Trumpeter Avishai Cohen follows his impressionistic, critically-lauded ECM debut with "Cross My Palm With Silver", five pieces that put the focus on the ensemble, on teamwork, with a quartet of the highest calibre. The adroit, almost telepathic interplay among the musicians allows Cohen to soar; his "dream team" of pianist Yonathan Avishai, double bassist Barak Mori and drummer Nasheet Waits share his sense for daring improvisation and his feeling for structure.

"New Song" features a quintet which Omer Avital has led for many years, and which is a direct descendant of the ensemble with which Avital made a name for himself when he first arrived in New York. However, this current group is imbued with the cultural heritage that the bass player took time exploring in the mid-2000s, when he returned to his homeland to reconnect with his ancestral roots Yemenite on his mother's side and Moroccan on his father's. With Omer Avital, the integration of jazz with the musical traditions of the Arab world is more than just a convenient meeting.