GADI CAPLAN: Play It Again (JAZZ): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

In four albums released between 2010 and 2016, Gadi Caplan delighted us with his prog-infused jazz-rock formula. The Israeli guitarist, American by adoption, then disappeared from the radar. What a surprise to see him return in 2025 to finally offer a successor to “Morning Sun” with a new opus with a title in the form of a profession of faith: “Play It Again”.

The cover reveals an aerial view of the winding course of a river and one of its tributaries, a way of indicating that the journey will not be an easy one, and that several musical influences will merge. The album opens with ‘Get Out The Door’, on which the guitar twirls in salute to Carlos Santana, the drums impose an almost martial rhythm, the vocals become complicit and the spirit is unmistakably South American. Sophistically prog but immediately accessible, this track proves that Gadi Caplan has not been idle all these years.

With the exception of trumpeter Jesse Gottlieb and singer Danny Abowd (call him Danny James from now on!), Gadi Caplan has assembled a whole new band. The contribution of violin, cello, trumpet and saxophone adds a richness of sound to his compositions, and each of the protagonists not only accompanies the guitarist's dexterous playing, but also takes center stage (the saxophone's solo escape on ‘Infinite Love’ is a case in point). The music is sometimes jazzy, sometimes funk, but also rock, folk, prog... Gadi Caplan has succeeded in recovering all the sonic cards and redistributing them with as much parsimony as sensitivity. Nevertheless, the spirit appears a little less adventurous than in the past, and certain sonic directions would have deserved more detailed exploration.

Originally instrumental, Gadi Caplan's project has gradually integrated a voice. Danny James' voice comes as close as possible, as if to confide secrets and share melancholy moods. The enchanting melodies of ‘White’, the sorrow-filled ‘The Devil's Waltz’, the intimate closeness of ‘Play It Again’, which ends up drowned in guitar feedback, are all designed to enchant (even if the final track, ‘Photographs’, is somewhat monotonous). Nevertheless, an instrumental spirit still dominates the album (‘On The Way’, ‘Under The Sun’, ‘Passage’, ‘Memory’, which will delight guitar fans). And it's especially on ‘Evoke’, which takes us on an exotic journey to the heart of a tempestuous Middle Eastern desert, that Gadi Caplan reveals all his progressive sensibility, playing on the same level as Andy Latimer (Camel).

A winning return to the limelight for Gadi Caplan. With “Play It Again”, the Israeli musician takes us on a journey that is at times hectic, at other times more tranquil, in which a wide range of influences are blended to great effect, thanks to the contribution of a panoply of instruments and a remarkable guitar. Let's hope that Gadi Caplan and his accomplices find their way back to the studio very soon, and don't wait another nine years before offering us another glimpse of their talents. - Official website

GADI CAPLAN

PLAY IT AGAIN

AUTRE LABEL

JAZZ