By Robert Ham | Published December 2020
After winning the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz’s International Piano Competition in 2018 and graduating from Berklee last year, pianist Tom Oren is, with the release of his debut album, taking his first steps as a solo artist. They feel a little tentative.
The Israeli bandleader has chosen to record a set of tunes written by composer and educator (and Oren’s mother) Dorly Oren Chazon, and, on four tracks, lets guest performer Eli Degibri take the spotlight. There’s a logic to these decisions, but they make it hard to truly hear and appreciate Oren’s talent. He’s especially hampered by his choice to record nothing but Oren Chazon’s work, the pianist’s arrangements emphasizing how these compositions thinly approximate an ECM aesthetic with clean, unfussy chords and a bucolic spirit. It’s only when he pulls the material in new directions—turning “Mrs. Barbarelli” into a New Orleans stomp or bringing a cool-jazz spaciousness to the ballad “Don’t Let Me Wait For You”—that the album gets exciting.
But when Oren peels off a solo, the breadth of his abilities comes alive. His Dave Brubeck-like spin through “Melody” is a delight, as are the shades of dissonance that color “Zoo.” Inviting Degibri to take the reins throughout, on the other hand, feels like a show of respect. The saxophonist has helped lead a generation of Israeli talent, including Oren, in his quartet. But on tracks like the syrupy “Give Me Peace,” Degibri looms over his cohort, making it seen as though the pianist is rushing to catch up. It’s a disparity that wouldn’t be so noticeable were it not for moments when the two find equal footing.
Dorly’s Song: Night Butterfly; Under A Carob Tree; Melody; Mrs. Barbarelli; Adolia; Zoo; Don’t Let Me Wait For You; That Night I Heard; So Angela; Give Me Peace. (49:03)
Personnel: Tom Oren, piano; Barak Mori, bass; Eviatar Slivnik, drums; Eli Degibri, tenor saxophone.
