Led by vocalist Tali Atzmon, the group Talinka creates a new distinctive sound that explores the diverse musical journeys of four British musicians, each already distinguished in their fields. Tali Atzmon was a renowned actress and singer in Israel; Jenny Bliss is a baroque virtuoso artist who plays viola da gamba, baroque violin, flute and sings on the album; Yaron Stavi is one of the leading double bass players in Europe and Gilad Atzmon is an internationally acclaimed jazz saxophonist, performing here on bass clarinet, soprano saxophone and accordion.
Talinka transcends boundaries creating a natural continuum between folk, jazz, tango and early music. The unusual choice of instruments and combination of personalities create an amalgam of past and present, East and West. The album features seven original compositions, including Tali Atzmon’s soulful songs Losing Vision, When You’re Gone and Every Now and Then. “I wrote the song Losing Vision in response to the Syrian refugee crisis, she says, “the bass clarinet together with the viola da gamba create a primordial auditory realm that evokes a deep sense of Sisyphean existential struggle yet a cry for a change.” The album also features unique interpretations of the classic songs from The Great American Songbook Don’t Explain and You Don’t Know What Love Is.
“For us, the love of music extends beyond style and genre. We believe in songs and beauty being vital forces of nature. We adhere to simplicity, harmony and warmth. The outcome is a natural breathing, deep and spacious sonic adventure,” says Tali Atzmon.
Line up:
Tali Atzmon – vocals
Jenny Bliss Bennett – viola de gamba, violin, flute, vocal
Gilad Atzmon – bass clarinet, soprano sax, accordeon
Yaron Stavi – double bass;
with
Frank Harrison – piano
Enzo Zirilli – percussion
Talinka’s debut album is out on Moonjune Records, and can be ordered HERE
“Talinka – such an evocative name – wittily appropriate for this intimate set so sensitively arranged around Tali’s straight from the heart, true and soulful voice. Since hearing Ms. Atzmon’s discrete contributions to records by Gilad Atzmon and friends I’ve long wished she would make a record revealing her own deeply personal approach to music, and here, at last, is that record.” – Robert Wyatt
Led by Israeli actress and singer Tali Atzmon, this lifting blend of folk, early music, jazz, tango and free improvisation, weaves a considerable spell … a subtle sense of exotic otherworldliness. (4 stars) – Chris Ingham, Mojo Magazine, UK
An impressive leadership début from Tali Atzmon. The album touches many bases with its wide ranging and evocative arrangements while her lyrics are perceptive and intelligent and enhance the music. (4 stars) – Ian Mann, The Jazz Mann, UK
Talinka brings together an unusual set of instruments (viola de gamba, bass clarinet, double bass) behind Tali Atzmon’s exotic art song vocals. The original songs are dreamy and often undefinable, infused with elements of jazz, echoes of klezmer and abstractions of tango. Talinka also borrows a few pages from the Great American Songbook in torchy, after-hours renditions of “Don’t Explain” and “You Don’t Know What Love Is.” The album’s closing selection, the mordantly romantic “Every Now and Then,” is a dead-ringer for latter-day Leonard Cohen. – Dave Luhrssen, Shepherd Express, USA
Tali Atzmon’s voice features unerring sensitivity to pitch and highly expressive but never overelaborated lyrical delivery. Her approach to lyrics—a combination of her own material and standards—had a directness and sensitivity that favoured simplicity and nuance over the familiar range of vocal techniques which have become a staple of jazz singing over many years. Her choice of material tended toward the elegiac, which perfectly matched the strikingly unusual combination of instruments supporting her—not least the combination of bass clarinet (or accordion) and viola da gamba. – Wakefield Jazz, UK