Album Review: Transitions from Yaron Gershovsky

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Album:  Transitions
Artist:  Yaron Gershovsky
Label:  Dorron Music
Website:  www.yaronmusic.com

Transitions, the 2022 release from keyboardist, composer, arranger, and bandleader Yaron Gershovsky is an assortment of original music and cover tunes, stylistically moving between traditional straight ahead jazz and contemporary jazz, classic pop, Latin soul, and samba in the recording.  The album is comprised of a variety of combinations from solo piano to trios, quartets, and jazz vocals featuring Aubrey Johnson's engaging vocalese.  Gershovsky's endeavor is alight with melodious configurations and elevating phrasing that is pleasing to the aural senses.

Gershovsky's original work "Awakening" shows his keys communicating briskly and freely with bassist Will Lee and drummer Clint de Ganon,  whipping up a jovial mood that turns reflective, driven by Gershovsky's ruminating keys in "I’ll Be Seeing You," penned by Sammy Fain and Irving Kahal.  Gershovsky links somber thoughts with thrusts of exuberance and radiance, transporting listeners across a gamut of expressive dialogue.  The showtunny parlance of  Gershovsky's keys in his original piece "A Song for Mia" is groomed with a straight-ahead jazz shuffle that travels into a torchlight atmosphere in the contemplative musings of "The Lonely Tree," displaying Gershovsky's prowess as a solo performer.  The stellar synth pop matrix of the title track illuminates a modern shimmer that transitions to the traditional style of straight ahead jazz in "Birthday Bash."

Johnson's  vocal fluctuations enhance the highs and lows along the soul-inspired melody "I Got Plenty O’ Nuttin’" with music written by George Gershwin and lyrics by Dubose Heyward and Ira Gershwin.  Johnson finesses the tune with a contemporary glint that conceals its eighty-eight year vintage, having been composed in 1934 for the Gershwin's theatre production of "Porgy and Bess."  Her vocal rendering of "Scarborough Fair," a classic staple written by Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon, accentuates the fluid undulations in the folksy threading, switching gears to a samba groove along "So Danço Samba" with music by Antonio Carlos Jobim and lyrics by Vinicius de Moraes.  

Gershovsky's musical palette is a lively mixture as he transitions between traditional straight ahead jazz, contemporary jazz, classic pop, Latin soul, and samba.  Cohesively layered, Gershovsky's offering provides snapshots of his influences, his studies, and his musical experiences.  He has been the Musical Director and pianist/keyboardist for the world-renowned vocal group The Manhattan Transfer since 1979, touring, recording, and writing instrumental and vocal arrangements for them.   Transitions demonstrates Gershovsky's initiative to flex his skills as a bandleader, composer, and keyboardist, making a sizeable contribution to the jazz spectrum.

Musicians:
Yaron Gershovsky - piano and keyboards
Boris Kozlov - upright bass
Cliff Almond - drums
Will Lee - electric bass
Clint de Ganon - drums
David Mann - alto flute
Ross Pederson - drums
Alex Sipiagin - trumpet
Will Lee - electric bass
Aubrey Johnson - vocals


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