Ofri Nehemya might be a name familiar to those who’ve followed the work of such luminaries as Avishai Cohen (bass), Omer Avital, Shai Maestro, Ben Wendel, Eli Degibri, Aaron Goldberg, Gilad Hekselman, Yotam Silberstein and Avishai Cohen (trumpet). Israeli drummer and composer Nehemya played with them all. Born in 1994 to a musical family, Nehemya went to Thelma-Yellin High School for the Arts before moving to New York, aged 22. It was there he began his long association with pianist Maestro, with whom he recorded two albums for ECM.
After this long, nurturing period of incubation as a sideman, the young Israeli drummer and composer has now stepped forward as leader of his own group with a debut album released last month on the NY-based, artist-owned label Adhyâropa.
Titled Time Traveler, Nehemya’s leader date is more rhythmically direct than much music one will find on ECM. The leader notes that the record collects strains of contemporary jazz, fusion and Middle Eastern music, but whatever the style, a clear groove is maintained. The music is reminiscent at times of the late 70s and early 80s work of such as Pat Metheny and John Scofield, thanks to the prominent role of guitarist Nitzan Bar. Other participants are Tomer Bar (p) and Tal Mashiach (bass), and all move melodically through the explicit chord changes that characterise a sophisticated yet accessible set of tunes. They were composed over 10 years ago and distilled over time to arrive at the convincingly mature music heard on Time Traveler.
The strongly melodic nature of the compositions is enunciated on the record by the pitched instruments – guitar, piano and bass – but room is left for well-placed and well-paced drum features, as on Just Sayin’ and Armors And Doubts, where compositional shape is sustained through ostinato figures over which the leader improvises eloquently. It’s a drummer’s record, though, and the full panoply of drum technique comes to the fore in a solo drum track, One For Myself. But modestly its title recognises a little self-indulgence and it’s placed at the end – this is, after all group record, and a strong one.
Drummers may well want to note that Nehemya endorses Zildjian cymbals and told the Zildjian blog of his favourite Zildjian combo, saying “I’m in love with my 20′ Bounce/Over hammered Prototype combined with my 20′ K light flat ride!!” Here’s a man who knows his instrument, in all senses.
