Truth And Beauty

Very Impressive...
John Corbett / Downbeat

*One of the New York Times Best Albums of 2007*

*Newsday Top 10 Jazz Albums of 2007*

Besides showcasing organist Sam Yahel's talents as a composer, Truth and Beauty highlights the easy rapport Sam, saxophonist Joshua Redman and drummer Brian Blade have developed over the last six years. Compositions by Paul Simon, Ornette Coleman and Gilberto Gil round out the project beautifully, helping to expand the frontiers of the classic organ trio. Yahel has played and/or recorded with Benny Golson, Maceo Parker, Lou Donaldson, Bill Frisell, Norah Jones, Madeleine Peyroux, Joe Lovano and many others. He performed and was a producer on Joshua Redman's Grammy nominated recording Momentum. He has three recordings out as a leader and recently won Downbeat's poll of "Rising Star" on the organ for the third straight year.

Production Info:

produced by Sam Yahel and Whitney Ashe
recorded at LoHo Studios, New York City, September 2005
engineered and mixed by Paul Boothe
mastered by Michael MacDonald at AlgoRhythms, NYC
photography by Augusta Quirk
design and layout by John Bishop
liner notes by Brad Meldau

Reviews of Truth And Beauty

All About Jazz (John Kelman)
Much as organist Larry Goldings, guitarist Peter Bernstein and drummer Bill Stewart have worked together for many years--specific direction resting with the name heading the marquis--so, too, have keyboardist Sam Yahel, saxophonist Joshua Redman and drummer Brian Blade been working together under a variety of monikers over the past five years. Whet ...

East Bay Express (Rachel Swan)

Time Out New York (K. Leander Williams)

All Music Guide (Scott Yanow)
As pianist Brad Mehldau mentions in his lengthy and well thought-out liner notes, organist Sam Yahel, tenor-saxophonist Joshua Redman and drummer Brian Blade each have the ability to sound like themselves no matter what the setting or the dominant style. Yahel is one of the most original organists of his generation for even when his tone recalls Ji ...

The Buffalo News (Jeff Simon)
What you've got here are some smart things Generations X jazz musicians have been doing in record studios lately - some of the cream of Generation X in the Sam Yahel Trio's "Truth and Beauty". The liner notes on "Truth and Beauty" (thank you, John Keats) are by generational valedictorian and pianist Brad Mehldau, who tells us he and Yahel were ...

Dablog by DaSLOB (Pico)
Joey deFrancesco. Tony Monaco. Larry Goldings. Barbara Dennerlein. All at the forefront of the current generation of jazz organists and heirs to the mantle of Jimmy Smith, Charles Earland and Jack McDuff. Oh yeah, there's one more notable: Sam Yahel. But with the release this week of his fourth effort Truth And Beauty, Yahel is making the case t ...

Chicago Reader (Peter Margasak)
On his fourth and best album, Truth and Beauty (Origin), organist Sam Yahel continues to operate outside the heavy blues and gospel style associated with Hammond B-3 maestros like Jimmy McGriff, Jack McDuff, and Baby Face Willette. He's more like Larry Young, eschewing greasy, crowd-pleasing chord swells for dynamic, pianistic single-note lines. Fo ...

100 Greatest Jazz Albums (100 Greatest Albums)
In what is going to be a more active year than recently for Joshua Redman, the gifted tenor sax player appears in a second new trio jazz release (following his own "Back East") in as many weeks. Now the format is sax, Hammond B3 (Sam Yahel) and drums (the wonderful Brian Blade) but the basic tenet is the same; less is more - more jazz from a paired ...

www.blogcritics.org (Pico)
Joey deFrancesco. Tony Monaco. Larry Goldings. Barbara Dennerlein. All at the forefront of the current generation of jazz organists and heirs to the mantle of Jimmy Smith, Charles Earland and Jack McDuff. Oh yeah, there's one more notable: Sam Yahel. But with the release this week of his fourth effort Truth And Beauty, Yahel is making the case t ...

The Village Voice (Francis Davis)
As organ combos go, Sam Yahel's Truth and Beauty is unusual, first of all for including an Ornette Coleman tune: "Check Up," a rubato ballad wherein Brian Blade's drums carry the melody. The other departure from convention is no tenor honking?together with the minor-key mysterioso of Yahel's compositions and his light foot on the bass pedal, the sw ...

