Or Bareket - Ob1 (2017)

"Or Bareket was born in Jerusalem, raised in Buenos Aires and Tel Aviv but has been a resident of New York City since 2011 and in that year won first prize at the International Society of Bassists' jazz competition. Having performed and recorded with a wide range of musicians including Leon Parker, Chris Potter and Cyrille Aimee, his compositions are informed by Mediterranean, South American and North African folklores and mediated by his thorough grounding in jazz. OB1 is Barekete’s wryly titled debut album.

Patience opens with a guitar-led heavy blues head, not dissimilar to early Larry Coryell. But the relatively raucous opener belies the tenor of succeeding numbers which are generally more cerebral, meticulously crafted and often steeped in sensitive lyricism. The music is mainly, but not exclusively, dominated by guitarist Shachar Elnatan who plays in a fluid, glissando-rich Pat Metheny-esque style. But there’s another virtuoso here too in the shape of pianist Gadi Lehavi who was discovered by Ravi Coltrane, and invited by him to play at the Village Vanguard and Birdland. Lehavi’s presence is keenly felt on the elegant Elefantes I and Elefantes II. Bareket’s resonant double bass provides a solid backing throughout, contributing some strong solos too, such as is heard on the elegiac Jacqin.

La Música Y La Palabra (Music And The Word), the first of two tracks not composed by Bareket, has a gentle Latin touch with accordion to the fore. The final number, Shir Lelo Shem, written by Israeli rock singer Shalom Hanoch, opens with a short written bluesy melody, but is, in effect, an opportunity for a three-minute, satisfyingly rich and sonorous final bass solo."

Roger Farbey (November, 2017) Jazz Journal Magazine

Or Bareket (bass),
Shachar Elnatan (guitar),
Gadi Lehavi (piano),
Ziv Ravitz (drums).

Guests:
Vitor Gonçalves (accordion),
Keita Ogawa (percussion).