical realities of New York and Israel. Nechushtan credits saxophonist Arnie Lawrence (1938–2005), a former Tonight Show band contributor and the founder of the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York, with expanding his and many other Israeli kids’ horizons. In 1997, the saxophonist moved to Jerusalem and founded the International Center for Creative Music, where an impressionable young Nechushtan took in the sounds of swing. “He played a large role,” Nechushtan said. “He’s kind of a crusader in that manner. I remember hanging out with him and learning about jazz. He was very patient.” Jazz’s presence in Israel, relative to the history of the genre, is a fairly new phenomenon. The rise of internationally acclaimed artists like guitar- ist Roni Ben-Hur, violinist Miri Ben-Ari and the Cohen siblings (Anat, Avishai, Yuval) has helped broaden the appeal of swing in Israel, where jazz is now part of the sonic landscape.The pianist is levelheaded when discussing the current state of the Middle East. He diplomatical- ly avoids any comment on the summer’s unrest, focusing solely on the sounds coming from the stage and his unrelenting desire to return. Prior to his gig at Vitello’s, he shared a bill with the mighty Los Angeles-based Palestinian saxophonist Zane Musa. The two got along so well that Musa joined in the following night to blast through Nechushtan’s newest material. Nechushtan is happy to welcome as many voices to his compo- sitions as he can. “From a very early age, I wrote for classical ensembles but I always wanted to write a big band chart,” Nechushtan said. “Sometimes I keep the worlds separate. Sometimes I combine them. I went to school fascinated by Third Stream, clas- sical and jazz. You have to go from lead sheets to incredibly descriptive music. When you work with a small combo, they are an integral part of making that music [come] alive. You don’t have to have every gesture written down. My music is descriptive when it is a combo—not as much as when it is written down—but my creative process is the same.” As an undergraduate, Nechushtan began his jazz studies in earnest, taking up with pianists Danilo Pérez and Fred Hersch. “They were great teachers, but I wanted to study with New Yorkers like Uri Caine and Henry Threadgill. My idea was to come to New York and try. I didn’t know that I would love it and stay.”

JAZZ TIMES
“The single most salient fact about current jazz is its ongoing globalization. Jazz is an open-ended, self-renewing art form that draws strength from sources far outside itself. Example: Venture Bound. It is hardcore, up-to-the-minute small-ensemble jazz with a unique sonic signature. Alon Nechushtan was born in Tel Aviv. On “The Gratitude Suite,” the formal chiming of his piano introduction is overtaken by wheeling klezmer rhythms when the band kicks in. On “Dark Damsel,” Brahim Brigbane’s fidgeting oud, old and exotic and Middle Eastern, creates sinuous counterpoint with Nechushtan’s freeform 21st-century piano. “Pome(grenades)” starts as a headlong thrust, but then it careens back on itself, like a Balkan circle dance. Nechushtan now lives in New York and has internalized its unforgiving energy. He characterizes his album as “a continuous journey through a New York night seeking adventure.” Two of the city’s most steadfast saxophonists, Donny McCaslin and John Ellis, play on alternate tracks. Nechushtan’s nine original compositions are angular, meticulous and engaging. Venture Bound truly feels like a “continuous journey” because it veers down many city streets. Everyone-including bassist Chris Lightcap and drummer Adam Cruz-takes turns leading the adventure, their edgy New York solos emerging from Nechushtan’s colorful ethnic context. Both McCaslin and Ellis take their time and sweat the details. Nechushtan himself is so embedded in the album concept that you are less aware of him as a soloist than as an intelligence that ties everything together. But in fact his individual piano statements are varied, concise and complete, sometimes twisting long, fine strands (“F.A.Q.”), sometimes digging in and grooving (“Serpentrails”). In the new millennium, many compelling jazz voices have come from Israel: Anat Cohen. The two Avishai Cohens (trumpeter and bassist). Omer Avital. Gilad Hekselman. Add Alon Nechushtan to the list. (Thomas Conrad, Jazz Times)

JAZZIZ
“Alon Nechushtan’s sparkling technical prowess allows him to swiftly navigate through multitude of styles and the results are revelatory”

LOS ANGELES TIMES
Alon Nechushtan at Vitello’s :A composer-pianist who has performed with a range of ensembles around the world, Tel Aviv-born Alon Nechushtan offers joyfully drawn hints of his travels on his latest album “Venture Bound,” which features bright touches of classical and klezmer music. The album features a crack lineup in saxophonists Donny McCaslin and John Ellis as well as drummer Adam Cruz, but for this L.A. run of shows he’ll be backed by an ensemble that includes Brian Walsh on saxophone and a rhythm section of David Tranchina and Chris Wabich. Upstairs at Vitello’s, 4349 Tujunga Ave., Studio City. Fri., 8 p.m. $20 Also performing at Levantine Cultural Center, 5998 W. Pico Blvd., Thurs., 8 p.m. $15 and Curve Line Space, 1577 Colorado Blvd., Los Angeles, Sat., 8 p.m. 

