ZURHUB

COUNTRYSIDE MOTORWAYS

Origin Records

Mattan Klein, flute/composer; Ezequiel Hezi Jait, guitar/composer; Itay Simhovich, piano/Fender Rhodes; Assaf Hakimi, bass; Dani Benedikt, drums/percussion.

A tribal drum introduction opens the first tune on this album.  The tune is called “Social Trust” and features a flute solo by Mattan Klein. This is followed by a guitar solo from Argentinian, Ezequiel Hezi Jait, until the drums of Dani Benedikt take over and present several bars of their own creativity.  The group, ZurHub, was formed in 2017.  It is a quintet of musicians based in Tel Aviv and New York. Their musical concept embraces the rhythms of Brazil, Israeli folk music and European classical music, all fused together with jazz harmonies. No one in the group is Brazilian. Four out of the five are Israeli.

Flautist, Mattan Klein and guitarist Ezequiel Hezi Jait have been playing together since 2011.  They founded ZurHub six years later. Both musicians have a deep appreciation for Brazilian rhythms like Choro, Samba and Bossa Nova. They push the boundaries of Brazilian jazz by adding various other cultural elements.  On their tune, “Overlooked” they feature the bass of Assaf Hakimi.

These talented musicians have taken their inspiration from icons like Hermeto Pascoal and Chick Corea.  I was very impressed with the Klein and Jait composition called “Feliz” that seemed to capture the rhythm and groove of Brazil in their moderate tempo’d arrangement propelled by Benedikt’s steady drums.

I’m always annoyed when jazz musicians take a standard jazz tune, re-name it, and claim it as their own.  Klein and Jait have done that with “I Remember April” naming it “April is Totally a Blur.”  It’s one thing to use chord changes and build a new and vibrant composition, but this is simply not the case. It makes me wonder how many of these original songs are based on established melodies, like “Making Tidal Waves” which sounds very much like “Wave.”

Here is an easy listening jazz experience where Ezequiel Hezi Jai and Mattan Klein, the founders of ZurHub, celebrate the hypnotic rhythms of Brazil and standard jazz tunes, re-named and hidden inside their original arrangements. See if you can find the hidden songs.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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