“Tickling Eyes
is a band tour de force, with Shachal blowing up a desert storm."
"Shachal’s G-clarinet adds a Turkish feel that melds quite nicely with
Sharlin’s expressive piano and Vincent’s arco stylings. "
Elliott Simon - All About Jazz
"Alto saxist, clarinetist,
and master of the Middle-Eastern maqams (similar to European,
classical modes), Harel Shachal, interleaves an unending,
continuous stream of mesmerizingly lyrical themes that take the
listener on an epic voyage through exotic, foriegn lands far away
and perhaps, from times long past."
"Shachal's serpentine alto sax and clarinet
melodies possess a genuine, exotic quality that draws from a deep
knowledge and firm grasp on the Middle-Eastern maqams (modes) and
gifted interpretation of quarter tones that are used in the
traditional Middle-Eastern music and reside between the semitones
of the European chromatic scale. The lexicons that Shachal
enunciates in his captivating themes is entirely disparate from
European-derived music, though the manner the group craftily
fuses these intriguing melodies with Western motifs and
instrumentation enticingly bridges the chasm between East and
West, thereby making the exotic tunes more easily accessible to a
Western-cultivated ear. Additionally, the accentuated manners
that Shachal fluently expresses these mysterious lexicons
encompasses a number of flavorful, animated dialects from the
Eastern Mediterranean regions."
"Shachal and Sharlan
demonstrate an impressive, virtuosic command over and genuine,
comprehensive insight into the elements of these exotic musical
lexis that serve as excellent illustrations of the genre. The
quartet has achieved a superb equilibrium in striking the balance
between the exotic and the lyrical, Middle-Eastern traditional
and Western jazz / contemporary music, as well as progressive
concepts and listener accessibility."
Chris Ruel - Chris
Ruel's
Instrumental
Music Reviews
