Roni Ben-Hur Drops A Flowing and Warm Jazz Record
On a new release from Roni Ben-Hur, the very well-known jazz guitarist doesn't just show his chops, but rather showcases his flavorful approach, soulful knack for natural improvisation and flowing through scales, along with some beautifully performed finger work that just has a natural flow to it all.
The Abriendo Puertas album doesn't just sit in one spot either. It gives you all kinds of different levels in terms of excitability, energy, calms before the storms, and loads of lusciousness that comes through with an array of instrumentation. A lot of the time, the songs can have a very particular kind of warmth to them that just sort of feels like they're inviting you along for the ride.
You can tell there's a lot of attention paid to the tone of his guitar. It does indeed kind of vary from track to track, but again, that's because all of these songs are a little different from each other, which gives you new vibes.
Roni puts a lot of thought toward what his guitar sounds like texturally and tonally, especially when meshing in with the rest of the instruments on those particular tracks.
It all opens up with the title track, which is one of the more exciting ones. This is a super high-energy, unbelievably danceable rhythm, with cultural flair oozing from everywhere, and this is the beginning of how he sort of creates a sound that wraps itself around you and keeps you right where it wants to.
His guitar performances are just unreal. You can sort of tell that although he's been doing this for years and years, there's some kind of natural ability to it. He's got this almost natural-feeling approach to his performances that makes it feel like he can play guitar like this while having a full conversation with someone.
It's like second nature. Perhaps he was born with it. Either way, you definitely pick up on that colorful, sort of seamless energy coming from the instrument.
So, this first track does a great job of opening you up to the rest of the record. The piano work is right in your face, giving you all kinds of juicy licks, hooks, and classic jazz melodies, but again, with that sort of flavorful cultural undertone that makes it special. He's combining heritage with contemporary jazz, and it works.
"Mi Mejor Cancion" follows that song, and this one is way more relaxed. You have a more waltzy-feeling piano rhythm, still warm and beautifully welcoming, and the tone of his guitar is also filled with a bit more warmth than that first track.
The treble end is turned down a bit so that it's got a cushion and softness to it that works super well on songs like this one.
Because the piano performance is so sort of delicate and dynamically approached, he wanted that guitar to match that sort of softness, and he did a great job. This is exactly what I mean by paying attention to the tone of his instrument.
Of course, this is something he probably did in 5 seconds flat because he's been doing this for so long, and it just comes naturally to him, once more.
But that's the point. I feel like even things like matching up or finding the right tone for his guitar from song to song are things he is just doing because they make normal sense to him.
Of course, we have to give some props to the drumming and percussion across the record because they really drive a lot of the songs and help create those sort of laid-back or excited, moody atmospheres that a lot of them portray.
Not all the songs have vocals, but there are songs like "Esta Tarde" that give you beautiful singing and, again, totally line up with the aesthetic of what the song is giving off.
This one has loads of smoothness and soul to it. This is coming from all the instruments: piano, drumming, double bass, vocals, guitar, and especially the saxophone.
Yes, this record has saxophone riddled through it, and it really builds on those soundscapes amazingly.
The sax performances are incredible, as are all the performances on the record. These are seasoned musicians, but it's not just about being masters of their craft. It's about creating music together that you can feel something from; music that pulls you into a certain kind of headspace and lets you sort of ruminate there.
This is one of the best parts about jazz music in general. This was a very full-bodied and robust kind of record, but it was also slightly stripped down at the same time. There are elements of space between certain notes and instrument performances, and nothing is pushed.
Everything has that flow to it that I mentioned earlier. I think it comes naturally to all the musicians on the record, and you can tell that everyone involved was really immersed in the music they were creating.
This is another thing you pick up on quite often.
The record is 7 tracks, with some spanning over 9 minutes in length, really giving you plenty to soak up.
Performers on the release include Roni Ben-Hur-guitar, Alejandro Falcón-piano, Pedro Pablo Gutiérrez-acoustic bass, Ruy López-Nussa-drums, Octavio Rodríguez Rivera-percussion, Emir Santa Cruz-tenor saxophone, and Osdalgia Lesmes-vocals.
This is a release that provides some great surprises around its corners but also gives you loads of smooth, silky tendencies that you can get swallowed by.
The record was released via Dot Time Records.
So, take a deep dive into this one, and remember where you heard it all first.
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