This music is quite delightful, with tracks such as “Pome (Grenade)” and “Dark Damsel” incorporating Middle Eastern themes in the melodies.  The former is a vehicle for a splendid solo from Ellis and vigorous piano chords a la McCoy Tyner from the leader (the track would not sound out of place on Tyner’s “Sahara” recording.) Brigbane’s oud weaves around the whirling piano lines at the outset of “...Damsel” and the 2 instrumentalists team up with McCaslin’s tenor for the lively theme. “F.A.Q” contains lovely soprano work from McCaslin plus a strong melodic solo from Lightcap.  Ellis turns to his soprano sax to lead the group through the handsome melody of “Snow-Flow“, a piece with gospel-tinged chords from Nechushtan who also delivers a pleasing solo.

The opening unaccompanied piano lines of “The Gratitude Suite” have the feel of a Bruce Hornsby composition while the melody is firmly planted in the composer’s homeland.  Eubanks’ solo is tinged with emotion while Boccato and Cruz percolate below and Lightcap offers smart counterpoint.  The tenor solo (McCaslin) is a tour de force leading to a heightened intensity and a soulful piano spot.  It’s tough not to be floored by the powerful opening track, “L’Avventura“, with its dynamic piano chords and solo plus the delicious drive of the bass and drums.  Cruz is a powerhouse throughout, matching his intensity with that of the pianist – they really push each other on every song.  The short drum solo that opens the final track, “Serpentrails“, literally explodes out of the speakers; the main melody is influenced by Monk and Ellis’s bluesy solo has more than a touch of Coleman Hawkins and Charlie Rouse.  Listen to how Cruz dances below the solo while Lightcap’s bass keeps the beat bouncing.

“Venture Bound” is a love letter to melody and rhythms, especially themes that composer Alon Nechushtan has heard all his life and to the heartbeat of contemporary jazz that has fueled most of his explorations.  His partners in this “Venture” dig right into this material and strike gold in every vein.  Enjoy the journey!  By Richard Kamins

JERUSALEM POST
Alon Nechushtan has covered some ground to get where he is today. The 30something jazz pianist will be here next week to perform at Avram in Jerusalem (August 18) and the Shablul Club in Tel Aviv (August 19), bringing a hefty musical-cultural arsenal with him.

“I write and play very communicative music and also non communicative music and written music and music without a written score,” he notes. “My upbringing in classical music and jazz enables me to enjoy the best of all worlds.”Venture Bound represents a degree of closure and summation for Nechushtan. “The CD is a sort of homage to the almost 10 years I have spent in New York, so the album is a salute to pianists whom I have heard in New York and pianists and composers that have influenced me,” he explains. “One of them is [late French pianist Michel] Petrucciani, and there’s Thelonious Monk as well, whom I strongly reference on the album. I have lots of influences, including Israeli and Jewish influences. It all flows through me and infuses my music.” For more information 077- 445-0701 and www.avrambar.co.il (Jerusalem); (03) 546-1891 and www.shabluljazz.com (Tel Aviv). Barry Davis. 

5. RITUAL FIRE (CHALLENGE RECORDS)

THE JEWISH FORWARD
Upon winning last year’s Independent Music Award for best jazz album, Israeli-born pianist Alon Nechushtan cited as his influences J. S. Bach, Duke Ellington and Charlie Chaplin. To these three, listeners of Nechushtan’s latest release, “Ritual Fire” could add another person: the experimental American painter Jackson Pollock, whose term “action suite” Nechushtan borrows to explain the workings of the new album. The album is largely free-form, with melodic elements that erupt into a larger conceptual whole.

The record’s highlight is the special appearance by clarinetist Harold Rubin— a legendary figure of the Israeli art scene. Now in his 80s, Rubin is also known for his work as a painter, poet and architect. A native of Johannesburg, he developed his jazz chops by collaborating with African musicians. In the 1960s, the South African government threatened Rubin with charges of blasphemy when he painted a subversive depiction of Jesus Christ. Rubin then escaped to Israel.

Nechushtan, born and educated in Israel, is part of the mass of young Israeli musicians living and working on the East Coast of the United States. It is no wonder that so much of the album feels like a conversation between the him and Rubin — each emblematic of his generation — closely listening and responding to each other’s ideas, supported by a tight rhythm section.

