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The Whistle Blower

Original Recording

Gilad Atzmon & The Orient House Ensemble (Artist), Gilad Atzmon (Composer, Conductor, Performer), The Orient House Ensemble (Orchestra) Format: Audio CD
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 11 ratings
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Editorial Reviews

The Orient House Ensemble are celebrating their 15th year launching The Whistle Blower, their 8th album to date. The hardest working jazz band in the UK and one of the leading ensembles in Europe.

Product details

  • Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
  • Package Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.55 x 4.97 x 0.54 inches; 2.83 ounces
  • Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ Fanfare Jazz
  • Run time ‏ : ‎ 47 minutes
  • Date First Available ‏ : ‎ January 5, 2015
  • Label ‏ : ‎ Fanfare Jazz
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00RTJ2B7A
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 11 ratings

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
11 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Steve Cleveland
5.0 out of 5 stars Gilad Atzmon, passion, purpose, beauty
Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2015
Verified Purchase
I can't think of any artist more passionate or dedicated than saxophonist, composer, and bandleader Gilad Atzmon. "The Whistle Blower" continues the musical search which Gilad and the Orient House Ensemble have carried on for so many years, You'll hear echoes of John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Muslim prayer calls, folk songs, Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett and McCoy Tyner (pianist Frank Harrison's exquisite playing is in the tradition of these romantics), as well as a nod to Nino Rota. Atzmon is a virtuoso but he doesn't just play a bunch of notes to no purpose. There is always purpose and fire in his music. There is also a great deal of humor, and an openness to the moment which is shared by all great improvisers. In fact all the players here are top-notch, sensitive to each other and to the moment. This is an inspiring album, which demonstrates what Gilad writes in the liner notes: that the beauty we feel in music can be an antidote to the lies and manipulations of the world of politics. Amen, brother.
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Billzen
5.0 out of 5 stars Great music in the classic jazz tradition
Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2015
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Great music in the classic jazz tradition.
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Death, the Lonesome Reaper
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2015
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Essential world jazz listening. Atzmon's a genius!
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Bruce Bradley
5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific Album From A Brave Whistleblower
Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2015
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Terrific album from a brave whistleblower!
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humanity awakened
5.0 out of 5 stars who underwent a spiritual awakening as a result of hearing the great bebop masters
Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2015
Musician/author Gilad Atzmon and The Orient House Ensemble have returned with their eighth album to date, a delightful offering entitled "The Whistle Blower."

ATZMON'S BACKGROUND:

Atzmon is a former Israeli, former Jew, who underwent a spiritual awakening as a result of hearing the great bebop masters. He was taught his whole life as an Israeli Jew that Jewish artists and thinkers are superior to all else, but he knew he had been lied to, by virtue of the fact that Charlie Parker and many other great jazz artists were black and not Jewish.

Atzmon cut all ties with the Jewish state over twenty years ago, expatriated to London and completed a Master's degree in Philosophy there. His solidarity to the Palestinian cause is evidenced by his choice to name his band after the Palestine Liberation Organizations former headquarters in Jerusalem, called, "Orient House."

His criticisms of his own former Jewish ideological collective are brutally honest and hard-hitting. Let it suffice to say that his mission to liberate the discourse has led him far, far from the world of "political correctness," yet he somehow balances all this with a successful career in jazz.

In fact, Atzmon has sacrificed much in the line of his music career for his writings and statements against Israel. When he first moved to the UK, he was given the 2003 BBC award for "Best Jazz Album," for Exile, and was practically given the key the the City of London. He was being hailed as one of greats of jazz, before the establishment caught on that Atzmon was not one of them.

Atzmon is a Heidegger-ian German essentialist. He easily dismantles his detractors' arguments with his own swift brand of rhetorical Judo, exposing any discourse-policing closet Zionists that Atzmon has dubbed the "anti-Zionist Zionists," viewing them as the premiere reason why humanity has been failing to solve it's most important problems.

To the utter frustration and helplessness of the establishment, Gilad's criticisms of Jewish identity politics and Israel are being accepted gradually into the mainstream. Perhaps it is because their time has come. Despite his views, he has played with many famous mainstream musicians, most recently with the likes of Pink Floyd, on their latest album, "The Endless River."

Clearly he has emerged victorious over those who endeavor to silence him.

Bear in mind that other public figures so far have been systematically ostracized and blackballed for the mere mention of the word "Palestine."

Like his friend, comedian Dieudonné, Gilad's artistic mastery only fortifies his credibility as an intellectual. This has caused a huge, pounding, migraine headache not only for the hawkish pro-Israel establishment, but also its aforementioned gatekeepers, media outlets like Max Blumenthal, the UK Guardian, Ali Abuminah, and "Jewish Voices for Peace," whose subversive agendas have been laid bare in the hundreds of articles Atzmon has penned.

