It’s pretty grandiose and confident this bravura take verging on the jazz piano trio new from Israeli keyboardist Sharon Mansur who writes the tunes. They’re quite poppy in a certain sense – meaning the chord sequences and shape of the tunes are easily accessible. ‘If I Can’ I liked best but as the album proceeds I became more disenchanted. Here with bassist David Michaeli and drummer David Sirkis I’d say it’s more prog than anything else and at that not especially demanding.
All sorts of things are shoehorned in: spanning classical piano, heavy metal, progressive rock, electronica and Middle Eastern traditions. Sure It’s happy shiny stuff but doesn’t really engage enough although it’s a pleasant enough listen. ‘Big Dreams in Kadikoy’ belongs on another record entirely. I far prefer Shalosh that Michaeli is also in, a band that I always thought would be huge but are still very much a cult outfit. If you like Connie Han, ELEW and Hiromi then Mansur’s approach is pertinent a bit although Mansur is less a Chick Corea type influenced player than Han.
MORE FROM MARLBANK
- Some details and thoughts on John Taylor’s The Bauer Session
- Ulysses Owens Jr. and Generation Y, Around The World With U, Cellar Music **** recommended
- Biréli Lagrène, Elegant People, PeeWee! ****
- James Kitchman, Floating Sky, No label ***
- Stacey Kent, A Time For Love, Naïve Records ****
