The Monk 2008 (SAM Productions 9015), UK

*****Jazz CD of the week at the Evening Standard*****

Asaf Sirkis new trio featuring:
Asaf Sirkis - Drums/Compositions
Tassos piliotopoulos - Guitar
Yaron Stavi - Electic Bass
Plus special guests:
Gary Husband - Keyboards & Piano
Adriano Adewale - Percussion

"For me, music begins where ideas finish."
Asaf Sirkis

MOJO album review, November 2008

Asaf Sirkis Trio
**** (4 stars)
Review by Chris Ingham

Israeli drummer leads prog-jazz power trio.
Known largely for his work with Gilad Atzmon’s Orient House Ensemble, Sirkis has also led some superb albums in the last decade. The obvious reference point is the muscular drummer led fusion of Tony Williams’ late ‘60s/early ‘70s trio Lifetime, and like Williams, Sirkis is not only an inventive drummer but also a composer of rigour, wit and surprising delicacy. The extrovert opener Stoned Bird and the haunting title track set the tone. Sirkis’s neat firepower is showcased amid plangent guitar arpeggios from Tassos Spiliotopoulos, lyrical bass work from Yaron Stavi and berserk keyboard cameos from guest Gary Husband. These capable creative players produce a lot of music here, but there’s air and expressive space too, especially in the quietly exploratory Without A Story and the ruminative End of the Circle in which Sirkis sketches fascinatingly elaborate and subtle percussive commentary.

The Song Within (SAM Productions 9004) 2007, UK
Asaf Sirkis & The Inner Noise

Featuring:
Asaf Sirkis: Drums/Compositions
Steve Lodder, Keyboards
Mike Outram, Guitars

All About Jazz Review (by John Kelman, editor)
If Oliver Messiaen had written music with a pulse, it might have sounded something like Asaf Sirkis & The Inner Noise. The Israeli-born, UK-based drummer has been honing a personal vision with this trio for over five years, and The Song Within is the group's best disc yet.
Sirkis has retained a consistent line-up—church organist/keyboardist Steve Lodder and guitarist Mike Outram—from inception (a rare feat in itself), and this third release further solidifies its already distinctive approach. This continuation and evolution of the music on We Are Falling (Konnex, 2005) makes for a collection that, taken individually, is compelling enough, but is even more evocative when absorbed in its fifty-minute entirety.

The reference points remain broad. In addition to the Messiaen connection, there are distant roots in Tony Williams' Lifetime, although The Inner Noise balances raw power with greater finesse. There are references to ECM albums including guitarist Terje Rypdal's Descendre (ECM, 1980) and parts of saxophonist Jan Garbarek's Places (ECM, 1978). But Lodder's return to church organ as his primary instrument, coupled with Sirkis' turbulent drumming and Outram's flexible guitar work, creates a sound that's far removed from the conventional jazz organ trio tradition.

Sirkis writes uniquely varied structural foundations. The soft “Miniature,” propelled by Sirkis' gentle brushwork and a simple two-chord vamp, gives Lodder and Outram the opportunity to trade-off in a more elegant context. The fiery “Nothingness First Part I, Nothingness” is in sharp contrast, Outram's overdriven tone and sense of reckless abandon approaching Allan Holdsworth's harmonic sophistication, but with more edge. Sirkis uninhibited playing provides firm but elastic support, creating a dense underpinning alongside Lodder's dense chordal support.

“When You Ask Why” begins on a more tranquil note, with Sirkis' harmonic references to Ralph Towner all the more evident in Outram's acoustic 12-string guitar intro with Lodder. But when Sirkis enters and Outram switches to overdriven electric, again supported by Lodder's church organ, this episodic piece turns more aggressive. Outram—who, along with John Parricelli, is one of Britain's most versatile guitarists—excels here and throughout the entire album. Lodder is an equally imaginative soloist who exploits the rich sound of the church organ to its fullest, playing with some reverence to the instrument's tradition but also demonstrating a rarely heard dexterity and exuberance.

An ever-inventive drummer, The Song Within remains as much about Sirkis the writer as it is Sirkis the player. “Nothingness First Part II, Love” is a beautiful solo composition for Lodder, as is the more dramatic “Theme for Gary,” (written for drummer/keyboardist Gary Husband) and “Sweet Song,” which ends the album on a near-spiritual note.

It's a challenge to distinguish oneself these days, but Asaf Sirkis & The Inner Noise is creating its own niche; an organ-guitar-drums trio like no other. The Song Within continues the precedent set on Inner Noise (Konnex, 2002) with Sirkis' best writing yet for a trio that has its own voice and continues to grow with each successive release.

Visit Asaf Sirkis & The Inner Noise on the web.
Asaf Sirkis & The Inner Noise at All About Jazz.

Track listing: The Song Within; Nothingness First Part I, Nothingness; When You Ask Why; Nothingness First Part II, Love; Miniature; Hymn; Theme for Gary; The Shadow; Sweet Song.

Personnel: Steve Lodder: church organ, key boards; Mike Outram: electric and acoustic guitars; Asaf Sirkis: drums.

