Eden Har-Gil is an Israel-born, New York-based jazz drummer-composer, and a disciple of drummers Lenny White and Billy Drummond. Hearts of Palm is Har-Gil’s debut album as a composer and bandleader, accompanied by alto sax player Caroline Davis (who leads her own bands and has played in Lee Konitz Nonet), baritone sax player Lo «Lucy» Wood and double bass player Dezron Douglas (who plays with Cyrus Chestnut, Eric Alexander and leads his own bands), and was recorded at Dolan Recording Studio in New York in May 2023.
Har-Gil composed six melodic and relaxed, story-like, emotional pieces for Hearts of Palm, fusing a great respect for jazz legacy with some fresh ideas, and marking a process of personal growth. The opening, title piece ballad was written during a break-up with his ex-partner and is dedicated to her, and the emphatic, natural interplay of Davis and Wood, pushed by the driving rhythm section of Har-Gil and Douglas, with enough room for individual solos of all, may reflect on the spirit of this dear relationship. The following piece, «Amarna», is another homage, dedicated to the late great Wayne Shorter, strongly rooted in the post-bop legacy. «Embedded» was composed when Har-Gil was bound to his apartment, constricted to bed, unwilling or unable to get out, but its bouncy rhythmic feel suggests a brighter mood.
«Pinks» was written during the cherry trees blossoming all over New York and captures the hopeful colors of the spring. «Leaf» is a composition that Har-Gil returns to with many projects and bands, and it is the most complex and unconventional here, experimenting with more impressionistic texture and open dynamics. The last piece, the propulsive «Nethermead» captures the vibrant atmosphere of Prospect Park in Brooklyn.
Hearts of Palm is a promising album, performed with compelling elegance but Har-Gil compositions may benefit from a more bold, risk-taking approach.
Eyal Hareuveni
Eden Har-Gil (drums), Dezron Douglas (double bass), Caroline Davis (alto saxophone), Lo Wood (baritone saxophone)
