Customer Reviews

Virtue

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Very rich, with jagged, dark edges. Have listened many times and am continuing to discover.

I was predisposed to 'Insensitive' -- I'd heard him perform it live before the album came out, and it stuck with me for hours after the concert. What a gem. (Tho I just noticed the coda to Insensitive is kissing cousins to the coda of The Beatles' "I Want You (She's So Heavy)".)

This album is not going to be for everyone. I can say for myself that it's one of my favorites. Highly recommended, and catch him live if he comes to your area.

4 1/2

Even with a touch that can understandably lack the wisdom of subtly, Eldar's (w/ brilliant backup) breakout release of boldly played compositions is as excitingly engaging a contemporary jazz piano release as any in recent memory, definitively launching the under-appreciated prodigy as a world force of his own.

On his previous album, the audacious Re-Imagination, Eldar first delved into the fascinating world of electronic jazz. Here he does it again, but unites it with more of his old style, and as a result, it's his most polished album to date. The guy just gets better and better!

Eldar is extremely proud of this album, and has gone out of his way to promote it on various radio stations, his website, Facebook page, etc. It's definitely something to be proud of. I'm not sure if DJ Logic is back from Re-Imagination, but Joshua Redman and Nicholas Payton are certainly on for the ride, and listening as I write this, I'm convinced there might even be more special unnamed guests performing some of the tracks. What counts is that these guys are a match for Eldar's energy and produce some truly electrifying jazz.

Exposition is a great way to start off the album, with lots of great rhythms and swirls of electronic sound in the midst of more traditional instruments. From there, Eldar explores with more mixes of sound, time signature (I think Lullaby Fantasia is in the usual time signature of 5/4), a standard (Estate), and even revisits an old original first introduced on "Live at the Blue Note": Daily Living. This is probably the best album for understanding where Eldar is musically at this time. I have no doubt he'll continue to explore and innovative as the years go by to produce some more amazing work. I'll be in line for his next album, whatever it may be.

Eldar is on his game on this one. If you like driving at night jazz you'll love this collection. If you like Eldar this will blow your mind. His skills and his music comes to a perfect balance on Virtue. The order of the selections flows from number to each wonderful number at the perfect pace. A must for all Jazz and Eldar fans.

Eldar New 2009 Cd is wonderful. Tracks 3,5 & 11 I didnt like. I liked tracks 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9, & 10 all thoeses Tracks Excellent.