Then, in 2009, he released Hometown, a record made with a traditional piano-bass-drums trio. Lean, neat and enjoyable, it left some fans wondering why Yahel hadn't made more music on acoustic piano. Luckily, he's playing an entire week at the Village Vanguard with this setup. WBGO and NPR Music will present the Sam Yahel Trio in a live radio broadcast and online video webcast from the Vanguard on Wednesday, April 14 at 9 p.m. ET.
Yahel admits that he's more comfortable behind the organ than the piano, but listening to Hometown, it's awfully difficult to hear it. He plays with a deceptively straightforward approach, spiced with complex harmonies, left-hand motion and energetic solo bursts. With him are Matt Penman and Jochen Rueckert, clean and nimble players who swing with deftness and variety.
Though Yahel grew up in Germany, he came to New York to study music, and never left for too long. It was there where he got hooked on playing the organ; not long after leaving school, he went on the road with Maceo Parker playing three- or four-hour concerts nightly. He's been a sideman of choice for plenty of jazz performers looking for a distinctive voice, as well as other folks looking for a sensitive accompanist. Perhaps his best-known gig was in Joshua Redman's electro-funk Elastic Band; the core three members of that group were also known collectively as YaYa3, and even on record, once, as the Sam Yahel Trio.
In all this, Yahel has made a handful of records under his own name, all on organ -- until last year. He's also made a number of appearances at the Village Vanguard, but never any under his own name, until now.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125692214&sc=nl&cc=jn-20100414
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