Those things being said, we may now lower the needle on "The Whistle Blower."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first song on the album, "Gaza Mon Amour," enters with drummer Chris Higginbottom playing a Middle Eastern groove which sounds informed by New Orleans second-line. A palm-muted piano rhythm pattern enters, and Atzmon makes his entrance with a Middle-Eastern alto melody, doubled by his own accordion. "Gaza Mon Amour" makes one imagine walking through a busy Gaza City marketplace.

In the solo section, the piece slowly transforms into some passionate, far-out Coltrane/McCoy Tyner-influenced excursions from Atzmon and pianist Frank Harriman. Atzmon's sound at the beginning of his solo is breathy and sorrowful, like the voice of a lamenting Palestinian grandmother, before transforming the sorrow to power by invoking Coltrane's theme from "A Love Supreme."

Even when Gilad is in Coltrane mode, he retains a finesse and a hard-driving bebop sensibility to his lines and time feel that is more akin to Cannonball and Sonny Stitt than the more open articulations of Trane. Atzmon combines long wailing notes with fast, spiraling, harmonically superimposed lines, and with Harriman's comping, the landscape turns into a turbulent seascape of rising and falling waves.

Then the album opens up to a series of diverse ballads, some being sorrowful, some yearning, some romantic. Gilad and band resist any urge to play cliched lines or practiced vocabulary, preferring instead to take the more modern, lyrical, thematic approach to developing the motifs in their improvised solos.

Pianist/keyboardist Frank Harriman is skilled at creating a balanced dialogue between the chords of the left hand and the intervallic themes he often develops with the right hand. On several songs, he uses lush strings or bubbly organ sounds for effect. Influences of jazz piano's best, McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, and Chick Corea can be heard in Harriman, but he has his own thoughtful voice at the keys.

Bassist Yaron Stavi has masterful ideas, impeccable touch, intonation, timing, and tone. His lines are clear and always supportive, and one can tell that he is always listening to the band as a whole.

OHE's newest member, drummer Chris Higginbottom, adds wonderful dimensions of color, shading, and a deep medium-downtempo swing feel on "Let Us Pray."

"The Whistle Blower" is very beautiful, accessible and romantic, without crossing the line and being corny. Atzmon's music, similar to what his writings have done, does much to rescue jazz from its own elitist tendencies.

Atzmon's music is similar to his philosophy. He seems to be attempting to put the world back on track. As a philosopher, this means he must illuminate the world's problems and pave the way for unhindered discussion. Against all odds, he must dive into the heart of Jewish identity, publicly and resoundingly reject its exclusivity and supremacism, and encourage people to embrace a universal morality where no one designates himself as "chosen."

Interestingly, jazz, despite its earthy roots, has the same tendencies, to relentlessly push itself toward extremes and oblivion. Arguably, it needs someone to remind the populace that it is always about beauty, harmony, and that which is universal, and Gilad does just that. Five Stars a for Gilad Atzmon and The OHE for "The Whistle Blower ***** ~Trevor LaBonteSamples: https://soundcloud.com/gilad-atzmon/the-romantic-church https://soundcloud.com/gilad-atzmon/gaza-mon-amour
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Grady Harp
5.0 out of 5 stars ‘The compositions are about love, nostalgia, devotion and simplicity’
Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2015
The Whistle Blower is beautiful in many ways. It leaves the listener with melodies to savor. It is balanced, well delivered and the varied menu is sure to cater for many tastes. On the album sleeve, Gilad Atzmon states that the compositions are about love, nostalgia, devotion and simplicity — and that he hopes the listener enjoys listening to is as much as the band enjoyed making it. "The Whistle Blower" is a cheesy, tongue-in-cheek, tune full of wolf whistles, clichéd rhythms, Tali Atzmon's wordless lounge-jazz singing and a rather jolly vocal chorus from the gentlemen of the Ensemble. It's all rather delightful, a reminder that Atzmon the activist and musician is also a joker—and he's happy. Saxophonist Gilad Atzmon is a giant of jazz—an imposing physical presence, a huge personality, technically masterful and emotionally committed to every note.

The Orient House Ensemble are celebrating their 15th year launching The Whistle Blower, their 8th album to date. The hardest working jazz band in the UK and one of the leading ensembles in Europe embark on a 35 date tour in the UK and Europe playing their new music as well as old favorites. This album is a taste of what that tour will present.

The ensemble is Gilad Atzmon, alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, clarinet, accordion, guitar, vocals, Frank Harrison, piano, keyboards, vocals, Yaron Stavi, double bass, electric bass, vocals, Chris Higginbottom, drums, vocals, and Tali Atzmon and Antonio Feola,
vocals.
The tracks are as follows:

Gaza Mon Amour
Forever
The Romantic Church
Let Us Prey
The Song
To Be Free
For Moana
The Whistle Blower

Sit up close – or lay back – and just relax and chuckle and remember and have a really good time with The Whistle Blower. Collections like this don’t come around that often. Grady Harp, August 15
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Top reviews from other countries

Carl Freeman
5.0 out of 5 stars Devilishly divine jazz for saints and sinners
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 6, 2015
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The Whistle Blower is not only a great jazz CD, but it doubles up as a celebration of the 15th anniversary of Gilad Atzmon’s Orient House Ensemble. As with their back catalogue, this album is an eclectic mix of jazz numbers which showcase both the collective and individual talents of four of the finest musicians playing in the UK. It is often said of the best collaborative ventures that they are better than the sum of their parts. When the parts are already all brilliant in their own right, by adding them together you have something truly special. And so it is with the Orient House Ensemble.

