BLUES MIZRAHI
From eastern lilt to western swing; all perfectly packaged in this remarkable album. Saxophonist Lenny Sendersky, originally from St. Petersburg, lived in Scandinavia for several years and now (since 2011) lives, composes, arranges, produces and performs in Israel. His music stems from experience, from travel, from thought, from passion, from a clearly deep-rooted wish to promote a coming together; a social, a geographical and a musical mix.
The styles on the album range from Middle Eastern folk and Klezmer to modern jazz and rock. It’s a delightful blend played with the utmost sincerity by a line up consisting of, ‘Moon Strings’ – Artur Adamyan (violin), Andrei Rukhadze (violin), Shamil Saidov (viola) and Nikolai Solonovich (bass). On three tracks we are treated to the French horn player, the internationally renowned virtuoso, Arkady Shilkloper, his solo on Blues In Palace is jubilant! On other tracks, the fabulous Oshy Daban guests on vocals and maestro Ehud Ettun solos on bass.
International jazz celebrities including Randy Brecker, Joe Locke, Carmen Souza, Theo Pascal, Tony Romano and Slava Ganelin have performed Lenny’s compositions. The title track Blues Mizrahi typifies the range of material on the album. Lenny’s soprano sax states the theme, bringing to mind the snake charmer and the belly dancer and makes you feel like – dancing! Indeed, the selection of highly original material blends perfectly with three fascinatingly arranged ‘standards’ including the rip-roaring closer, I Got Rhythm.
There is a wide array of musicality and sensitivity displayed throughout this fine recording. There is joy, there is sadness, there is reflection, there is humour and above all, there is a sense of hope, a confident optimism.
Why ‘Moon Strings’? Lenny: “I find magic in those two words and hope that my music also contains some magic.”
David Fishel