Idan Morim: I.M
Outside In Music

Six years ago, Israeli native Idan Morim arrived in New York to attend The New School, where he studied under guitarist Adam Rogers, bassist Reggie Workman, pianist/organist Sam Yahel, and pianist George Cables. His professional career began before that move, however, the guitarist having started recording and performing at the age of sixteen; in addition to a three-year stint with the IDF army band as a guitarist and arranger, Morim acquired a BFA from the Tel Aviv Conservatory, all such experiences well-preparing him for the road ahead. It was during this pre-NY period that his style began to form, one mindful of the jazz guitar tradition but also receptive to rock and blues players.

To his credit, on I.M, his first official release as a leader, Morim doesn't go out of his way to dominate; instead, the ensemble rather than the individual is emphasized. Oh, sure, there are moments when the guitarist steps forth, but there are as many where trumpeter Adam O'Farrill does the same (joining them are keyboardist Micha Gilad, bassist Almog Sharvit, and drummer Colin Stranahan). The result is a quality recording by a musician whose playing and leadership personifies assurance and confidence. Even better, there's little about Morim's style that's noticeably derivative; little of Frisell, Scofield, Metheny, or others surfaces in his playing, Morim instead presenting a refreshingly personal voice on this preternaturally mature debut.

That assurance is shown in the choice of “But I” as album opener, Morim opting to seduce the listener with a sultry ballad than awe with firepower. Here too we already hear the commitment to the ensemble over the individual, and how telling it is also that the first solo's granted to Sharvit, with a bluesy turn by Morim arriving next. Throughout this entrancing performance, the leader's shadings add a lovely textural quality to O'Farrill's soft voicings. Lively by comparison, “Coleoptera” springs into action with a breezy swing, the trumpeter and guitarist doling out unison lines with ease and Stranahan powering the tune with showers of ringing ride cymbals and snare flurries. While Morim's roots in the jazz guitar tradition are apparent in the fluidity of his legato playing, O'Farrill proves himself an effective partner in the aggressiveness of his attack.

The three-part “Movement” begins with an elegant piano intro by an unaccompanied Gilad, after which the piece proper begins, another ballad, this one of a particularly haunting vintage. Extended solos by the leader and the pianist ensue, the latter opening things up dramatically by pushing the performance into freer territory. A slightly harder-edged ensemble works its way through the meditative twists and turns of “Wildfire,” which in isolated moments sees a muted O'Farrill nicely complementing the leader.

August 2019