Vibraphonist Eldad Tarmu's "SILVER ON ALUMINUM"

Horace Silver composed over 300 songs in his long career. His iconic, swinging tunes have been performed and reinterpreted by countless musicians over the years, so it is no small feat that ELDAD TARMU has found his own, unique approach to Silver’s music. On Tarmu’s newest album, SILVER ON ALUMINUM, the vibraphonist and composer chose eight Horace Silver tunes, most of which were written for a quintet, and recast them for a trio setting of vibraphone, bass, and drums.

SILVER ON ALUMINUM is Tarmu’s 10th CD as leader. It follows his 2023 release, The Eldad Tarmu Quartet, about which All About Jazz said Tarmu is “technically sound and musically astute with his own approach to the instrument, softer and less frenzied than Hampton or Gibbs, leaning toward the more temperate sounds produced by Jackson and Burton.”

Tarmu began recording original jazz albums in the late nineties and became a regular on the Southern California jazz scene. Between recording and touring, he completed a master’s degree in Afro-Latin Music from California State University Los Angeles in 2005. After collaborating with Romanian bassist, violinist, and music researcher Johnny Bota, Tarmu was appointed head of the Jazz Department at the Richard Oschanitzky Jazz School at Tibiscus University in Timisoara, Romania.

Upon returning to the U.S., Tarmu settled in New York City to continue his education at Stony Brook University in New York, where he received further advanced degrees. Tarmu has performed and recorded in many styles, from classical to jazz funk to straight-ahead, and even music infused with Middle Eastern sounds. He has collaborated with names like Ron Affif, Mike Clark, Billy Higgins, Freddie Hubbard, Taj Mahal, Frank Morgan, Poncho Sanchez, and Ernie Watts. Beyond recording jazz projects, he released a contemporary classical project of original music featuring a woodwind quintet and vibraphone.

Joining Tarmu on SILVER ON ALUMINUM are two younger, rising stars on the New York jazz scene, MARTY ISENBERG on bass and MICHAEL SHAPIRA on drums. The name of the album refers to the fact that the vibraphone is an aluminum instrument. SILVER ON ALUMINUM is a real burner. It is Tarmu’s first album for which he did not write at least 90% of the tunes. He kept the arrangements relatively simple so this top-notch band could focus on their spontaneous interactions. Tarmu says, “The magic of Horace Silver is his ability to find the shortest, straightest, most direct line from point A to point B. There is no fat on the bone of his compositions. His compositions are truly unique in the vast world of jazz tunes.” Although the arrangements are not in themselves demanding, the music requires a lot of commitment to get just right. Tarmu explains, “You can sightread this music and get all the notes right, but it can still sound terrible. Silver’s compositions require a deep emotional engagement.”

Although the vibraphone may not be as common on the jazz scene as it once was, Tarmu is intent on exploring new ways to express himself using its crystalline, pulsing sound. Focusing on Silver’s music written for two horns, he set out to reimagine it for the trio setting, incorporating polyrhythmic and contrapuntal technique on the vibraphone .

He opens the album with “The St. Vitus Dance,” a tune titled after a disease characterized by rapid, involuntary, irregular movements of all muscles. Written in a minor key, the tune has a fiery, nervous flavor. “Pyramid” is a reflection of the way jazz composers were incorporating non-Western influences into jazz. It does not use a Middle Eastern modality as the title implies, but there’s a call to swing the tunes away from the jazz/blues vocabulary to some degree. The band improvises over the A section and uses the Latin B section to segue out of the solos.

“No Smokin’” is another minor key tune. The band burns through this number at about 300bpm. Tarmu explains, “Although we play this tune really fast, we don’t play too many notes, because I didn’t want it to sound too mechanical.” “Horacescope” is all about phrasing around the syncopations built into the arrangement, as well as trying to get the feel of Silver’s two-horn arrangement on the vibraphone. Tarmu says, “Since the writing is so strong, it’s a great vehicle for the percussive substitution the vibraphone offers.”

Tarmu approaches the original arrangement of “Gregory is Here” with a polyrhythmic accompaniment that is a combination of the two horns playing the melody interlocked with the quasi-Latin piano part. Tarmu wanted aspects of this project to reflect his style as a soloist as well as composer, and on “Opus De Funk,” he uses Silver’s intro and coda, but instead of playing the melody going out, he uses a piece of Silver’s solo from the original recording as a sort of tutti section and pre-coda. 

“Strollin’” highlights the bassist on a syncopated reharmonization of the opening melody, followed by a laid back interpretation reflecting the traditional manner in which this tune is usually played. The tune moves around in three different keys.

Guitarist Barney Kessel is one of Tarmu’s favorite musicians and had a big influence on his composing and playing. Regarding “Yeah,” the album’s closer, Tarmu explains, “Kessel is my favorite jazz musician who plays in a trio setting. I tried to imagine his rhythmically cutting style and the way he engaged the rhythm section.”

The many fans of Horace Silver’s writing will find Tarmu’s innovative approach and the masterful performances of the band an exciting addition to the many interpretations of Horace Silver’s compositions.

TRACK LIST:

1. The Saint Vitus Dance 4:01

2. Pyramid 3:50

3. No Smokin’ 3:08

4. Horacescope 3:41

5. Gregory is Here 5:45

6. Opus De Funk 3:36

7. Strollin’ 5:17

8. Yeah 3:36 

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SILVER ON ALUMINUM is available digitally on all major streaming platforms . Physical copies are available at www.eldadtarmu.bandcamp.com. 

Online:

Eldadtarmu.com

Facebook.com/eldad.tarmu

Eldadtarmu.bandcamp.com