This CD is the coming-out party for the 3 Cohens -- Anat on clarinet and tenor sax, Avishai the trumpeter (not the bassist), and Yuval on soprano sax. Recoded in Tel Aviv, it is a joyous mix of modern progressive jazz with inferences of their native folk traditions. It does not go as far as klezmer or ethnic fusion, but it also is not New York neo-bop. The one thing most evident -- unlike most brothers and sisters -- is that they are all very happy to share and take turns with the lead lines, solos, and front space. Still, Avishai's trumpet playing is the most noticeable, right from the git-go. His choppy phrasings on Shablul, bright and clear lines during Positivity, and beautiful traipsing with sister Anat's clarinet on Morning Dream mark his emerging post-Woody Shaw/Tom Harrell voice. Anat's no slouch on tenor, as she displays a Michael Brecker type of resonance, but it is her clarinet work that seems more individualistic, well away from peers like Don Byron and Eddie Daniels. It's a cleaner, brighter wooden character that she prefers rather than overt expressionism. Listen to her on her compositions Positivity and Morning Dream, or the hard bopper In Amirim with Jewish dance flourishes. This is a new star on the horizon with an original sound. Yuval paradoxically is the least noticeable on his instrument but blends in the best, and sounds strong on an instrument where few are masters these days. His pieces Autumn and Wine and Law Nachon are the most mainstream jazz numbers, cool and concise. They could wind up being standards. The finest music takes place on the slightly Brazilian Shicolico, a nice harmonic concept merging into some jangly guitar by Amos Hoffman and a funk bridge, or the pensive, deliberate sighing bass and guitar-based blues of Chona. For My Brother and Sister has the three probing rhythms in stop-start fashion and dishes out some beautiful melodic inventions, while Shir Ha'Emek, in 5/4, is a spirit song with a lovely oud intro by Hoffman, and they are joined in a vocal refrain by parents Bilha and David Cohen. Hopefully this is one of many forthcoming projects for the Cohens, and also Hoffman, together and as eventual leaders in their own right. ~ Michael G. Nastos, Rovi

1		Shablul
2		For My Brother and Sister
3		In Amirim
4		Morning Dream
5		Positivity
6		Autumn and Wine
7		Shicolico
8		Chona
9		Law Nachon
10		Shir Ha'Emek [In Memory of Ziko]

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