The clarinet is inherently a whimsical-sounding instrument, and Rubin pushes the whimsy to its flailing borders. As he goes into his melodic mode, he seems to steer the sound toward tender, lyrical fragility. Often, though, he explodes with a series of melancholy squeals and squawks, sounding much like some migratory bird struggling to explain itself. The trope of migration is key to both Rubin and Nechushtan. The Chekhovian overtones come to the fore in “Across the Ocean Like a Seagull,” A composition in which Nechushtan’s extensive solo is introspective, unraveled and determined — a flight of the sound that seems to have no prospect of a permanent landing. -Jake Marmer

AVANT MUSIC NEWS
Here is where I post, at a frequency of about once a week, a list of the new music that has caught my attention that week. All of the releases listed below I’ve heard for the first time this week and come recommended.
Album of the week: Roscoe Mitchell – Not Yet (2013), Alon Nechushtan – Tribal Fire (2013), Secret Keeper (Stephan Crump / Mary Halvorson) – Super 8 (2013). Gunnelpumpers – Montana Fix (2013)

UNITED MUTATIONS
Two years ago, Alon Nechustran surprised us with “Words Beyond”, a beautiful modern jazz album. And now there’s “Ritual Fire”, an action suite in 10 parts, as it says on the album. The Between The Lines record label explains: “Jackson Pollock made “Action Painting” well known a while back, and he became one of the most important painters of the 20th century. This art form considers improvisation to be a pivotal element in painting. Color is often not applied with a brush, but drop by drop, for example, sometimes applied to the canvas directly from the can. Simple materials and techniques result in amazing results. In spite of this, it is not at all dilettantism, but instead is done based on comprehensive knowledge of all set structures and techniques. But they are just not satisfied with set structures. “Action Suite” by the pianist Alon Nechushtan pursues similar considerations. Based on virtuoso mastery of musical instrumentation and with a clear idea of what music pieces created in free improvisation should express, a number of precious pieces are created – and these grow together into an overall work of art. Free improvisation in this sense is the opposite of lack of prerequisites. To the contrary: It only works if each single member of the band contributes all of his expertise, experience and skills into a mutual work networked internally. That is what accounts for the extraordinary fascination of “Ritual Fire”: Inner concordance of the musicians that has become rare that makes the free improvisation seem to listeners as if it were composed.” In the liner notes, Kurt Gottschalk quotes Alon Nechushtan saying “Though each track was mostly freely improvised with very little preparation, there was a definite, preconception for the overall organization of the session and controlling the order of these building blocks I was using to shape and form the full suite as it appears on the CD”. The result, “Ritual Fire”, is very impressive. All four musicians sound as if they have been playing togher for years. Alon Nechushtan on piano, Ken Filiano on bass, Bob Meyer on drums, and (the eighty years old) Harold Rubin on clarinet. Every fan of contemporary, modern, improvised jazz should hear this.

KEEP SWINGING
When Alon Nechushtan decided to make a new album, entitled Ritual Fire, he asked South-African born clarinet player Harold Rubin, now living in Israel, to participate.  I was very excited to hear that Harold Rubin was in town, Alon told in an article: “The initial starting point of “Ritual Fire“: I have known Harold for over 15 years from my homeland and considered him as a very unique voice in the contemporary world of improvised music and as a “one of a kind” clarinetist and founding members of free improvisation in Israel. This legendary 81 years old clarinet player is an icon.  Jazz journalist Kurt Gottschalk wonders in its liner notes, how the upcoming generation, which raises with YouTube and Spotify, … creating  their own music by duplicate, manipulate, splice and rearrange any of that music any way they choose, will listen to music when they are grown ups ….. It’s a dizzyingly exciting prospect, Kurt says, to realize, listening to clarinet player Harold Rubon, in his 80s now, that, whatever music these grown ups will inspire, it seems that such a octogenarian like Harold Rubin has ro remind you that nothing under the sun is altogether new … The tools might be different but the language of artistic expression remains the same. 

Alon Nechushtan was born in Israel and learned to play the piano, followed private studies under Slava Ganeli  and studied Classical Composition in Jeruzalem. In 2000 he moved to the US where he studied Jazz and Big Band at the well known Boston New England Conservatory as a student of the great band leader, composer, arranger and trombone player, Bob Brookmeyer. He also studied jazz piano with great names like Fred Hersch, one of my favorite jazz pianists. Early 2003 he moved to New York where he joined hundreds of gigs in the New York Jazz scene. He founded his own quintet TALAT in 2002 which recorded and played all around the world at festivals in Canada, Israel and Europe. This group plays a mix of all kind of musical styles from klezmer up to Jazz and funk with North African modes and Middle Eastern rhythms.  On Ritual Fire he invited for his trio Ken Filiano, one of the most innovative and virtuoso musicians in the field, the info reads …. He provides a warm bed for the extemporaneous explorations …. ( Kurt Gottschalk). Ken can be heard in hundreds of album as a bass player, since his debut in  the 1980s with bands like Vinny Golia  and the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra (1990s). Bob Meyer is also a veteran, a drummer, who played with Bert Wilson in the 1980s and 1990s and was invited to play in the rhythm sections of Joe lovano, Ed Schuller, Rick Margita and John Abercrombie, to list some names.

