Shay Hazan - Reclusive Rituals

First published in Songlines Magazine issue 175, March 2022.

Shay Hazan
Reclusive Rituals
Batov Records (24 mins)

In his first album for Batov Records, Tel Aviv-based jazz bassist Shay Hazan takes his sound in a different direction. Turning his fingerwork to the Moroccan Gnawa guimbri (bass lute) and pointing his headspace towards an ultra-cool instrumental funk, Hazan set out to create an album ‘in order to satisfy the inner urge for simple grooves.’ And groovy it is.

An obvious referent here comes in the shape of jazz’s hip Gen Z sibling, lo-fi hip-hop: wavy, nostalgic synths, wonky J Dilla-inspired beats and even a vinyl crackle are washed over the whole album. Together with sparse, layered rhythms and delay-drenched trumpet, it exudes that laid-back, go-with-the-flow vibe. Different ingredients are added here and there, with Afrobeat, Saharan rock and more straight-ahead jazz all stirring in comfortably into the mix (albeit with curiously little Gnawa thrown in, considering the distinctive presence of the guimbri).

It’s a bit of a shame that this album is so short. The eight tracks come to just under 25 minutes in total, and when it comes to an end, it just feels a bit unresolved. What is here, though, is a lovely little exploration into a juicy, chilled-out groove.

Gili Yalo - Gili Yalo

First published in Songlines Magazine issue 135, March 2018.

Gili Yalo
Gili Yalo
Dead Sea Recordings (41 mins)

Gili Yalo’s love of singing was learnt through hardship. As a five-year-old, he escaped the Ethiopian famine on foot. Music made the journey more bearable. Eventually settling in Tel Aviv, Yalo surrounded himself with funk, soul and dub. On this debut album, all those sounds come together with a large helping of Ethiopian groove.

The cover art says it all: this is one cool album. The whole thing has a strut to its step. With Yalo singing in both Amharic and English, his band cook up a whole range of retro flavours, from golden-age Ethiopian horns and old-school synths to that classic R’n’B rhythm section sound.

It doesn’t turn into a heard-it-all-before fusion, either. At some points the Ethiojazz vibe is strong (the instrumental ‘Tadese’ would be at home on a Mulatu Astatke album); elsewhere it feels like straight-up Afrobeat. When all the elements coalesce, it becomes really special. Look no further than the track ‘Coffee’ – Yalo’s blues-bar-in-Addis vocals run the show, while krar lyre duels with Ali Farka Touré-style guitar over piping-hot soul funk, all to an eskista rhythm.

What a fantastic album. Play it loud and you’ll feel like the coolest person alive – after Gili Yalo, of course.