“Exorcisms - To free from or rid of evil spirits or other harmful elements by works of spell and magical formulas which intend to trigger a magical effect on a person or objects”

Israeli saxophonist Asaf Yuria presents his new album Exorcisms, drawing seamlessly from the proud jazz combo tradition of Art Blakey and Lee Morgan on a sophomore effort ripe with inventive horn arrangements and captivating solo work. Here he assembles a cast of New York’s finest including trumpeter Josh Evans and trombonist Jonathan Voltzok who join Yuria on frontline duties. Pianist Jeremy Manasia, bassist Ben Meigners and the fiery contributions of drummer Jason Brown provide lithe accompaniment from the backline.

"Jazz Weekly" Tenor saxist Asaf Yuria captures the sounds and spirit of John Coltrane circa Blue Train on this album with a similarly instrumented team of Josh Evans/tp, Jonathan Voltzok/tb, Jeremy Mansaia/p, Ben Meigners/b and Jason Brown/dr. Yuria’s sound is big, bold, modal and a mix of post bop and modal on the driving “The Bell Ringers” and passionate “Bright Light, Light Flight”. Brown gives an Elvin Jones-inspired rumble in his intro to the droned title piece and Evans taps into his inner Lee Morgan on the solo. Voltzok is filled with solid brass on the bluesy “Out of The Mist” and Evans is filled with rich chords throughout, tapping into Tyner tones on the mellow “Lotus Moon”. This is a treat!