Paul Shapiro - Midnight Minyan (2003)

Throughout the '90s and into the new millennium, John Zorn's Tzadik record label has become known as a medium for jazz musicians aspiring to meld Jewish traditional music with modern jazz. Here, tenor saxophonist Paul Shapiro carries that torch rather superbly on this 2003 release, as the artist interweaves Middle Eastern modal formulations with disparate jazz-based frameworks. Shapiro garners strong support from his musical associates, including slide trumpeter Steven Bernstein and saxophonist Peter Apfelbaum, who collectively make for a powerful front-line horn section. The musicians' altogether rousing performances consist of soul-drenched choruses meshed with festive soloing escapades. Moreover, the ensemble makes it all sound so unaffected via a hodgepodge of toe-tapping romps, built upon the Jewish music vernacular. They swing while incorporating discrete elements of tango along with heated, modern jazz-based exchanges. The ensemble occasionally projects notions of being in a smoky after-hours jazz joint, or perhaps enjoying the sometimes vivacious undertakings of a Jewish wedding. No doubt, there's a lot of goodness going on as Shapiro pegs a bona fide winner here!