Harold Rubin, special guest on this album, is the nestor of this ensemble. Born in Johannesburg (South Africa) he became inspired by the great swing orchestras of Duke Ellington and Count Basie, the then “modern experimental sounds” of Eric Dolphy and Tony Scott …..  In 1963 he immigrated to Israel, where he became a well known architect, painter. He became fascinated by the music of free improvsers like Cecil Taylor and John Carter and debuted in the late 1980s in bands like the Tel-Aviv Connection and with his own groups (like Zaviot). After he retired he loves to play, especially with the younger generation of Israelian jazz musicians.

Ritual Fire is based on an “Action Suite’ in ten parts“, as Alon labeled it – ten spontanious creations … all mostly freely improvised with very little preparations, Alon explains ….
The album Ritual Fire will be released in Europe soon and can be ordered at  Between the Lines and other online distributors. -By Hans Koert

JAZZTHETIK (Translated from German)
The sensual artistic process by which the artists of Action Painting make the colors flow into each other to achieve contrasts and textures, seems to have served as an irresistible inspiration for the Jewish pianist Alon Nechushtan. When the pianist, who was born in 1974 near Tel Aviv, expanded his band to include the clarinetist Harold Rubin, the resulting interaction made for a liberated flow of (musical?) ideas. But that does not mean arbitrariness. Instead, we have a shared vision moving forward.

The playing of Alon Nechushtan along with Ken Filano on bass, Bob Meyer on drums/percussion and the south African Harold Rubin on clarinet make for a chemistry, expressed in the sounds, structures and ideas going back and forth that result in melodic expression. Noteworthy is the free, often melancholic lyrical expression of the clarinetist Harold Rubin. Rubin, born in South Africa in 1932, is the oldest of the group. Rubin drew on Eric Dolphy and Count Basie and was later inspired by Cecil Taylor and John Carter.

The bandleader Alon Nechustan is more than forty years younger and represents the contemporary musical avant-grade. The other collaborators range in between agewise. This variety gives Ritual Fire tremendous vitality, produces rousing emotion and finally warmth. Enchantingly, almost plaintively, the clarinet constantly emits a wealth of melancholy, and develops a lyrical motive /motif. It is a voice that lifts itself. Plucked bass tones respond, and the pianist integrates all of this in his own, often extroverted, life-giving (literally, giving birth) playing.

The flow of the resulting music gives the impression often of a complex Free-Jazz eruption but is nevertheless a lyrical freedom one can grasp, carried along by that emotion generated by the interaction of younger musicians with the older pioneers.
Stefan Pieper – Jazzthetik

CHALLENGE
Alon Nechushtan was born in Rishon le Zion (near Tel Aviv) in 1974. He already learned to play the piano when he was six years old, and he began to compose for chamber music ensembles when he was 10. Private studies under Slava Ganelin as well as listening to the current music of his youth from Genesis to Pink Floyd stirred his awaking interest for jazz pianists – and of course composition studies from Debussy to Shostakovich. He also played in jazz combos during his classical composition studies in Jerusalem. After he received his Master’s degree, he moved to the USA for good in 2003, first to Boston (on the advice of Between the Lines artist Yitzhak Yedid) where he continued his studies under Ran Blake, Paul Bley, Fred Hersch and others. Bob Brookmeyer was also one of his mentors, and he conducted numerous premiers of Nechushtan’s compositions. He moved to New York in 2003, and his first recordings were soon released, among others on John Zorn’s label Tzadik. Since then he has worked with many musicians such as Marty Ehrlich, Frank London, Ned Rothenberg, Eliott Sharp, Mark Dresser and many others.
Alon Nechushtan is presenting a very special guest on “Ritual Fire”: Harold Rubin born in South Africa in 1932. He studied classical clarinet, but was already attracted to jazz in his youth, first to the music of Duke Ellington and Count Basie, and later to Erik Dolphy and Tony Scott. His band celebrated his first successes and played at the first Jazz Festival in Johannesburg, among other places. He emigrated to Israel in 1963 due to the Apartheid system. He worked there successfully in his profession as architect and painter and was involved in the peace movement, so that he had little time for playing the clarinet. However, he got involved again at the end of the 70s, influenced by the free jazz of Cecil Taylor and John Carter, with his own bands (“Zaviot Quartet”) and on tours through Europe and the USA (among others, with Jim Pepper and Christoph Spendel). Rubin has closely linked his life’s personal, social and music freedom.
Bob Meyer (born in 1945) is one of America’ drummers most in demand by musicians such as Joe Lovano and Ed Schuller to Rick Margitza and John Abercrombie, with whom he currently plays in a quartet (with Adam Kolker and Johannes Weidenmuller). His timing and his sensitiveness provide “Ritual Fire” with a stable foundation. Ken Filiano on bass (born in 1952) is currently one of the most innovative and virtuoso musicians in his field. His collaboration is highly esteemed by numerous co-musicians (Bobby Bradford, John Carter, Frank London, Giora Feidman, etc.). His openness for new experiences seems unlimited, and he also provides brilliant moments time and time again in Alon Nechushtan’s trio.