Downbeat, September 2007 (Chris Robinson)
Truth And Beauty, Sam Yahel's fourth offering as a leader, finds the organist joined by Joshua Redman and Brian Blade, two of his closest collaborators. The trio is incredibly tight, which comes as no surprise given their time spent playing together in the Yaya3 collective. Redman plays superbly throughout; in Rollins-esque fashion, he builds sever ...

myLot.com Blogcritics (Pico)
Whether it's for gigging with Joshua Redman, opening for Steely Dan, sessioning with Norah Jones or forging a new approach to the jazz organ, Sam Yahel deserves your notice. Find out what sets Yahel apart from other Hammond B-3 players and get his insights on why his just-released CD Truth And Beauty isn't just for jazz listeners. Tell me about ...

JazzTimes, September 2007 (Steve Greenlee)
The trinity of organist Sam Yahel, saxophonist Joshua Redman and drummer Brian Blade has become an interesting association. The mission of the group shifts depending on who sits in the director's chair. And indeed that leadership role shifts. The group began as a cooperatively run unit known as Yaya3, but now it has at least two other incarnations. ...

Allmusic Guide Interview (Matt Collar)
From Jimmy Smith to Dr. Lonnie Smith, Larry Young and beyond the Hammond B-3 organ has a long and funky tradition in jazz. Taking this tradition to the next level is NYC-based keyboardist Sam Yahel. From his stellar work with such varied artists as singer-songwriter Norah Jones, trumpeter Ryan Kisor, vocalist Madeleine Peyroux and others Yahel is b ...

Audiophile Auditiion (Birney K. Brown)
Organ trios have never been my thing. I think my entire jazz collection includes only one by Jimmy Smith and a Larry Young disc. But many people love this stuff. I strongly suggest that enthusiasts of this genre quickly check out this release. The three band members have substantial experience playing with each other and it really shows. Both te ...

Cadence, Oct-Dec, 2007 (Larry Hollis)
If one were to go back and listen to Sam Yahel's debut disc "Searchin'" on the Naxos label, after giving a quick listen to "Truth and Beauty", it might seem like one was hearing two completely different oragnists. That effort sported the horns of Eric Alexander and Ryan Kisor on four of the nine numbers while his following recordings have all been ...

Amazon.com (Bill Wood)
This is wonderful, confident music, full of thought and surprise and understated humor, a modern music that has the self-assuredness not to announce itself as such. These three musicians are possibly the very best we have on their respective instruments, but there is no question but that Yahel's is the sensibility in charge. His writing is cliche-f ...

Jazz Review (Michael Ferguson)
Those left a little let down when Sam Yahel's organ wasn't anywhere on Joshua Redman's 2007 Back East, Truth and Beauty is your redemption. Fans should appreciate Redman, Yahel and Brian Blade recording as the Sam Yahel Trio name. Saying that Yahel's got a command over the Hammond B3 isn't an understatement, it's taking the easy way out of tryin ...

The Pheonix (Adam Gold)
Sam Yahel's expressive approach to the Hammond B3 organ has made him one of the most sought-after sidemen in jazz. He's appeared on Norah Jones's Come Away with Me and Madeleine Peyroux's Half the Perfect World, toured with guitarist Bill Frisell, and supported tenor-saxophonist Joshua Redman in the backbeat-jazz-pioneering Elastic band. Truth and ...

New York Times (Ben Ratliff)

Davis Enterprise, March 6, 2008 (Ric Bang)
This trio utilizes a Hammond B3 organ (Sam Yahel), a tenor sax (Joshua Redman) and drums (Brian Blade). All are superior musicians. Six of the nine tracks were written and arranged by Sam; the rest include a bop standard by Ornette Coleman, a tune by Paul Simon and another by Gilberto Gil/Joao Donato. The tunes range from simple to complex, a ...

New York Times (Nate Chinen)
Painting Sounds Using a Palette of Shadowy Colors From Pop and Postbop The Hammond B-3 organist Sam Yahel began his second set at the Jazz Standard on Tuesday night with a row of intervals arranged to avoid any hint of resolution. This dash of atonality was fleeting - after a minute or two he plunged into a tune along with guitar and drums - but ...

Something Else Jazz Blog (Pico)
Joey deFrancesco. Tony Monaco. Larry Goldings. Barbara Dennerlein. All at the forefront of the current generation of jazz organists and heirs to the mantle of Jimmy Smith, Charles Earland and Jack McDuff. Oh yeah, there's one more notable: Sam Yahel. But with the release this week of his fourth effort Truth And Beauty, Yahel is making the case ...