Live Sessions presents two live performances of Gilad Barkan's original compositions on WGBH Radio Boston, produced by Steve Schwartz and recorded by Emmy award winning engineer Antonio Oliart. The first performance features Barkan's trio in a remarkably focused and engaging repartee. Harvey Wirht's creative orchestration on the drum-set and bassist Dan Greenspan's full-bodied counterpoint meld with Barkan's romantic bent and his studied yet fiercely original pianism, the three playing equal parts in creating the group's uniquely fresh sound. The second performance is inspired by Barkan's collaboration with celebrated Israeli flutist Amir Milstein, co-leader of Bustan Abraham. Milstein's deep knowledge of Eastern sounds and traditions bestows the group with a mesmerizing and soulful new dimension. South African bassist John Lockwood, and Surinamese drummer Harvey Wirht complete the lineup.

He may not have poll victories to his credit yet, or press clippings declaring him the next big thing, but with his third album, Dark Beauty, guitarist Issi Rozen makes it unequivocally clear that he possesses what every jazz artist seeks - a personal sound, both as an instrumentalist and a bandleader. This is no easy achievement when you first become drawn to jazz from a distance, as Rozen did in his native Israel, and then bring yourself to Berklee College, where the lure of guitar heroes and guitar clichés can sometimes prove overwhelming. Yet Rozen possesses a conceptual clarity to match his technical and interpretive skills, and he has not jumped among styles and formats in search of easy solutions or fleeting success. The Issi Rozen quartet has been identifiable from its 1998 debut Red Sea and its sequel Homeland Blues to the present. It only gains maturity and eloquence with time. (Read more)

Liner notes by Jon Garelick:

Sometimes the most fearless path to take is the most simple. This debut CD from pianist Gilad Barkan offers an example of an artist working with simple, sometimes very familiar materials and creating subtle, nuanced music that deepens with each listening. Of one of the four "covers" on Modulation, Herbie Hancock's "Dolphin Dance," and its oblique chord progressions, Gilad says, "It's like you're going on a trip, and it's a fun trip. Some tunes, like 'I Got Rhythm,' go around in a circle and other tunes go on a path through the woods. 'Dolphin Dance' is one of those tunes that's like a long path." (Read more)

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