JAZZIS
This is a strikingly beautiful album by Israeli (living in NY) pianist / composer Alon Nechushtan with a quartet which also includes the bassist Ken Filiano, drummer Bob Meyer and the legendary Israeli clarinetist Harold Rubin. The quartet performs ten pieces that are mostly freely improvised, based on compositional guidelines by Nechushtan, which together constitute an “action” suite, a term describing an artistic on-the-fly creation. This is Nechushtan´s fourth consecutive exceptional album in a span of just a few years, firmly establishing him as a major player of the contemporary Jazz / Improvised Music scene.

Although released under Nechushtan´s name, the album is primarily a remarkable tribute to the exceptional abilities of Rubin, who was almost eighty years old when this music was recorded. Although still relatively little acknowledged on the international music scene, Rubin is a force of Nature, with absolutely no competition anywhere in the world. His playing, or rather creation of sounds, is completely unique and transcends the Jazz tradition by light-years. Wonderfully he is getting better with time and the advanced age seems to bless him with ageless vitality and musical astuteness. Nechushtan is to be congratulated for recognizing Rubin´s contribution and keeping the rhythm section relatively in the background, mostly supporting Rubin´s soloing. But of course the rhythm section plays all along and they play wonderfully. These are all experienced and very talented players, who all have recognized recorded legacies to their names, and therefore don´t need to prove anything by taking more of the personal space that the opportunity called for. Again they all deserve to be praised for their attitude. The music is typically spontaneous and limitless, creating an aesthetic aura of elegance, beauty and artistic “fire”, which should win over every open-minded listener. This is true “high art”, which should be celebrated and revered, as it is rare and fragile.

CULTURE JAZZ (FRANCE)
Ce disque contient “An action suite in 10 parts”, une traduction musicale de l’Action Painting mis en pratique par le peintre Jackson Pollock. Le pianiste Alon Nechushtan cherche donc à développer une approche toujours spontanée mais réfléchie de l’improvisation collective pour créer des formes, des couleurs et des structures nouvelles… Tout cela n’est pas franchement neuf et nous renvoie à des démarches déjà développées à l’époque du free-jazz et des courants des musiques créatives qui ont cherché à “structurer l’aléatoire”. Ces musiciens sont fort habiles et tout à fait convaincus par leur démarche. La musique qui en découle ne manque pas de qualités cependant. Du free revival ?Alon Nechushtan : piano et compositions / Ken Filiano : contrebasse / Bob Meyer : batterie /+/ Harold Rubin : clarinette. “An action suite in 10 parts” : 01. Hover / 02. Ritual Fire / 03. Psalmonody / 04. Profusion / 05. Ruah Kadim (Eastern Wind) / 06. Free Falling / 07. Aureoles / 08. Accross The Ocean Like A Seagull / 09. Hamsin (Heat Wave) / 10. Soliloqui // Enregistré à New-York le 20 septembre 2011.

SON DU GRISLI (FRANCE)
La clarinette ouvre et referme le bal de ce Ritual Fire. Ici, comment ne pas penser à Jimmy Giuffre quand s’invitent les dissonances acides chères au clarinettiste texan ? Musicien discret, remarqué chez Jean-Claude Jones, Harold Rubin est un personnage singulier de la jazzosphère. Né en 1932 à Johannesburg, l’Afrique du Sud le condamna pour blasphème. Il s’installa alors à Tel-Aviv, devint architecte, exposa ses dessins et peintures dans les plus grandes galeries puis, après une vingtaine d’années d’abstinence, renoua avec le jazz en 1979. Sa clarinette est une clarinette des recoins. C’est une clarinette sans principe autre que celui de la marge. Son souffle s’étreint, s’étrangle, refuse modes et certitudes, s’ouvre à la microtonalité.
On en oublierait presque Alon Nechushtan, Ken Filiano et Bob Meyer. Se réclamant de l’Action Painting de Pollock (la chose est discutable), le pianiste retrouve les free forms de Jimmy Giuffre. Il y a dans ce jazz (ou plutôt dans ce free jazz) des coulées piquantes, des tensions fulgurantes. Et, surtout, une démarche (ne rien cloisonner,  inviter l’aléatoire) qui ne peut que nous ravir. BY Luc Bouquet © Le son du grisli

ALL ABOUT JAZZ ITALY
Nato in Israele nel 1974 e dal 2003 negli USA, il pianista Alon Nechushtan vanta tra i propri mentori anche Paul Bley e Bob Brookmeyer, i quali evidentemente gli hanno trasmesso quelle tracce del magistero di Jimmy Giuffre che caratterizzano questo eccellente lavoro d’improvvisazione—idealmente ispirato alla creatività pittorica istantanea di Jackson Pollock—e che vengono a più riprese richiamate sia nelle forme musicali, sia nei titoli (“Psalmonody,” “Free Falling”).