Style: Fusion/Progressive Rock | Published: November 14, 2007

Featuring:
Steve Lodder, Keyboards
Mike Outram, Guitars
Asaf Sirkis, Drums, Keyboards, Compositions

''All in all another fine album from Asaf Sirkis that places him firmly amongst the UK's hottest properties not just just as one of the musical drummers, but also a composer and bandleader of some. It is therefore with eager anticipation, that I look forward to continue following the career of this most enterprising and imaginative of musicians''.
Nick Lea, Jazz Views web-site, July 2005

Inner Noise - KONNEX KCD 5113 - 2003, UK
Asaf Sirkis & the Inner Noise

Featuring:
Steve Lodder, Keyboards
Mike Outram, Guitars
Asaf Sirkis, Drums/Compositions

''... audiences have been accustomed to bands experimenting with new sounds and pushing back the boundaries of contemporary music, but this trio has certainly come up with something different....''
James Griffiths, The Guardian, Feb 2004

''... Asaf Sirkis & The Inner Noise boldly go where fusion only hesitantly put out the odd foot before, and where prog rock could at best dream of going had it dared to. The music is vibrant, vital, exciting and fresh and even manages to surprise. One of these surprises is its wonderful accessibility and immediacy. "Inner Noise" has to be essential in any modern jazz and modern classical collection at the very least. Grab the original issue while you can as it's almost guaranteed to become a prized collectible''.
© 2004 Renaissance Man/Rainlore. All rights reserved

One Step Closer - released indipendently - 1997, Israel
Asaf Sirkis Trio

Buy this album

featuring:
Kobi Arad, Keyboards
Asaf Sirkis, Drums
Gabi Mayer, Electric Bass

About Kobi Arad:

Kobi Arad Kobi Arad is one of the most Prominent, Prolific and Versatile pianist-composers-producers emerging from Israel. Having made collaborations with Stevie Wonder (who shows interest in using one of Kobi's songs for his daughter Aisha's upcoming album) and other Greats - Kobi's Soulful style spans and brings together Classical Modern, Jazz and Neo-Soul. Kobi Lives, Composes and Performs in NYC.

He is the first musician to receive a Doctorate in the field of Contemporary Improvisation / Third Stream. Arad plays jazz, pop, world, and classical music, has performed at the Tel Aviv Museum and for the Knesset and appeared on the Televised series "The Music of Ravel"; his compositions have been performed on Israeli National Radio and at the Jerusalem Performing Arts Center. He currently arranges and transcribes music for the Warner Brothers and Hal Leonard publication companies.

In Israel, Arad played keyboards for the Lehakat HaNakhal (the Nakhal Band), and for two years, was arranger, transcriber and Musical Director for all Israeli Army bands, with his arrangements performed at statewide army bases, universities, and concert halls. In 1996 his commissioned re-orchestration of Hindemith's Opera "Wir Bauen Ein Stadt" was performed by the Israeli Chamber Orchestra at the Tel Aviv Museum. Arad, a student of Hassidism; his orchestral song 'Nogea Lo Nogea,' (Touching Yet not Touching'), reflects Hassidic-Kabbalistic esoteric concept, found in Chassidic teachings.

Some of his recent albums include, 'Innovations,' 'Neun Kleine Stucke Fur Elektronische Orchester' and 'Ancient Novice' - they all exemplify diversity of style, deep musical integrity as well as notable musicianship. His Kobi Arad Band's NYC appearances include the Blue Note, NYC, Cutting Room NYC, Tonic Jazz Club, Sugar Bar, 169 Bar and Guenevere Rodriguez gallery. Its been active in the NY scene since 2007.

Blue Note NYC Official Bulletine: (Nov, 2009)
“Kobi Arad is one of the most Prominent, Prolific and Versatile pianist-composers-producers emerging from Israel. Having made collaborations with Stevie Wonder (who shows interest in using one of Kobi's songs for his daughter Aisha's upcoming album) and other greats - Kobi's Soulful style spans and brings together Classical Modern, Jazz and Neo-Soul. Kobi lives, composes and performs in New York City”

Jazz Times, Efrat Livni, 2010:
“The title of this CD fits its contents: its innovative! The acid-jazzy groves which intertwine with old school Hancock-like riffs and piano phrases creates a true auditory experience, from a true master-musician, Kobi Arad. Joining Arad in this album are Tucker Yaro, Bass, and Ray Mcnaught, Drums.”

Music Emissions magazine, Noriko Omiya: Jan, 2010:
'Innovations' by the Kobi Arad Band is a masterpiece. Featuring Kobi Arad on piano, Tucker Yaro, bass and Ray Mcnaught on drums. Given its a trio setting, these band members managed to stretch the boundaries which usualy associate with a trio, and achieve a large and rich soundscape. The harmonic language of this CD is very rich, and the rhythmical diversity and happening grooves provide with an appropriate counterbalance. This group, active in NYC for quite a few years (I've been following them since '07) has changed forms (Kobi Arad the band leader took Cindy Blackman for some of the shows); I personally witnessed their Blue Note Show this Nov. in which Kobi took the liberty to go beyond the album's scope and go to even freer spatial landscapes (you could see their live Vids in http://bit.ly/6g4nhm. )”

Awards
Stickney Award for Third Stream Excellence, 2005 NEC Doctorate Scholarship, 2007