Unconditional Love Amit Friedman

• 1 Home At Last 08:10
• 2 Mal-Mal 04:49
• 3 Name Droppin' 07:22
• 4 Unconditional Love 06:42
• 5 Rill Rool 05:22
• 6 Blues for Jackito 05:19
• 7 Alma 02:55
• 8 Sunset 06:27
• 9 Stride by Stride 03:30
• 10 Junk 03:31
• Total Runtime 54:07

Info for Unconditional Love

Saxophonist and composer Amit Friedman is a guiding light in the Israeli jazz scene. His inspiringly lyrical compositions are arranged with his group of master musicians in mind and are rooted solidly in the jazz tradition, along with rich influences of the Middle East interwoven throughout. In the liner notes to Unconditional Love, Amit recounts the story of his late father taking him, as a young teen, to New York and a night at the Blue Note. Implied is a great sense of gratitude for all of those influencing his life, and with the album's dedication to his father, offers the inspiration behind this collection of performances. Between the fiery "Home At Last," the subtle Bossa, "Alma," with vocals and lyrics by Brazilian vocalist Joca Perpignan, "Rill-Rool," the sweeping duo with pianist Tom Oren, the hard-swinging "Blues for Jackito," or the one cover, the melodic "Junk" by Paul McCartney, Friedman displays a deep connection to 'the moment,' his audience, and those who inspire him.

"...Friedman's "Sunrise" is one of those rare albums that I want to blast from the rooftops, convinced that if the whole damn world could just hear it, the planet would be a much happier place." (Dave Sumner, Bird is the Worm)

"Once upon a time, jazz, an American creation, was confined for the most part within its borders. But that was once upon a time. Today, any barriers that once kept jazz within a prescribed realm have long since vanished, and the music Americans once embraced as their own has flourished around the world, performed with increasing awareness and dexter ..." (All About Jazz, Jack Bowers)

"All the songs on this album show great erudition and musical awareness on the part of both the leader and the accompanying musicians, and their improvisation is a testament to great imagination and technical ability." (jazz-fun.de)

Amit Friedman, tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone
Tom Oren, piano
Gilad Abro, bass
Yonatan Rosen, drums
Amos Hoffman, oud (tracks 8, 9)
Rony Iwryn, percussion (tracks 7, 8, 9)
Doron Talmon, vocals (track 9)
Joca Perpignan, vocals (track 7)

Amit Friedman
Saxophonist and composer Amit Friedman is among the leading musicians in the Israeli jazz scene. His music is rooted in the jazz tradition and incorporates elements of world music and especially Middle Eastern music. The catchy compositions, which blend sophistication and simplicity, communicate with a wide range of audiences. Often, following a performance, one hears the comment, "I don't like jazz and this music really touched me".

In 2012 Friedman released his debut album "Sunrise" on the American record label Origin Records. The album is comprised wholly of original material performed by a jazz sextet of top musicians as well as string quartet. The album received ample airtime and enthusiastic reviews in Israel and the US and ranked at the top of jazz album lists in leading US magazines. "Sunrise" was the top selling jazz album in 2012 in Israel and its title track entered the list of "most played songs" in the popular 88FM radio station. Friedman's 2017 release, "Long Way To Go" continued in the musical vein of "Sunrise". His sextet joined by three guest singers for original and fresh collaborations - Claudia Acuna (Chile-USA), Ravid Kahalani (Yemen Blues) and Tamar Eisenman (New York).

Friedman performs and records regularly with first rate musicians from Israel and abroad. He has also collaborated with Israel's leading pop musicians and spent three years playing and musical directing the band in the successful late night TV show, "Tonight with Lior Shlein".​ Alongside his work as an instrumentalist, composer and arranger, Friedman is highly active as an educator, working to advance jazz among young people.

This album contains no booklet.