Or Bareket: Sahar
Enja

Sahar, bassist Or Bareket's third album as a bandleader, derives much of its distinctive sound from Morgan Guerin's EWI, an instrument that in the absence of clarifying credits could be mistaken for a Moog synthesizer (he also plays tenor sax and organ on the date). Its presence lends Bareket's quartet a sleek, contemporary sheen that distinguishes it from a standard acoustic jazz outfit and makes it sound like a distant cousin to Zawinul Syndicate or some similar jazz-fusion ensemble.

Of course the character of Sahar is informed as much by the compositions Bareket wrote for the release and the performances by him, Guerin, Jeremy Corren (piano, Fender Rhodes), and Savannah Harris (drums, percussion). Joel Ross also contributed significantly, as the vibraphonist added percussion to the opening track, “Root System,” but more critically co-arranged the music with the others and produced the album.

Its title, by the way, carries different meanings in different languages. Whereas in one, it translates to ‘crescent,' in others, it refers to the time just before dawn and the state of insomnia. Bareket's focus is on the word's association with the somewhat disoriented, out-of-time state one experiences after being up all night; it also, however, could metaphorically apply to the promise the outfit holds. In that sense Sahar would be this particular quartet's dawn.

If there's a reflective quality to some compositions, it's one Bareket came by honestly. Prior to the album's writing and recording, he lost both grandfathers, and the impact of their passing was intensified by a visit to Tangier, his maternal grandfather's birthplace, and the news upon returning to New York that his paternal one had passed away also. The making of Sahar understandably was thus a cathartic outlet for the bassist and a project into which he poured his creative energy.

Accompanied by shaker percussion, the leader embroiders “Root System” with a dizzying ostinato that immediately establishes an insistent rhythmic drive. The first quartet performance proper, then, arrives with “Soil,” Guerin's Moog-like EWI doubling with Corren's piano to get the serpentine track moving and Bareket and Harris generating a frothy pulse alongside. Trade-offs between EWI and piano follow, the interplay between the instruments punctuated by an ever-inventive Harris and the leader's grounding presence. Dialing down from that feverish statement, “Hiraeth” captures the quartet's sensitivity with a delicately rendered ballad, Harris's cymbals and brushed drums adding colour to a hushed tapestry of acoustic bass, piano, and EWI. At over eight minutes, the track's long enough to smoothly accommodate its gradual transition into an energized, Latin-influenced mode, and the seamlessness with which the shift is effected speaks to the connection shared by the players. With Guerin switching to tenor sax, “Oyen” and “Sundial” announce a conspicuous shift in the quartet's persona, though not necessarily a displeasing one. The change does, however, conventionalize its sound in re-presenting it as an all-acoustic unit spearheaded by a robust horn.

In keeping with its title, “A Lullaby For Troubled Ancestors” again highlights the group's introspective side, something returned to at album's end when the contemplative title track ruminates even more deeply. While an unaccompanied bass solo does lead into “Kapara,” Sahar is hardly an album-long exercise in ego indulgence by the leader; now and then he steps forth, but for the most part Bareket is content to position himself within the quartet as one part of the whole. In being his project, it doesn't surprise that the bassist plays with authority throughout. His partners match him in the conviction department, however. As front-liners, Guerin and Corren are compelling, and Harris is never less than dynamic. Throughout the recording, the four play like a fully integrated outfit, not a leader with hired hands, and in being a small unit, Bareket's band enables each player's voice to resonate clearly and make a mark. For these reasons and others, Sahar impresses as a composer's statement and quartet expression.

September 2022