Nitai Hershkovits: Call on the Old Wise – Exquisitely executed inventions

This is the latest in the long and illustrious line of solo piano albums from estimable German label ECM – a tradition that stretches back to the astonishing 1970s recordings of Keith Jarrett, whose landmark triple LP, Solo Concerts: Bremen/Lausanne, has recently been reissued on “audiophile vinyl” to mark its 50th anniversary.

On his debut album for the label, the 35-year-old Israeli pianist Nitai Hershkovits adopts, similar to Jarrett, a “largely improvised” approach to the challenge of maintaining colour and momentum over the course of 50 minutes or more. Unlike Jarrett, he has made his task considerably easier by offering a suite of 16 beautiful musical miniatures, most of which are around the two- or three-minute mark; there are also interpretations of Molly (mother of Nick) Drake’s poetic Dream Your Dreams and Duke Ellington’s gorgeous The Single Petal of a Rose.

Hershkovits, born to a Moroccan mother and a Polish father, is a fascinating and gifted player who has been a vital member of forward-thinking groups led by the bassist Avishai Cohen and the saxophonist Oded Tzur. (The latter’s quartet, with Hershkovits, was one of the highlights of this year’s Guinness Cork Jazz Festival.) He has also made albums that have embraced beats, samples, electronics and folk music.

Call on the Old Wise leans more firmly on the pianist’s classical inclinations and soundworld; these are exquisitely executed inventions, full of surprise, sensitivity and no small amount of romanticism, that emerge like spontaneous real-time compositions.