Zebrina: Hamidbar Medaber

Jul 10, 2014

Extra: Kari Nevalainen

I read about "Jewish music combined with jazz", about "hybridization and cross-pollination", about "Klezmer, jazz, and jam", about weaving in "jazz modes, klezmer modes, hybrid modes, and the blues", about the influence of John Zorn; and so on.

But all that I hear is Eastern-sounding funk with a taste of R&B, rhythmic groove music that essentially hovers around one key. Just for those ignorants as me, the music doesn't sound etno, it sounds Western lyricless psychedelic soft rock with enough extra material (improvization, solo/bass interaction, jazz references etc.) to call it "guitar" jazz. This is not intended to be an understatement; just to point to the obvious fact that how is music is received is very much culture-dependent. For example, some more easy-going tracks (Higher Power) of the disc feature universally recognizable melodies that automatically signify "world music".

The music has a certain immediate appeal in it, especially on a rhythmic plane, and no doubt grows richer on a deeper level too for those lucky with sharper ears. Great, not unintelligent music for sunny Sunday afternoons on a green lawn in a public park.

Hamidbar Medaber is the second DC of the Canadian Zebrina, featuring Ben Goldberg on clarinet. (Release date: August 2014)