‘Wusul وصول’ is an introspective journey through the intricate tapestry of musical influences that have shaped Shay Hazan’s unique sound. While Western and Mizrahi pop have left their marks on the record, they serve as threads in a larger, more intricate musical fabric. Hazan’s profound exploration transcends traditional boundaries, weaving together a rich sonic tapestry that defies easy categorization.

Shay Hazan fuses rubbery North African Gnawa grooves, with haunting jazz horns and hip hop inflected beats on ‘Reclusive Rituals’. His first project for international groove artisans, Batov Records.
 

Introducing the first 7" single from bassist & composer Shay Hazan and his quintet from Tel-Aviv, Israel.

Dedicated to saxophonist Albert Beber, a mainstay of Israeli jazz and Hazan mentor, ‘Beber’s Cha Cha’ is an uptempo piano-led waltz, redolent of classic Prestige Records soul-jazz, especially when some urgent horn charts turn up the heat. It’s a corker!

While on the underbelly, ‘Old Tart’ sounds like nothing less than a lost gem from the Brecht/Weil songbook. Lugubrious and magnificent, this world-weary vocal cut is more than a match for the nominal A-side.
 

limited to just 600 copies worldwide!

Bassist and composer Shay Hazan is a mainstay on the vibrant Tel Aviv jazz scene. His new album Nuff Headlines finds him in the leadership role, a rare (although not unheard of) position for a bass player. The quintet is filled out by the two-horn duo of Tal Avraham on trumpet and Eyal Netzer on saxophone, along with Milton Michaeli on piano and Haim Peskoff on drums. Hazan’s musical roots spread far and wide into the magical realm of Moroccan Gnawa music (Hazan often plays gimbri, the traditional three stringed skin-covered bass lute), the new wave of hip hop, and the 1960's Chicago free jazz and human rights movement. These roots all feed the single organism of the band, with Hazan leading from the bottom, anchoring and propelling the music with a force only a bassist can provide.

Upon looking outside a window one occasionally wonders what will happen next? We can assume, based on what we have seen our whole lives, that we cannot really know what will come next, will there be a surprise? or will the universe continue as is.. And, so goes the music this unit plays. They continuously try to subtly surprise, not to shock. They succeed in speaking from far away while standing steady on the common ground we all share.

Tel Aviv based bassist and composer, Shay Hazan (born 89') is currently part of the well acclaimed Bones Trio and of local saxophonists Albert Beger's quartet and trio. Domestic Peace (ONR033) is Hazan's first album as a leader.
credits
released August 1, 2018

Tracks 1 and 4 recorded on the 10th of July, 2023 at Levontin 7, Tel Aviv
Tracks 2 and 3 recorded on the 8th of July, 2023 at Kitcha Studios by Uri "Momo" Barak
Mixed by Mike Marciano at Systems Two Recording, New York
Mastered by Arūnas Zujus at MAMAstudios
Photos by Aviad Fuchs


Albert Beger - tenor saxophone, percussion
Ziv Taubenfeld - bass clarinet, percussion
Shay Hazan - guimbri, double bass
Hamid Drake - drums
credits
released May 27, 2024