As is customary with this group, the CD draws on a mixture of styles and themes and whilst sometimes the combination might seem a little odd (their last album saw the capital cities of ‘Berlin’, ‘Moscow’ and ‘Paris’ sharing space on Songs of the Metropolis with ‘Scarborough’!), it invariably works. Coincidentally The Whistle Blower makes me think of Paris and not simply due to the use of accordion on ‘The Song’ (which could almost be a lost track from the Soundtrack to the film, Amelie). No, it reminds me of Paris on a more esoteric level. The presence of the dreamy and chaste ‘Romantic Church’ on the same album as the sensual ‘For Moana’ (apparently dedicated to an Italian porn star) evokes for me the 18th arrondissement where just down the hill from the Sacré Cœur Basilica you find Pigalle’s seedy emporia of unbridled sexual pleasure. This album celebrates saints and sinner alike.

The CD opens with a very personal homage to Gaza (‘Gaza Mon Amour’) – a place that must surely feel God-foresaken to its inhabitants. As well as being an immensely gifted musician, Gilad Atzmon is also a passionate advocate for human rights. It is understandable therefore that he regularly uses his talent to remind the world that there is a place called Gaza and that its people continue to suffer long after the news cameras have left. There is understandably a Palestinian vibe permeating this piece which fuses both eastern and western musical genres. It’s jazz alright but perhaps not as some ears may know it although anyone familiar with this band’s past catalogue will be used to such a fusion and will already appreciate how well it works. The piece is not an overtly political statement, but rather a celebration of the steadfastness of the Palestinian people.
I am not familiar with the cinematic output of Moana to whom the seventh track on the album is dedicated but I imagine that she would be flattered to have such a beautiful melody penned for her. I am not sure if it is deliberate, but the preceding track, ‘To Be Free’ ends quite frenetically in some sort of rapid, orgasmic climax to be followed immediately by ‘For Moana’ which acts as a warm, soothing “afterglow”. It does not get much more blissful than this.

The only track that I cannot really fathom out is ‘Let us Pray’. As a man of faith myself, prayer is something I do. That can be alongside others at my local church or privately either at home, when travelling or even sometimes at work. Prayer for me is a time of quiet reflection and communion with God. Even when undertaken at the most stressful times it always brings serenity and acts as a personal, spiritual sanctuary. As with every track on the album, I love ‘Let us Pray’ but the composition does not reflect how I feel when praying. That is especially true the passage between four minutes and five minutes thirty where Atzmon pushes his sax to the limits and the tempo increases. So the title of the piece doesn’t work for me but that really is my only criticism of the album….the title of one track! Don’t let that put you off though. It is a great track. It just has the wrong name in my book.

It is not my intention to describe every track on the album but I assure you there is not a duff one amongst. The album ends with the title track. ‘The Whistle Blower’ reminds us that we are undoubtedly indebted to the brave men and women who over the years have exposed some of grubby workings of corrupt governments and institutions; often at great personal cost. Despite the serious subject matter this number has a whimsical feel to it. I have always adored Tali Atzmon’s vocals (particularly on the title track of Atzmon’s collaborative album with Wyatt and Stephen, ‘For the Ghosts Within’). On ‘The Whistle Blower’ she delivers once again with some exquisite “girl from Ipanema-esque“ dah de dah de dah de dahing whilst the guys perform wolf-whistles and join in with their own exuberant singing. The last track on OHE albums usually ha a light and joyful tone, perhaps fulfilling the role of “signing-off” the suite. The Songs of the Metropolis ends with ‘Berlin’ which sounds a little like bunch of boozy blokes in a bierkeller having the time of their lives. The last number on the Tide Has Changed (‘We Laugh’) oozes circus fun, again conveyed by enthusiastic singing. They may not have the range or angelic voices of a cathedral choir but the Orient House Ensemble boys have passion in bucket-loads. At the end of the CD, as with every other OHE album, the listener is left craving more.

As I write this, I know that in a few hours I will have the pleasure of seeing this album played live at a performance sponsored by Birmingham Jazz. The Orient House Ensemble’s recordings are always first class, but they are also one of the greatest live acts around. So I am salivating!

In short – another masterpiece from Gilad Atzmon and the Orient House Ensemble and definitely deserving the full five stars that I have awarded it.
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TonyM
5.0 out of 5 stars Probably their best album to date
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 11, 2015
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Excellent.
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wgc
4.0 out of 5 stars Inventive jazz
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 4, 2015
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interesting mixture of serious and fun ideas with an Israeli twist to some of the melodies.
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