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Hear, O Israel
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List Price: $17.98
Our Price: $14.99
Your Save: $ 2.99 ( 17% )
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Manufacturer: Trunk
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0666017168128
Label: Trunk
Manufacturer: Trunk
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Trunk
Release Date: 2008-06-10
Studio: Trunk
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Editorial Reviews:
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Hear, O Israel: A Prayer Ceremony In Jazz CD. Originally privately pressed in 1968 in minute numbers and only for sale at Friday night prayer concerts, Hear, O Israel has to be one of the rarest and most extraordinary jazz recordings to come out of New York. Written by a 17 year-old and played by one of the greatest jazz line-ups of all time, this really has to be heard to be believed. And this is the first-ever proper release of this extraordinary album. Back in 1968, a 17 year-old named Jonathan Klein had written an alternative concert for Friday Night Jewish prayers. It had been performed a few times at various Friday night gatherings, and been received well. The decision was made by a Jewish charitable organization to take this concert a little further and record it properly. An extraordinary line-up was put together (we have no idea how this came about), and the recording was made. It was pressed in very, very limited numbers without a real label, with no catalog number and was only offered for sale at various prayer gatherings. Without real distribution, the LP disappeared from view very fast, and even today there is little or no reference to it anywhere except on an obscure Herbie Hancock recordings web site. Jonny Trunk first came across the album in the late 1990s, and again recently in 2005. Because it is so unusual and so incredibly beautiful, he decided to get in touch with everyone involved, and officially licensed the recording for its first-ever worldwide release. Musically, the album is like no other, with its wholly unique mixture of spiritual New York jazz, Hebrew praises and modal phrases. Led by Herbie on piano, from the moment the album starts, its striking originality will hit you, and for the next 40 minutes you may find yourself lost in subtle prayer that you might not have believed possible. The jazz moves, the voices soar, hallelujah! Music written by Jonathan Klein (who today may or may not be a tutor at the Berklee School of Music); Herbie Hancock (piano), Jerome Richardson (flute, tenor and alto sax), Thad Jones (trumpet and flugelhorn), Ron Carter (bass), Jonathan Klein (French horn and baritone) and Grady Tate (drums). The recording also features Antonia Lavanne (soprano), Phyllis Bryn-Julson (contralto) and Rabbi David Davis (reader).
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: short on vocal
Comment: What can be bad when it comes to Herbie Hancock? Not much. However, this CD has little to do with a Sabbath service and a lot to do with the JAZZ. The music is great but don't be fooled into thinking you're going to hear great vocals. As a matter of fact, on some of the numbers the vocals are hardly audible.
Customer Rating:
Summary: More jazz then prayer
Comment: Quite a facinating album addressing the intersection of jazz and religion. The concept of this is definitely novel and the musician lineup is top notch, but the result has some odd quirks.
Tracks "Torah Service/Adoration" and "Final Amen" (8 & 9) are the main "prayers" with the rabbi doing some preaching sounding like spoken word over a jazz vamp. The rest of the tracks are a mix of arranged vocal melodies and solid modal jazz. Sometimes they compliment each other, but the balance is constantly being shifted. If you're looking for quality jazz (especially Herbie), there's some really fun playing! His comping is swinging and crisp, and the solos are all quite tasteful and fresh.
If you're looking for lots of spiritual singing, be warned that there's many long instrumental solos and interludes. In addition, the arrangements for the 2 singers can get quite dissonant and distracting. I guess the composition is a great feat for a 17-year old composer (who also plays french horn admirably on the album), but the resulting vocals seem to have focused on complexity over melody.
Mixes of religious jazz can be intriguing, but but for those looking for more jazz and slightly tamer and accessible Jewish content, my favorite novelty recommendation is Cannonball Adderly's stellar Fiddler on the Roof, a hidden gem! Of course, if you want spiritual jazz and don't own it yet,A Love Supreme is mandatory.
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