Jazzis 
Composer Alon Nechushtan emerges as one of the most remarkable musicians of the new generation. The list of players on the album reads like who’s who in the contemporary Free Jazz / experimental Scene including Mark Dresser (Double Bass) , Ned Rothenberg (Bass Clarinet) , Eliott Sharp (Electric Guitar) and many other outstanding musicians, the music consists of Electronic ambient layers that serves as basis for the jazz musicians to paint their improvisations on top , heavilly atmospheric, magical and enthralling pulling the listener deeper and deeper into this strangely beautiful world of sound. Great Stuff ! By Adam Baruch,

Monsieur Délire
In a score that leaves a lot of room to improvisation, though still a well-defined framework. An intense record. I will have to revisit in a more focused state of mind, because there’s a lot of depth to this material. By François Couture

Chain DLK
sound like one of the most audible filler mixed with other elements in this black pudding sliced in ten parts, being the other elements some tricks taken from experimental electronics, improvisational, ambient, ritual and concrete music and even tribalism – the moments where this element sounds clearer such as in the fourth or sixth track are my favorite ones of the whole recording -. Someone could argue that such an ensemble could outshine individual skills, but I’m pretty sure that each of 11 musicians with their rich sonic stores, including two electric guitars, one double bass, one trombone, one alto saxophone, a baritone one, one cello, one tuba, one bass clarinet, one bass flute, one trumpet, involved in this obscure work will be satisfied of the highly visionary opalescence their choral performance aimed to highline a property of music, more than a concept, managed to reach thanks to Alon Nechushtan direction as the listeners will easily acknowledge. By Vito Camarretta

Le Son du Grisli
Dark Forces deploying ambiguous morphologies, as electronics, evoking games successive latency, environmental sounds – sea the wind, a bird – a fantastic bestiary, while a jungle, as strange process of involution and evolution, disfigurement and refiguration. By Samuel Lequette

The New York City Jazz Record
Dark Forces is an electro-acoustic mix by composer Alon Nechushtan with a cast of downtown allstars, including Swell, Elliott Sharp and Briggan Krauss. It sounds like the traffic of heavenly bodies, or spacecraft – but spacecraft with teak and mahogany details. The composition works like fractals, with each instrumentalist recapitulating the spacey theme in their own parts, which are also remarkable for their restraint and episodes of silence. By Gordon Marshall

Criticas Novas
The following is a true pearl: “Dark Forces”, Alon Nechushtan who is credited as the ‘sound designer’, but one can assume that all the electronic part of the album is his responsibility, although it is not indicated. The ensemble that plays his music is a list of “Who’s Who” of creative jazz and free improvisation of today, so if you can conclude that the scores that were conceived opening large enough to matter to these instrumentalists. What is here is a chamber music alien, seeming to come from a distant place and wrapped in mist. In short, a CD absolutely fascinating. By Rui Eduardo Paes

Jazz Wrap
Nechushtan is becoming a important name on the scene. I’ve discussed his early 2011 album, Words Beyond, with the latter year end release of Dark Forces, Nechushtan has made wider leap forward in the avant garde community.Dark Forces is cerebral–and yes, dark. You might even call it, “a headphone record.” Originally written and performed in live in 2006 (only now finally put on record), is densely packed with layers of slightly audible tones. This is a large ensemble spread over ten movements. And while  each member doesn’t really standout (probably by Nechushtan’s design), the overall sum of the parts is intense and very rewarding.Dark Forces feels like it could easily be a work for installations or an experimental dance company. But as a stand alone piece, Dark Forces is a deceptively effective work from a composer who seems to be a great more adventurous with each record. Well worth seeking out. By Stephan Moore

Downtown Music Gallery 
Mr. Nechushtan has put together an impressive all-star cast of eleven of Downtown’s best musicians, recorded over 7 years. When I looked at the line-up I was just as amazed as you however the music was something else entirely. The pieces are not named and they often deal with strange textures and atmospheric sounds. It doesn’t sound as if there were any written music here although it does sound as if the music was carefully arranged and/or focused. Many of the sounds and spaces are filled with suspense and restrained tension. The Spanish label Creative Sources has been around for nearly a decade, has close to 200 releases and most often deals with lower case improv. Although this disc features some ten musicians, it sounds as if there are no more than 3 or 4 players on each track. The overall mysterious and often sparse sounds are perfect for this label. Nobody really solos here yet the music remains fascinating throughout.  By Bruce Lee Gallanter,

Vox Novus
Each Performer is top flight, and take full advantage of his/ her sonic surroundings, while not always spouting virtoustic licks every performer integrates their performance into their designated aural landscape, this is not a disc of performer + electronic music, this is a disc of chamber music. By Jay Batzner,

