Product Info for Yotam Ben-Or: “Impermanence”

The harmonica is widely used in the blues thanks to its floating, gliding sound. In jazz, however, it is an extremely rare instrument, as it requires far more complex skills in terms of rhythm, harmony and improvisation. Yotam Ben-Or has this special talent and is the next to join the short list of jazz harp players such as Toots Tielemanns, Howard Levy or his mentor Grégoire Maret. His new, third album “Impermanence” emphatically underlines his exceptional position.

In the ten tracks on the album, it is not only the virtuosity and ease with which Ben-Or masters his small instrument that impresses, it is also the distinctive individual style that reflects his personality. The formative influences of his still young career come together harmoniously here like on other of his albums: His roots in the Mediterranean musical culture of his native Israel, the contemporary American jazz as he has absorbed it since studying in his adopted home of New York – and his penchant for Latin American and Caribbean music.

“There are some singers in Israel who have translated a number of Brazilian songs into Hebrew. That’s an important part of the music I grew up with. Even before I went to New York, my friend Tom Bollig showed me the Cuban rumba. That really made a big impression on me. I then looked for it in New York and of course you can find that and much more there. I met Gabriel Chakarji, who introduced me to the rhythms of his native Venezuela, and who still accompanies me today, also on ’Impermanence‘. I met Mexican musicians, through whom I became very interested in Son Jarocho. I played regularly in Mexico for a few years. I’ve also studied conga with Cuban master Manley “Piri” Lopez.”

A similarity with Gregoire Maret, the current figurehead of the harmonica in jazz, who became Ben-Or’s mentor in New York. Maret also loves Latin music; he has just been on tour with Cuban piano star Harold Lopez-Nussa. “Gregoire’s sense of rhythm is incredible. He can really feel and understand rhythm and can therefore play with anyone. This is also what he taught me: Rhythm and sound are the most essential. And to be yourself and mean what you play” says Ben-Or. Another important teacher was bassist Ben Street, a member of the John Scofield Trio.

On “Impermanence”, Ben-Or’s experiences and influences come together in three overlapping types of songs which include two covers and eight original compositions. Like most of his pieces Ben-Or has composed using his most important tool, the piano, First, there are some of his favorite pieces: “Milonga Gris” by Argentinian composer Carlos Aguirre right at the beginning, “one of my favorite compositions ever”, as he says. “Merengue”, a piece by his pianist Gabriel Chakarji, ”which we have been playing for many years and has become one of my favorites.” And “Kafka on the Beach”, one of Ben-Or’s oldest compositions, which he had often played but never recorded. “It felt just right for this album.”

Then there are a few tributes. “Ballad for Daniel” is dedicated to Ben-Or’s good friend, pianist and composer Daniel Schwarzwald. Swedish star cellist and bassist Lars Danielsson, who was impressed by Ben-Or as a coach at the Swiss Jazz≠Lab competition, plays as a guest. “Omri” is a salute to Ben-Or’s friend and guitarist Omri Porat, inspired by one of his songs that Ben-Or co-produced. “Essi” which was composed leading to the recording of the album is dedicated to his partner Esther Quansah, who can also be heard with her impressive voice on the last track ‘Trying’. “This song also wrote itself,” explains Ben-Or with a laugh.

And finally, “René”, dedicated to his sponsor and manager René Hess. The two met in 2022 at the Festival da Jazz in St. Moritz, where Ben-Or was one of the two winners of the prestigious New Generation Jazz≠Lab competition. Hess was overwhelmed and took him under his wing. Immediately after the phone call in which they agreed to work together on “Impermanence”, Ben-Or wrote the piece effortlessly in one go, inspired “by René’s confidence in my music and his encouragement for the new album.”

Finally, there are a few more pieces that Ben-Or only wrote shortly before recording the album. “Triangulation”, with its exciting rhythmic modulations of various ¾ bars, incorporates elements of ‘Monmon’ by Réunionese musician Danyél Waro and ‘En el Cielo’ by Mexican musician Netanael Cano. The title is also an allusion to the meaning of the term in psychology, geometry and trigonometry. “By the Way”, which title-wise came effortlessly in passing to Ben-Ors mind as the last written composition for the album, just sounding carefree. Finally “Trying”, the conclusion and quintessence of the album. Based on John Coltrane’s harmonic concept, this piece is about how complex ideas can sound simple. “A kind of love song between the artist and simplicity”, as BenOr says.

Which ties in with the album title: “I called it ‘Impermanence’ because, unlike my previous albums, I strived for acceptance rather than perfection. Instead of controlling everything and reworking it in the studio, I was interested in the flow between us musicians and the songs”. A flow that everyone can now hear and that Yotam Ben-Or is sure to carry forward.