Working with his co-producer-and-arranger Gilad Ronen and four vision-sharing instrumentalists, acoustic bass guitarist Yosef Gutman Levitt has once again crafted a spiritually enriching collection. Spread across forty-four minutes, the ten settings on Resisei Lyla (fragments of night) are succinct in their expression yet no less powerful for being so. The album’s sound won’t be unfamiliar to listeners conversant with the South African-born and Jerusalem-based composer’s music as three of his collaborators, pianist Omri Mor, cellist Yoed Nir, and classical guitarist Tal Yahalom, appeared with him on 2023’s The World and Its People. The chemistry they shared on that release remains firmly in place on the new set but now with percussionist Itamar Doari included,…
Tag Archive: Yosef-Gutman Levitt
There is a restive, Christmas-time sound of new hope and expectations running throughout Shir Yedidot that is hard to fathom at first, given that the repertoire moves effortlessly from Chabad nigunim (Hasidic wordless melodies) into original compositions. It is as if the gifted trio — leader/bassist Yosef Gutman Levitt, pianist Yonathan Avishai (Joys and Solitudes, 2019; with trumpeter Avishai Cohen Playing the Room, 2019) and oudist Yagel Haroush. Haroush also adds depth and texture playing the kamancheh (Persian bowed instrument) and ney (end-blown wood flute). The players seem to have set out to exclaim all the joy in all our voices and how those voices together radiate out to each other. Over days, over years, over centuries.