Solitude

by Scott Yanow On this set, tenor saxophonist Assif Tsahar is joined by a string quartet and a percussionist. Although the majority of the selections (all originals other than Duke Ellington's "Solitude") are taken at slower tempos, this is far from a soloist-with-strings ballad date. Tsahar displays his large tone and free-form style throughout while the strings sometimes play freely and on other occasions give the music a drone effect. None of the string players really stand out, so this set (which would have benefited from liner notes) is primarily of interest for Tsahar's passionate improvising.