{"id":10771,"date":"2025-06-25T07:46:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-25T12:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/?p=10771"},"modified":"2025-06-26T19:59:20","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T00:59:20","slug":"review-itai-kriss-daybreak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/review-itai-kriss-daybreak\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Itai Kriss\u2019 \u2018Daybreak\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>New York-based flutist Itai Kriss leads his quartet and special guests on <em>Daybreak<\/em> (JoJo, 2025), an album sequenced to follow the progression of a day. Kriss has musical roots in Israel, but those influences are subtle here. Instead, traditional jazz, gospel, Brazilian, and Afro-Cuban strains course through the music. Other than in Latin music, the flute is seldom a lead instrument, but Kriss is so emphatic on most tracks that his instrument has the impact of a saxophone. Kriss\u2019s quartet includes pianist Adam Birnbaum, bassist Luke Sellick, and the late Anthony Pinciotti on drums.&nbsp; Special guests are trumpeter Benny Benack III and guitarist Yotam Silberstein. The album is dedicated to Pinciotti, who passed shortly after this recording.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"lyte-wrapper fourthree\" style=\"width:420px;max-width:100%;margin:5px;\"><div class=\"lyMe\" id=\"WYL_S_fvPFM9SqQ\"><div id=\"lyte_S_fvPFM9SqQ\" data-src=\"\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/S_fvPFM9SqQ\/hqdefault.jpg\" class=\"pL\"><div class=\"tC\"><div class=\"tT\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"play\"><\/div><div class=\"ctrl\"><div class=\"Lctrl\"><\/div><div class=\"Rctrl\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><noscript><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/S_fvPFM9SqQ\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/S_fvPFM9SqQ\/0.jpg?resize=420%2C295&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"YouTube video thumbnail\" width=\"420\" height=\"295\" \/><br \/>Watch this video on YouTube<\/a><\/noscript><\/div><\/div><div class=\"lL\" style=\"max-width:100%;width:420px;margin:5px;\"><\/div><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The title track opens with a crisp, glistening piano. Kriss enters gently, reflecting the peaceful calm of dawn. As the other band members join, momentum builds gradually over Sellick\u2019s one bass note, reaching an apex around the five-minute mark. It\u2019s a gorgeous start that sets the tone for the album. \u201cDrivin\u2019,\u201d with its post-bop cadence, is meant to reflect the morning rush hour. Kriss takes the first soaring solo, but the piece becomes more aggressive via Benack III\u2019s trumpet. The flute conveys a joy not generally associated with rush hour. In any case, the band is cooking on this one. \u201cBeleza\u201d features the ensemble, with guest Silberstein, on a pulsating Brazilian samba. On it, the highly melodic tune symbolizes the point in the day when the sun breaks through the clouds. The individual contributions from piano, bass, and drums are especially vivid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cEast of the Sun\u201d is a more abstract mid-tempo piece as Kriss improvises energetically over a steady groove, yielding to Birnbaum for a declarative turn. \u201cO Jardim\u201d is a gentle samba duet between flute and bass, signifying a stroll through Rio de Janeiro\u2019s botanical gardens. The tone changes dramatically on \u201cUphill\u201d with the drums conveying a funeral dirge leading into melancholy tones from Kriss and Birnbaum. Perhaps this reflects the drudgery of manual labor on a hot afternoon (just guessing). Yet, Birnbaum\u2019s bright piano solo belies the tone of the rest of the piece, which is puzzling but welcome as it\u2019s a surprise.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"lyte-wrapper fourthree\" style=\"width:420px;max-width:100%;margin:5px;\"><div class=\"lyMe\" id=\"WYL_iFO9rWpVBq8\"><div id=\"lyte_iFO9rWpVBq8\" data-src=\"\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/iFO9rWpVBq8\/hqdefault.jpg\" class=\"pL\"><div class=\"tC\"><div class=\"tT\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"play\"><\/div><div class=\"ctrl\"><div class=\"Lctrl\"><\/div><div class=\"Rctrl\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><noscript><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/iFO9rWpVBq8\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/iFO9rWpVBq8\/0.jpg?resize=420%2C295&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"YouTube video thumbnail\" width=\"420\" height=\"295\" \/><br \/>Watch this video on YouTube<\/a><\/noscript><\/div><\/div><div class=\"lL\" style=\"max-width:100%;width:420px;margin:5px;\"><\/div><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The quartet returns to post-pop on the driving \u201cUpfront\u201d while the comforting, flowing \u201cDelicacy\u201d takes the opposite path. Standout \u201cNo Smoking\u201d has the ambiance of a strobe light-lit nightclub rendered in a tight, motoring tempo and reveals Kriss\u2019s bent for sizzling bop. \u201cSunday Lemonade\u201d is again the antidote, invoking gospel strains and morphing into a revival with the spirited exchange between Kriss and Benack III. Standout \u201cCoisinha\u201d meshes funky basslines with Afro-Cuban rhythms. Silberstein enters the fray, positively flying with Kriss, Birnbaum, and the bass-drum tandem, leaving room for the drums on the eighths. Closer, \u201cIn the Light,\u201d returns to gospel motifs through Birnbaum\u2019s rousing piano solo and the leader&#8217;s soulful, sacred lines. Again, Silberstein contributes, inserting chill-inducing bluesy licks. It\u2019s a beautiful, triumphant close to a uniquely well-crafted album that weaves through an array of emotions and musical styles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Don\u2019t be put off by the flute leading this quartet. The energy here could power a small city. <em>Daybreak<\/em> is a must-hear!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>\u2018Daybreak\u2019 will be released on June 27, 2025 on JoJo Records. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New York-based flutist Itai Kriss leads his quartet and special guests on Daybreak (JoJo, 2025), an album sequenced to follow the progression of a day. Kriss has musical roots in Israel, but those influences are subtle here. Instead, traditional jazz, gospel, Brazilian, and Afro-Cuban strains course through the music. Other than in Latin music, the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":10770,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"iawp_total_views":114,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/img_2706-1.jpg?fit=944%2C630&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/peRkRR-2NJ","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11401,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/itai-doshin-mike-clark-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":10771,"position":0},"title":"Review: Mike Clark\u2019s \u2018Itai Doshin\u2019","author":"Jim Hynes","date":"October 2, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The title of Mike Clark\u2019s latest record, Itai Doshin (Wide Hive, 2025) comes from the drummer\u2019s Buddhist beliefs, a worldview shared with his onetime bandleader, Herbie Hancock. The title translates into the saying of\u00a0 \u201cmany in body, one in mind.\u201d That\u2019s the equivalent in musical speak of \u2018in the pocket.\u201d\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Album Reviews&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Album Reviews","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/img_1861.jpg?fit=846%2C564&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/img_1861.jpg?fit=846%2C564&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/img_1861.jpg?fit=846%2C564&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/img_1861.jpg?fit=846%2C564&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4362,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/belladonna-amaryllis-halvorson-i\/","url_meta":{"origin":10771,"position":1},"title":"Poisonous Beauty:  A Conversation with Mary Halvorson (Part One)","author":"Rob Shepherd","date":"May 1, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Sir Jeffrey Tate, the first principal conductor of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, once noted that \"the most perfect expression of human behavior is a string quartet.\" Where a string quartet can sound serene in one moment, it may reflect panic or morosity in the next. As Tate\u2019s original\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Interviews&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Interviews","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/category\/interviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/belladonna.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/belladonna.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/belladonna.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/belladonna.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9869,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/dream-house-vandever\/","url_meta":{"origin":10771,"position":2},"title":"Dream House: A Conversation with Kalia Vandever","author":"Rob Shepherd","date":"December 7, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Western literature has long noted the disconnection between perception and reality. In 1175, French monk Alain de Lille \"Do not hold everything gold that shines like gold.\u201d Geoffrey Chaucer and William Shakespeare carried this thought through The Canterbury Tales (1387-1400) and The Merchant of Venice (1596-1598), respectively. Now, centuries later,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Interviews&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Interviews","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/category\/interviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/img_0448-1.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/img_0448-1.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/img_0448-1.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/img_0448-1.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11289,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/erdenebaatar-kugelmann-under-same-stars-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":10771,"position":3},"title":"Review: Shuteen Erdenebaatar and Nils Kugelmann\u2019s \u2018Under the Same Stars\u2019","author":"Jim Hynes","date":"September 16, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Under the Same Stars (Mot\u00e9ma, 2025) is the second installment of Mongolian-born and Germany-based pianist-composer Shuteen Erdenebaatar\u2019s planned trilogy drawing inspiration from the mythology of her Mongolian homeland surrounding the sun, moon, and stars. The first, Rising Sun (Motema, 2023), was an acclaimed quartet recording that evoked vitality, positivity, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Album Reviews&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Album Reviews","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/img_1518.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/img_1518.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/img_1518.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/img_1518.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11106,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/theon-cross-affirmations-blue-note\/","url_meta":{"origin":10771,"position":4},"title":"Bringing Back the Heartbeat: A Conversation with Theon Cross","author":"Rob Shepherd","date":"August 10, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"In 1835, German instrument makers Wilhelm Wieprecht and Johann Moritz patented the first tuba as a brass instrument that could carry the bassline for a marching band. By the end of the century, it could be found in orchestras through scores by Richard Wagner, Hector Berlioz, and others. Jazz was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Interviews&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Interviews","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/category\/interviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/img_0846.jpg?fit=1100%2C732&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/img_0846.jpg?fit=1100%2C732&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/img_0846.jpg?fit=1100%2C732&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/img_0846.jpg?fit=1100%2C732&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/img_0846.jpg?fit=1100%2C732&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10771","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10771"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10771\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10803,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10771\/revisions\/10803"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10770"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}