Label: Enja
Source: Cdbaby
"A Discovery" - Radio France
"Themes of heightened melodic beauty, leading to a flowing river of narrative improvisations" - Jazz Thing (Germany)
"Oded Tzur enters the international jazz scene as a musical storyteller" - Concerto (Austria)
"If a curtain were to be drawn in front of him, no one could tell which instrument was being played" - Hariprasad Chaurasia
Oded Tzur is a New York City based saxophonist, composer and bandleader. His work draws on Indian classical music and Jazz, and explores fundamental connections between different musical traditions. Tzur is also responsible for the development of “Middle Path”, a saxophone technique that extends the instrument’s microtonal capacity.
Coming from the Tel Aviv jazz scene of the 2000’s and a protégé of the classical saxophone master Prof. Gersh Geller, Oded Tzur’s musical background consisted of rigorous training in a number of musical styles. His curiosity for improvised music led him to discover the ancient art of Indian classical music, which has become the main focus of his work.
In order to pursue the rare prospect of playing Indian music – a style heavily based on microtonality – on a western instrument such as the saxophone, Tzur dedicated about 10 years to the work of expanding the instrument’s microtonal scope. He describes the experience: “Indian instruments tend to feel very comfortable playing in between the notes. You just pull the string on a Sitar, for example, and a seamless slide will take place. In order to bring the saxophone to this condition we need to understand its inherent acoustic behaviors, and how we can purposefully change them to enable pitch fluidity”.
In 2007 Tzur was admitted to the Indian music program at the Rotterdam World Music Academy, where he was the first saxophonist to learn from the legendary Indian flutist – Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia. Chaurasia’s elegant phrasing, spiritual depth and rhythmic mastery have had a profound influence on the saxophonist’s music. The work process consisted of countless sessions in which Chaurasia would play a melody on the Bansuri – the Indian flute – and Tzur would then have to translate it onto the saxophone. Following the flutist’s intricate style has refined Tzur’s technique to the point where it started attracting attention from the international saxophone community.
Saxophonists from Sydney to San Fransisco have been learning about Tzur’s technique and its possible implications. He was also invited to lecture on the subject at a number of key European institutions, such as Trinity College of Music, London, the Copenhagen Conservatory, the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus and more. “For a subject that started as a solitary practice and was deemed impossible at first, it’s humbling to see the attention and interest the technique has received during the past few years”, says the saxophonist.
In 2011, Tzur moved to New York and joined forces with Shai Maestro, Petros Klampanis and Ziv Ravitz to create the Oded Tzur Quartet. This step marked a shift in the scope of his work as a composer: sliding not only between the notes of the saxophone, but also between the melodic universes of Indian classical music and jazz.
Since its creation the Oded Tzur Quartet has invoked the curiosity of the local and international jazz scenes. It has performed at many venues throughout New York City and created its own language of improvisation: committed to both the melodic architecture of Indian music and the spirit of a jazz quartet. In 2014 the Quartet recorded its much anticipated debut album: Like a Great River, which explores 4 compositions the ensemble has worked on for over 2 years. The album was released by Enja Records in April 2015.
1. The Dance
2. The Song of the Silent Dragon (And the Courage of His Friends)
3. Tzurkauns
4. Warrior Elephants Flying in the Moonlight
5. Child's Dance
Oded Tzur - saxophone
Shai Maestro - piano
Petros Klampanis - double bass
Ziv Ravitz - drums
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