Guitarist Roni Ben-Hur has a gorgeous touch. He's a chord guy who looks for just the right voicing to deliver a warm, full feel. He emigrated to the U.S. in 1985 from Israel and has been performing and recording ever since. On his new album, Love Letters (Mighty Quinn), Roni is joined by Ingrid Jensen on trumpet, Ugonna Okegwo on bass and Jason Tiemann on drums. [Photo above of Roni Ben-Hur by Nick Carter]
Ingrid is an exceptional trumpeter who grew up in Nanaimo, a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. She studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston and has played with the DIVA Big Band. Ugonna emigrated from Nigeria to Germany in 1988 before moving to New York in 1989. His bass is strong and solid. And Jason is from New York. He's wonderful on sticks or brushes.
The tracks are To Dizzy with Love (Barry Harris), Seule à Paris (Roni Ben-Hur), Fair Weather (Benny Golson), Lonely Town (Leonard Bernstein), Alegria de Viver (Luiz Eça), The House that Yosef Built (Roni Ben-Hur), Faint Memories (Roni Ben-Hur), Waiting for JH (Chris Anderson and Roni Ben-Hur) and Love Letters (Victor Young).
Ingrid's moody trumpet is so prominent that this is really a duo album with bass and drums. Among the highlights are Benny's lyrical Fair Weather, Eça's bossa Alegria de Viver and Roni's Faint Memories and Waiting for JH. What I love most about Roni's playing is his appreciation of space and the rich sound of his guitar chords. You can hear his heart. [Photo above, from left, Jason Tiemann, Ingrid Jensen, Roni Ben-Hur and Ugonna Okegwo, by Nick Carter]
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Roni Ben-Hur's Love Letters (Mighty Quinn) at Amazon here and Bandcamp here.
JazzWax clips: Here's the quartet recording Alegria de Viver...
And here's Waiting for JH...
