Your Sunday Morning Jazz Album: Yuval Cohen – “Song Without Words”

 

Sunday mornings are when the serenity is supposed to come down.  Sunday morning is the cocoon from the heavy exhaustion of too much Saturday night fun.  Sunday morning is when the city agrees to use its inside voice.  Sunday morning is when a hush settles in over the land.  It is a time for sitting still and listening to quiet music and silently praying the aspirin and coffee do something to stop your head from exploding.  Drama and stress are strictly forbidden on Sunday morning.

Your Sunday Morning Jazz Album is just for you, for times just like these.  If you possess the freakish compulsion to get-up-and-go when the clock strikes Sunday morning, this music is not for you.  Go and listen to a Spotify EDM playlist or something.  But whatever you decide, just do it quietly and far away from those of us who appreciate the true solemn nature of a Sunday morning.


The music of saxophonist Yuval Cohen has a rather mesmerizing effect, and this is true whether the form of expression snaps into place with a night of fun on the town or something more conducive to quiet moments in quiet rooms.  Perhaps no better example of this tonal flexibility exists than his contributions to the 3 Cohens trio, with siblings Anat and Avishai Cohen.  But tranquility is the watchword for the Sunday Morning Jazz Album, and so it’s the Tel Aviv resident’s 2010 recording Song Without Words that receives the spotlight today.  This duo collaboration with pianist Shai Maestro is the soundtrack for morning light slowly spilling across the floor.

“Bye Bye Blackbird” has a perky attitude, but doesn’t stir things up anywhere close to peacefulness’s tipping point.  The motion of “Skylark” mirrors the flight patterns of birds, and its hypnotic effect is nearly as potent as its melodic beauty.  But the path to the heart of the album is found via the contemplative tracks “Nehama” and “Angelo,” and how they stir up the daydream imagery as the morning idly drifts along.

You need this album today, right now.

  • Artist-Title:  Yuval Cohen – Song Without Words
  • Personnel:  Yuval Cohen (soprano sax) and Shai Maestro (piano)
  • Proper Use:  1) That book has been sitting on your shelf for ages, and you keep waiting for the perfect day to finally pick it up, so…  2) Jigsaw puzzle may be substituted for “book” at no extra charge.

Released in 2010 on Anzic Records.

Listen to more of the album at the label’s Bandcamp page.

Music from Tel Aviv, Israel.

Available at:  Bandcamp | Amazon