Eden Har-Gil - Leaf (self-released)

If you are one of those people who have been put off jazz, perhaps through an encounter with the genre in its less accessible and eclectic form, or maybe via the other extreme, by perky traditionalists in straw hats, then Eden Har-Gil is exactly the person to pull you back into the fold after such a near-jazz experience.

Ahead of a full album planned for next year called Hearts of Palm he has released his debut single, “Leaf.” Joined by such stalwarts as pianist Sora Kim and Marshal Herridge on bass, drummer, and composer Har-Gil has created an instrumental track that is both intricate and accessible, something that will tick a lot of boxes for the jazz aficionados but which could easily act as an introduction to those wishing to test the jazz waters.

Piano lines chime and cascade, and melodic basslines build the perfect bridge between these shimmering melodies and Har-Gil’s skittering rhythms and elegantly nuanced play. And, despite its embrace of some more off-beat sonic paths, it is wonderfully relaxed and totally infectious, even to those like myself, who are not the most knowledgeable, and therefore fully appreciative, of the genre.

And, as a general vibe, the music evokes scenes of uptown jazz bars from days of yore or smokey, hard-to-find basement clubs, dapper denizens in their finery sipping cocktails, low lights, and polite applause. But nostalgic it is not. This is music of the here and now, but it is also a passport or at least a reminder of a more sophisticated and sonically satisfying era. Perhaps it is through artists such as Eden Har-Gil that we can usher such scenes in again. Wouldn’t that be something?

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