Daybreak

Description

New York, a city of more than eight million inhabitants. And probably the greatest concentration of musicians per square meter! The competition there is fierce, the standard high. But Israeli flutist Itai Kriss felt right at home as soon as he arrived in 2002. Because in addition to being a stronghold of jazz, the metropolis has for decades welcomed a vast community of Latin American artists. It was even there, thanks to the Fania Records label, that salsa truly took off. As a passionate lover of all these musical traditions, Itai immediately made wonders in these different fields. But his musical appetite is fed by many other influences. Starting with the source: the blues. It is the sound of his childhood, the one that played on repeat on the family turntable, thanks to a father who was an absolute fan of the genre. He introduced him to this tradition, this history, and gave him the desire to go further, exploring all the styles connected to it: gospel, rock’n’roll, americana… As well as hard-bop, the musical obsession of his adolescence. The one that definitively propelled Itai Kriss into jazz. Today, the Message of Art Blakey and his companions still guides his steps. It even informs part of the repertoire of this new album, Daybreak, recorded with a top-flight New York rhythm section: Adam Birnbaum on piano, Luke Sellick on double bass, and the late Anthony Pinciotti on drums, who passed away suddenly last December. But this record is also a caress, an invitation to gently enter the world of Itai Kriss.