Marbin - Israeli Jazz (2018)

The first thing noticeable when Marbin's seventh album, Israeli Jazz, is done playing is that it doesn't sound similar to any other jazz album to date. The unique blend of Dani Rabin's distorted guitar with Danny Markovitch's bright soprano sax tone, the fast unison lines, the intricate forms of the songs and how the music skips from one section to another, and the melodic and harmonic language the band uses in its compositions and solos. Markovitch explains: "To us jazz is about the spirit of the music. At the heart of our music there are always improvised solos over harmony and form. Good jazz always has a delicate balance between chaos, the solos, and order, the compositions/arrangements, and that's the line we tread on while allowing ourselves to explore all the other aspects of music". The second noticeable thing is that the album doesn't sound overly Israeli. Rabin expands on that point: "Both Danny and I grew up in Israel listening to Israeli music, but we also grew up listening to jazz, rock, folk and blues. We felt it's appropriate to name the album Israeli Jazz because it gives a more whole and nuanced look to music that undeniably has Israeli roots, but at the same time is drawing from other traditions and fuses them into a coherent vision".