The Hevreh Ensemble
Between Worlds
(The Hevreh Ensemble)

With the expansive, slightly too-long-for-it’s-own-good first track of The Hevreh Ensemble’s Between Worlds, I thought the Native American flutes and good amount of unneeded movements was to be de rigueur, but the second tune of the 12 here, “Praha,” sees things getting quite jaunty with George Farmer’s double bass. By the title track, we have a perfect Adam Morrison piano, a really good melody with flute, creating a solid, contemporary soft jazz tune.

“Walking The Lost Creek Trail” features one of the album’s singled-out guest musicians, Joseph Firecrow, playing Native American flute in a very solid melody. “11:11” sees Farmer at it again with his popping then walking under a work-out of those Native American flutes (though I don’t know which of the three out of the four Ensemble members, Jeff Adler, Laurie Friedman or Judith Dansker, plays them). We get some swirling clarinet action of “ancient Judaism,” as the band mentions in their press release, on “Selective Indignation” (as well as on “Galicja” later) with Morrison’s sparky piano behind this fun, unexpected jaunt.

Morrison is all over the slightly pulsating, scary (at first) “Atrocity’s Shadow” – not an easy listen, but one of my faves here. Again there is slight dissonance that Hevreh handles well. Native American flutes rise with a hopeful melody on “Circles of Solstice” and the entire album ends with what might be my favorite track, a truly fantastic piano/clarinet duet, “Negev Sunset.”

Looking for something slightly challenging, but oh-so-musical? Check out Between Worlds from The Hevreh Ensemble.