Uriel Herman quartet - Face to Face

A classical music pianist and composer, a graduate from the Jerusalem Academy, Uriel Herman astounds by his unique way of merging styles. With an incredible virtuosity, he distills a jazz infused with rock, with classical music, with klezmer tones, changing with equal success from an original composition to a piece taken from Israel’s musical heritage or to a revival of David Bowie, Radiohead or Nirvana.This unique and modern approach of music, enhanced by the ardour and dexterity of the musicians that surround him, makes Uriel Herman one of the most exciting pianists of the current scene. A crush and a major discovery.
From the very beginning it's clear to the listener this isn't the traditional jazz as he or she might know it. This is something else. Absorbing different influences, strong oriental feeling, Uriel Herman takes the music to a new level. New exciting direction. It's evident how much he loves to experiement and his skills allow him to do whatever he wants and go wherever the music takes him.
In Shva Esre we hear Herman going back to his roots, strong influence of Jewish music there, the piano motive keeps repeating itself on and on, creating a backround for an atmospheric creation, where you can almost see the nature, the desert, hear the water flowing through the landscape, see different cities and its people. That's what a good artform does to you, plays with your senses.
Winter Light is another highly atmospheric track, paints the vivid image of falling snow and the freezing weather, whatever you imagine behind the rhytmic piano and dominant clarinet. It later changes into sort of a frenzy as the composition goes on but still maintains certain order and the main motive is still there.
This mixture of atmospheric compositions and musical whirlwinds will awake your senses.