Jazz/Review Workman Benjamini Even Zur - Workman Benjamini Even Zur
Alon Benjamini, drummer, composer, sound and mix engineer, and master engineer, was born in 1996. Graduate of the jazz department at Thelma Yellin High School of the Arts and The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. 2014 and 2016 scholarship recipient from the America Israel Cultural Foundation. Endorser of Canopus Drums. Currently lives in New York and continues to collaborate with elite musicians around the world, such as Reggie Workman, Avishai Cohen, Gilad Hekselman, Takeshi Ohbayashi, Eli Degibri, Yotam Silberstein, Omer Avital, and many others.
Workman Benjamini Even Zur's "Workman Benjamini Even Zur" is a heartfelt celebration of friendship, legacy, and the vibrant spirit of jazz. This album highlights the remarkable connection between the players, combining arrangements from jazz legends like John Coltrane, Duke Pearson, and Gary Bartz with unique improvisational works. NEA Jazz Master and bassist Reginald "Reggie" Workman, whose distinguished career includes significant positions with Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers and the John Coltrane Quartet, is at the center of this album.
The album begins with a lively, improvisational track that captivates the listener with its complex, impromptu rhythms and melodies right away. The clear and seamless integration of each musician's contribution into the overall composition attests to their profound regard and knowledge of one another. The jazz experimental spirit is abundant in the improvisational tracks, which offer novel and unforeseen moments that perfectly capture the essence of live performance.
Arranging pieces by Pearson, Bartz, and Coltrane is done with inventiveness and respect. Workman pushes the boundaries of the genre with bass lines that are both daring and fundamental, honoring his origins. You can hear Reginald Workman's influence all throughout the record. His performance is rich, resonant, and incredibly expressive—a jazz bass playing masterclass.
”Workman Benjamini Even Zur" is proof of jazz's continuing influence as a socially conscious and dynamic musical form. The album highlights the dynamic, continuous conversation amongst jazz performers, while simultaneously paying tribute to the legacy of the composers it features. Anyone interested in the richness and variety of jazz music should listen to this album, which offers a complex tapestry of sound that honors both history and innovation.