Oded Tzur Quartet

Flagbearer of spiritual jazz concludes album trilogy with suite about faith.

The New York saxophonist Oded Tzur has transformed his tone over ten years into what The Guardian calls a 'unique tenor sax whisper'. He describes this development as a leap into the deep, which has made him one of the flagbearers of spiritual jazz. The New York City Jazz Record compared his music to an interactive prayer that can go in all directions. With his quartet, he created for ECM among others My Prophet, a mythical suite that moves from intimate whisper to ecstasy.

With In The Arms Of A True Believer, Tzur concludes a trilogy of albums about his wife Isabela; central is how faith shapes our lives, in whatever we believe. He wrote the suite shortly after the birth of his son, in the approximately two hours per night that he could sleep, and connected each piece to a moment, such as the first echo in Heartbeats. On the album, he plays with a six-piece band, in orchestrations with Brazilian candomblé percussion, duets for euphonium and piccolo, and ceremonial raga music. With us, he brings this music with his quartet.

Oded Tzur tenor sax, Elchin Shirinov piano, Petros Klampanis double bass, Cyrano Almeida drums