EL INTRUSO 2  (SPAIN)
La raíz etimológica de la palabra arte deriva del antiguo vocablo pre-helénico “artao”, cuyo significado original describe “aquello que une” o “que debe ser unido”. A lo largo de la historia, el arte ha ido cambiando y expandiéndose tanto en objetivos como en paradigmas; pero ese principio implícito en el origen del término se mantuvo inalterable a través del tiempo. El arte tiende por naturaleza a reunir partes separadas: une al creador con su obra y a esta última con todo aquél que accede a la misma, une el mundo interior del autor con el contexto creativo de su tiempo y une la necesidad del artista por expresar los sentimientos que no puede transmitir de otra forma con las sensaciones y emociones –igualmente irrepetibles- que provoca en los destinatarios de su obra.

Entre los componentes indispensables del arte –además de sus vínculos socioculturales e históricos– también asoma una fuerte relación con los procesos de internalización humana y la integración del plano consciente e inconsciente, ligado por la técnica en la que la obra se sostiene y a través de la cual puede adquirir un status de perdurabilidad y trascendencia. En la búsqueda de los objetivos trazados, el artista debe sumergirse en su propia interioridad y –como afirma Pollock en la frase del epígrafe– utilizar la técnica “sólo como un medio para llegar a una declaración” estética. Todos estos elementos –en una clara analogía con los preceptos filológicos de la palabra “arte”- aparecen “unidos” en el núcleo estético que da vida al álbum Ritual Fire del notable pianista israelí Alon Nechushtan.

La relación de este álbum con Jackson Pollock no se circunscribe a una frase sino que, además, mantiene profundos lazos de unión con algunos de los principios centrales de su fascinante obra pictórica. La action painting o “pintura de acción” es una forma de arte que considera a la improvisación como elemento fundamental de la pintura; y Jackson Pollock es, justamente, el action painter por antonomasia. El diseño de sus obras no tiene relación con la forma o el tamaño del lienzo, ni usa el pincel y el caballete como en la pintura tradicional; en su lugar, fijó el lienzo a ras del suelo o a la pared y manipuló la pintura mediante la técnica de dripping (goteo) o con paletas, cuchillos y palos e incluso mezclándola con sustancias ajenas al arte pictórico tradicional como la arena, el cristal molido, el polvo de aluminio y los esmaltes.

En la obra de Pollock, el proceso –es decir, el acto ritual de pintar y el pensar en el arte como experiencia– se convierte en algo más importante que el resultado final.  Ergo, puede afirmarse que su alegato artístico tiene un fuerte anclaje con la revelación de los estados inconscientes del artista y, por extensión, se relaciona con las teorías surrealistas del automatismo. En la música libremente improvisada la técnica permite –de igual manera que en el dripping y la action painting de Pollock- exteriorizar ideas que fueron acopiándose durante años de escucha y aprendizaje. Ritual Fire se compone de una suite dividida en diez partes –que su autor, en una premeditada semejanza con la obra de Pollock, denominó An Action Suite in 10 Parts– en la que se desarrolla una especie de dialéctica entre la libre improvisación y el conocimiento exhaustivo de las técnicas establecidas y entre un momento espontáneo de creación musical en tiempo real con la ambición por documentar exitosamente una experiencia de carácter irrepetible.

Alon Nechushtan toca piano desde los seis años y comenzó a componer música de cámara a los diez. En su Israel natal fue discípulo de Slava Ganelin y, una vez radicado en Estados Unidos, tuvo como mentor al inolvidable Bob Brookmayer y continuó sus estudios con pianistas de la talla de Fred Hersch, Paul Bley y Ran Blake. En su reconocida trayectoria como líder de banda, aparecen el grupo progresivo Alon Nechushtan’s CopperHead Trio (en compañía de John Lockwood y Bob Gulloti), el ensamble experimental Alon Nechushtan’s Dark Forces (aquí comandando un combo multiestelar que incluyó a Mark Dresser, Ned Rothenberg, Elliott Sharp, Oleg Raskin, Steve Swell, Briggan Krauss, Marcus Rojas, Okkyung Lee, Henry Kaiser y Nate Wooley), el Alon Nechushtan’s Words Beyond Trio (junto a Francois Moutin y Dan Weiss) y el proyecto de música judía multicultural Alon Nechushtan & Talat que completan Marc Mommaas, Matt Pavolka, Jordan Perlson y Matt Shulman.

La nueva producción de Nechushtan se nutre, además de lo ya mencionado, de las cualidades instrumentales de una alineación sobresaliente que incluye al legendario clarinetista sudafricano y radicado en Israel Harold Rubin (líder de Zaviot Jazz Quartet), el experimentado baterista estadounidense Bob Meyer (Bob Meyer Project, Alt.Timers, Jackalope, etc.) y el excepcional contrabajista Ken Filiano (líder de Ken Filiano’s Quantum Entanglements y miembro de Taylor Ho Bynum Sextet & 7-tette y Fay Victor Ensemble, entre otros).

