Suite in Four Movements (Yitzhak Yedid)

YITZHAK Yedid is an Israeli pianist who studied Arabian and Western music in Jerusalem and for the past six years has been resident in Australia.

Suite in Four Movements: Yitzhak Yedid

YITZHAK Yedid is an Israeli pianist who studied Arabian and Western music in Jerusalem, studied in Boston with Paul Bley and for the past six years has been resident in Australia.

This new suite continues Yedid's merging of classical Arabic music, Arabic-influenced Jewish music, contemporary Western classical and aspects of avant-garde jazz-flavoured improvisation.

The album was a nominee for most original jazz album in this year's Bell Awards. Accompanying Yedid are long-term associates Sami Kheshaiboun on Arabic violin and Ora Boasson Horev on double bass.

It's an eclectic performance reflecting cross-cultural tensions and with emphasis on fusing Arabic and Western classical contemporary music. The first movement of six parts, opening with Taqsim, dedicated to the day of tomorrow, features solo percussive staccato piano using deadened strings.

The second part, Image of an Old Weary Man, has high-register violin, plus bass and piano creating a tremulous portrait. The second movement opens with a dissonant clash on the piano introducing a prayerful violin theme, altering immediately for the busy tempo of The Dancers' Gleeful Cries.

The third and most impressive movement is dedicated to a Holocaust survivor: a tense spectrum evoking distress, anguish and empathy. The final movement is the liveliest, opening with Cries of Joy and containing The Madness of Creation, which soars, leaps, and stomps into a tranquil Epilogue.

The brilliantly executed suite makes demands on the listener. Intended to be heard in one sitting, each movement presents a soundscape of almost cinematic images.

LABEL: Between The Lines Records
RATING: 4 stars