Text Box: Cadence: The Review of Jazz&Blues: Creative Improvised Music Vol. 25 No.1 January 1999 Israeli Katsenelenbogen is a classically trained pianist who has been studying and playing in the USA for several years. As a promotion for his upcoming album Formation, he produced the shortened CD Solo Piano using venues in and around Boston’s New England Conservatory from which he recently graduated. Katsenelenbogen takes a serious and concentrated approach to his playing that is at times introspective,, at times explosive, but at all times dynamic and challenging. You can hear in his playing a deep-seated intensity that filters into the bowls of the tune where all nuances are fully explored. It does not matter if the songs are his own creation, a Monk tune as on “Brilliant Corners”, or a Blind Lemon Jefferson piece as on “Prison Cell Blues”. The music is all Katsenelenbogen as he injects his personality into the totality of the songs. With a strong penchant for the left hand, his music paints from a somber palette. Although he plays in a much more invigorated manner, you can occasionally hear the effects of Katsenelenbogen’s association with Paul Bley. Bley supervised some of his recording sessions and therein must originate the introspective side of his playing. Yet his extroverted side shines through regularly in stirring runs and bombastic clusters of notes. He has the unique quality of giving any composition his own stamp of individuality. The obvious intention of a promotional CD is to entice you to purchase more of the artist’s work. Katsenelenbogen has certainly succeeded in this goal, since hearing this tantalizing tidbit has simply whetted my appetite to hear more of him. And more I did hear with his full-length session on One Time. Recorded in Jerusalem a few years earlier than Solo Piano, this music pays tribute to Katsenelenbogen’s Israeli roots while still showing great respect for the Jazz culture and his classical foundation. Interwoven into his strong improvisational style is a definite tribute to the music and people of that land. Their vibrant lust for life and its joyousness filters into his music and turn the pieces into a salute to humanity. While Katsenelenbogen American influences are not as yet present on this set, his earthiness is represented throughout the album. Katsenelenbogen’s music is not, however, predictable. He can easily infuse fragments of ragtime, the blues, gospel, Eastern, and other forms into his overly serious approach. Just as quickly, the music reverts to its dense origins with Katsenelenbogen exposing his inner soul through his playing. I had the feeling I was eavesdropping on a personal conversation not intended for public consumption. The music makes you reflect on life and its tragedies but always proposes a ray of sunshine to reinforce the concept of hope. All this I heard in his playing, even when he surprisingly offered Cole Porter’s “Every Time We Say Goodbye” or Sondheim’s “Sooner or Later”. He turned the standards into personal compositions with a droning left hand and tinkling right that mesmerized in the same way his compositions did. Katsenelenbogen included in the liner notes poetry and prose that was written just before and after the recordings. It reflects a similar sincerity and passion comparable to his music. He is a passionate man who feels deeply, and he has the talent to express those feelings trough his playing as well as his writing. You cannot help but be moved by his performance. Frank Rubolino

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