Itamar Borochov: Arba
Greenleaf Music

No other 2023 release sounds quite like Itamar Borochov's Arba. That's largely because his album draws from, first of all, the classic jazz tradition associated with figures such as Clark Terry, Miles Davis, Kenny Dorham, Lee Morgan, Booker Little, and Wynton Marsalis (all cited by Borochov as primary inspirations, with Ben Webster cited as an influence on his tone); secondly, the music he grew up hearing in his native Jaffa, Israel; and thirdly, maqamat, the scale system and musical language of traditional music of the Middle East and North Africa that he's studied. Arba is distinguished further by the fact that Borochov sings on a number of tracks and plays a four-valve Monette trumpet that allows him to produce micro-tonal pitches. All such aspects inform the trumpeter's fourth album as a leader and give Arba, an arresting fusion of Middle Eastern sonorities and Western acoustic jazz, its distinctive character.

Borochov comes by that fusion naturally, having immersed himself overseas in the sounds of classic jazz trumpeters as a young, aspiring player before relocating in 2007 to New York to study at the New School and attend Barry Harris's weekly workshops. The album was recorded at Brooklyn's Big Orange Sheep in April 2022 with the trumpeter joined by pianist Rob Clearfield, double bassist Rick Rosato, and drummer Jay Sawyer (Borochov's brother Avri makes a memorable oud appearance on “Ya Sahbi” too).

That Middle Eastern dimension comes to the fore in the brooding tone of the opener “Abraham,” Borochov's nimble horn exhibiting in moments a stately, flute-like quality not unlike Arve Henriksen's. Any similarity to the Norwegian trumpeter is rapidly left behind, however, once the quartet starts blazing. With Rosato and Sawyer stoking a heady fire and Clearfield ornamenting the music with arpeggios and his customary finesse, the leader lifts his playing skyward, eyes wide open and a vision clear and lucid. Adroitly navigating across the slowly swelling backdrop (which now includes his ecstatic vocal wail), the trumpeter declaims forcefully before decompressing for a peaceful outro. The ever-intensifying “Dirge” is likewise elevated by sensitive interplay, Sawyer using showers of cymbals and drums to enhance Rosato's thoughtful bass lines, Clearfield's stirring blues inflections, and Borochov's agile solo.

The explosive drum pattern that initiates “Ya Sahbi” could pass for Elvin Jones introducing a modal piece by Coltrane, though the presence of Borochov's impassioned vocalizing immediately puts distance between the two. Speaking of explosive, witness the fury the four get up to in the steamrolling “Bayat Blues,” Rosato moving at light-speed and the others not far behind. Arba isn't always fiery, however, as shown by the pensive balladry of “What Broke You?” and the soulful dignity of “Farewell.” Anything but a shrinking violet, the leader plays with authority throughout (see his blistering turn on “Wabisabi”) and inspires the same from his three partners. That Borochov's a strong player but strong writer too is evidenced repeatedly by the nine compositions' oft-haunting themes.

In addition to recording four albums as a leader and three with the outfit Yemen Blues (of which he was a founding member), Borochov recently channeled his creative passion into composing a suite for jazz quartet and string orchestra called Emergence, which he performed with the commissioning Brazos Valley Symphony in June 2021. A quick scan of his CV shows the trumpeter has accomplished much in his time stateside; all things indicate a great deal more lies ahead.

October 2023