En el episódico desarrollo de An Action Suite in 10 Parts se van enlazando con naturalidad el evanescente temperamento de Hover –subrayado por la autorizada intervención solista de Harold Rubin en clarinete y las delicadas frases que emergen del piano de Alon Nechushtan–, el abrasivo carácter y la fortaleza colectiva de Ritual Fire, la profunda espiritualidad que emana del magnífico alegato instrumental en Psalmonody y el agitado tránsito de la pieza a piano trío Profusion. Tras el regreso al formato de cuarteto, sobrevienen la catártica exposición de Ruah Kadim (Eastern Wind) –que incluye una sustancial evolución dinámica-, la oscura melancolía que transmite Free Falling (coronada en un monumental solo en contrabajo a cargo de Ken Filiano) y la convincente interacción colectiva manifestada en Aureoles, aquí con especial destaque del soliloquio de Harold Rubin en clarinete y en el dramático crescendo desarrollado al conjuro de los coloridos impulsos de la batería de Bob Meyer. El categórico y equilibrado alegato de Accross The Ocean Like A Seagull –nuevamente en trío- encuentra su fundamento principal en una interpretación de nivel superlativo, donde se eslabonan los atinados aportes de Ken Filiano en contrabajo (alternando arco y pizzicato) y la variedad de acentos y matices que exhibe Bob Meyer en batería con el amplio e imaginativo vocabulario pianístico de Alon Nechushtan. La fase conclusiva del álbum incluye el aquilatado dueto de contrabajo y clarinete de Hamsin (Heat Wave) y la conmovedora declaración de Harold Rubin en una pieza a solo de clarinete, descriptivamente titulada Soliloqui.

Alon Nechushtan, en Ritual Fire, enhebra de manera axiomática los patrones estéticos de la improvisación libre con el pensamiento pictórico de Pollock, la expresión directa con la revelación del inconsciente, el conocimiento adquirido con el desprendimiento de certezas y lo emanado del intelecto con el instinto lúdico. En definitiva, hace honor al significado de la palabra arte y enlaza “aquello que deber ser unido” para la creación de algo nuevo. –
BY Sergio Piccirilli

8. For Those who Cross The Seas (ESP DISC)

9. Chasms Omens Shards Spells (Naxos)

Similarly complex is Alon Nechushtan‘s symphony Chasms-Omens-Shards-Spells, which draws upon ancient religions and  includes tracks inspired by Borges, Bradbury and Ives (Naxos, September). Richard Ellen, A closer Listen.

ALON NECHUSHTAN // MANHATTAN WIND ENSEMBLE / TEL AVIV SOLOIST ORCHESTRA / NEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY ORCHESTRA / M.I.T. FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA / et al- Concerto for Orchestra: Chasms / Omens / Shards / Spells (Composers Concordance Records / Naxos; USA) Israeli-born pianist Alon Nechustan has a half dozen discs out on labels like Tzadik, Enja, Between the Lines & Creative Sources, each one with different personnel and overall sound. Each of Mr. Nechustan’s previous discs come from the avant/jazz stream. This ambitious new two CD set features Nechustan’s classical composing and it is performed by seven different orchestral ensembles, each one from a different place. Every few years, Alon Nechustan comes to visit us here at DMG and leave us with a new CD. I’ve enjoyed all of the previous discs that heârs left but I didn’t quite expect this new one since it is all orchestral music for different ensembles. I’ve been listening seriously to modern classical since the late 1960s when Frank Zappa mentioned composers like Stravinsky, Bartok, Varese, Cage & Stockhausen. Thanks to my favorite record store, Princeton Record Exchange, I’ve been able to acquire hundreds of CDs from the many modern classical composers that I still dig, many for just $1 or $2 bucks. I try to listen to at least one of these discs every or every other night to better appreciate this music. Alon Nechustan’s Concerto for Orchestra has ten parts and is performed by seven different large ensembles from varied places like Tel Aviv, the Philippines, M.I.T. and the Manhattan Wind Ensemble. Secret Sect opens with some austere, haunting, warm and engaging sea of strings. The sound of those bowed cellos and other low-end strings is especially mesmerizing. I find that this music displays quite a bit of different feelings or vibes. “Ancient Landscapes has a warm, more restrained sound with suspense-filled low end strings and perhaps brass. Things sound more traditional with music drawn from an earlier era when certain modern composers wrote for Hollywood films, expressive but not too far out. Each of the ten pieces here express a different vibe or sonic scene. I had a variety of images passing through my eyelid movies as each piece unfolds. Even with seven different ensembles involved, the sound throughout this disc is consistent, engaging and thoughtful. Let’s give a hand to Alon Nechushtan, a fine composer in hiw own right. –Bruce Lee Gallanter, DownTown Music Gallery