'Heavy Drops' by Adam Ben Ezra

The latest release from Adam Ben Ezra sees the musician and composer continuing his adventures with the double-bass as 'Heavy Drops' represents some of his most inspired efforts to date.

Originally from Tel Aviv but now residing in Portugal, Ben Ezra boasts a series of dynamic and versatile albums that continue to place the double-bass front & centre.  With fascinating and intriguing ensembles with each go-round, Ben Ezra's commitment to exploring the instrument amongst a variety of settings has resulted in some enthralling projects and innumerable successes.

Each of Ben Ezra's releases showcase a variety of settings unique to that project - whether we find Ben Ezra performing very much as a one-man band, as is the case for his Ropeadope Records release, 'Pin Drop' (2017), or as part of a trio arrangement alongside percussionist Gilad Dobrecky and guitarist Adam Ben Amitai, Ben Ezra continually finds innovative ways to intersperse his evolving narrative as part of the music's make-up.

Even as a multi-faceted musician, across Ben Ezra releases to date, his boundless talents have been credited to double-bass, piano, keyboards, oud, flute, clarinet, melodica, percussion, beatbox and his signature Flamenco footwork which serves as its own percussive layer for his music.  

So much of Ben Ezra's intentions rest within striking those connections with listeners - through the intricate compositions that form the make-up of his full-length releases to the litany of videos that comprise his YouTube channel which include a variety of live performances as well as a series of endearing cover versions of songs with everything open to the Ben Ezra treatment - Michael Jackson's 'Billie Jean', David Bowie's 'The Man Who Sold the World' along with themes to popular TV shows from Mad Men, South Park and a bassist's dream in Seinfeld.

'Heavy Drops' once again finds Adam Ben Ezra seeking to recontextualize the double-bass this time alongside the efforts of drummer Michael Olivera.  A celebrated musician in his own right, the Cuban drummer has leant his talents to a wide variety of artists and ensembles including the Daniel Garcia Trio, the Maureen Choi Quartet, the Alfredo Rodriguez Trio and Ganavya.

Over the course of the ten tracks that comprise 'Heavy Drops', the duo work fantastically well together injecting real passion and vigour into the music conveying the energy of a full live band through tracks like 'Heavy Drops', 'Play it Cool' and 'Escape Route' which really capture the scintillating chemistry between Ben Ezra and Olivera.  With the roots of the music here stemming from the duo's live sessions over the course of three days, Ben Ezra later revisited the recordings with the intention of shaping the music into the versions presented on the album.  The end result reveals the inspired and innovative vision typical for Ben Ezra projects and delivers one of his most auspicious outings yet.

'Heavy Drops' seems to relish the versatility of a creative space somewhere between free jazz and 90s hip-hop resulting in a thrilling endorsement for contemporary jazz and Adam Ben Ezra's continued musical explorations.