Assaf Kehati Trio

“Naked”

(AKJazz)

In 2011 I reviewed “Flowers and Other Stories”, the second album as a leader by the Israeli born, US based guitarist and composer Assaf Kehati. At that time Kehati was living in Boston but he has since made the move to New York City where he has assembled a new working band featuring bassist Ehud Ettun and drummer Ronen Itzik, both respected figures on the NY jazz scene.

“Naked” was first released on Kehati’s own AKJazz imprint in September 2014. It features his playing in a more exposed setting (“Flowers” also included the saxophonist Alon Farber plus a different rhythm section) but still exhibits many of the same virtues as its predecessor. Kehati is an elegant guitarist with a classically clean and pure jazz guitar tone and this sound is again evident throughout this latest release. As a composer he likes to tell a story and his liner notes shed light on the origins and inspirations behind the six original compositions on this disc. The programme is completed by three intriguing arrangements of jazz and bebop standards by composers as diverse as Jerome Kern and Ornette Coleman.

Kehati first moved to the US in 2007 settling in Boston where he studied at the New England Conservatory and performed with such luminaries as drummers Billy Hart and Victor Lewis and saxophonists Donny McCaslin, Seamus Blake and George Garzone. “View From My Window”, his first solo album was released in 2010. However as the original pieces on “Naked” reveal Kehati’s homeland remains very important to him and provides the inspiration for many of the tunes.

This latest album begins with “Song For Saba”, the title deriving from the Hebrew word for grandfather. It’s a dedication to Kehati’s own “Saba” who died suddenly in Israel when the guitarist was living in New York. The tune represents Kehati’s immediate musical reaction to his grandfather’s passing and is inevitably tinged with sadness. There’s a timeless quality about the simple melody and in a curious way the music is strangely uplifting, this is a piece that serves as a celebration of a life as well as a lament. The performance is elegant, tasteful and spacious with cleanly picked, relatively unadorned guitar lines sympathetically supported by warmly rounded bass tones and delicately detailed, mainly brushed, drums.

Jerome Kern’s “Long Ago and Far Away” is the first of the outside pieces. Kehati’s gently swinging arrangement features his nimble fretwork above Ettun’s brisk bass walk and Itzik’s gently skipping drum grooves. The piece features solo episodes for Ettun on bass and Itzik at the drums, opportunities that these two talented young musicians seize with relish. Meanwhile Kehati’s own playing on this piece has been compared to both Pat Martino and John Abercrombie. Praise indeed.

The title of “Naked” itself is not in any way salacious but is, instead, a reference to the state of naked emotion or vulnerability.
Kehati describes the tune thus; “this song was relating to the feeling of being emotionally naked - with no barriers, limits or masks. I had an image of one man standing on a mountain against a strong wind but standing strong and tall and true to himself and what he needs to do, even in hard times. There is also a feeling of liberation in this song”.
At nine minutes plus it is one of the lengthiest and most ambitious compositions on the album, building slowly from Kehati’s solo guitar ruminations. With Ettun and Itzik on board it opens slowly like a flower, with a strong melodic thread running throughout the piece. The bass and drum accompaniment is totally attuned to Kehati’s vision, full of delightful small details but never imposing upon the spirit of the piece.

At elven minutes plus “Beneath The Almond Tree” is another comparative epic, a depiction of the comforting shade offered by a sole almond tree in the Israeli desert. Again emerging from an unaccompanied guitar intro this piece is the most obviously “Middle Eastern” on the record and includes a wonderfully melodic bass solo from the excellent Ettun and some tastefully fluid guitar inventions from the leader. Itzik’s colourful, subtly polyrhythmic drums and percussion are also a delight and the piece incorporates a series of lively drum breaks. 

Kehati’s adaptation of Frank Churchill’s “Someday My Prince Will Come” represents the trio’s second excursion into standards territory. The tune is normally played as a waltz but Kehati steers well clear of this and instead provides an unhurried, spacious arrangement allowing for a high degree of group interaction. Ettun shines with a typically melodic bass solo and Itzik’s cymbal work is immaculate throughout but overall the impression is of a superbly calibrated trio performance.

“The Horses’ Fight” is literally a depiction of wild horses racing and fighting and represents one of the album’s more energetic items. A busy bass groove and rapidly brushed drums underpin Kehati’s guitar peregrinations but overall the music is less forceful and aggressive than the title might suggest.   

Ornette Coleman’s “When Will The Blues Leave” has proved to be an extremely adaptable vehicle for jazz musicians over the years. Kehati’s breezily upbeat arrangement is initially fuelled by Ettun’s fast bass walk and Itzik’s briskly brushed drums allowing Kehati to dance nimbly around the fretwork.  A couple of more reflective slow blues episodes punctuate the tune, the second including an extended bass feature for Ettun. Eventually the trio combine for a swift dash to the finish.

“Nathan Bo Rega”, which translates from the Hebrew as “Nathan, come here for a second” is a musical illustration of a conversation with the fictional Nathan. The stop start nature of the music is reminiscent of the nature of spoken exchanges and once again Ettun’s bass emerges as a significant voice with Itzik’s drums also joining in the discussion. The trio coalesce for a blues flavoured 4/4 closing passage that seems to retain something of the spirit of the previous Coleman piece.

The album concludes with the brief “Outro”, just over a minute of Kehati’s solo guitar musings.

“Naked” is a highly accomplished album that exhibits many of the same virtues as its immediate predecessor.  Kehati seems comfortable and well suited in this new trio format and his interplay with his two talented band mates is well balanced, intuitive and convincing. His writing and arranging is imaginative and serves the trio well. 

However the reservation I voiced about “Flowers And Other Stories” also applies here. Again I feel that the music is just a little bit too tasteful. I’d like to hear a hint of aggression from time to time and maybe the use of a foot pedal or other effects to bring about a variation of Kehati’s almost religiously pure tone. This is good music, imaginatively arranged and flawlessly played but I can’t help feeling that it’s all just a little bit too polite.

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