Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Uri Gurvich: BabEl

Uri Gurvich: BabEl

By Mark Corroto
May 4, 2013
View read count

Toss a dart at the world map and you are likely to hit a country of origin for a band member in saxophonist

Uri Gurvich

saxophone, alto

" data-original-title="" title="">Uri Gurvich's ensemble. The Israeli-born son of Argentinian parents assembled an international cast for his first release The Storyteller (Tzadik, 2009). The same band of Bulgarian bassist Peter Slavov, Cuban drummer

Francisco Mela

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Francisco Mela, and Argentinian keyboardist Leo Genovese return for BabEl with the addition of Moroccan oud and percussion provided by Brahim Fribgane on three tracks.

Although the music is multicultural, it is not the musical equivalent of a simple pidgin language. This band, which also makes up the core of Mela's Cuban Safari, an Afro-Cuban update on an electric

Miles Davis

trumpet
1926 - 1991

" data-original-title="" title="">Miles Davis sound, speaks multiple languages fluently. Where Gurvich might write tunes from an Eastern perspective, his band will pull the sound towards the Afro- Cuban, South American, and rock-fusion sounds of jazz.

With the help of Fribgane's oud, the disc travels to the Middle East on "Pyramids." Gurvich's saxophone traces the melody, with a sound that is more Brooklyn than Tel Aviv. His approach, and that of his band, is to speak a modern jazz language without disguising their accents. Those accents are informed by jazz and rock. "Nedudim" opens with Genovese's electric keyboards speaking

Joe Zawinul

keyboards
1932 - 2007

" data-original-title="" title="">Joe Zawinul's fusion as the piece expands into an electric-rock groove. What starts as an acoustic tango, the song "Alfombra Magica" blends a blues-feel progression that gets a bit of electronic treatment at the conclusion. The band's mission statement song "Scalerica de Oro" is a traditional Sephardic Latin wedding tune that blossoms from a paced inauguration through some electric keyboards and into song.

The joy expressed in Gurvich's music is the same joy

John Coltrane

saxophone
1926 - 1967

" data-original-title="" title="">John Coltrane discovered when he applied his African-American gospel roots to jazz and world music. With BabEl it's just the reverse that is true.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Pyramids; Dervish Dance; Nedudim; Alfombra Magica; Scalerica de Oro; Hagiga Suite; Camelao; Valley Of The Kings.

Personnel

Uri Gurvich

saxophone, alto

Uri Gurvich: alto saxophone, voice; Leo Genovese: piano, keyboards, voice; Peter Slavov: bass, voice; Francisco Mela: drums, percussion, voice; Brahim Fribgane: oud, percussion (1,5, 7).

Album information

Title: BabEl | Year Released: 2013 | Record Label: Tzadik

PREVIOUS / NEXT

The Flame Alphabet
< Previous

New Beginning
Next >

Uri Gurvich Concerts

Sep 29 Mon

World Citizen Band

38 Riv
Paris, France

Sep 29 Mon

World Citizen Band

38 Riv
Paris, France

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.