Blue Nights Itamar Borochov

FIELD NOTES

It was June 2022. I was in New York for networking and found myself with an evening to spare. It was an ordinary Thursday night, so I decided to explore Greenwich Village and catch some live jazz. I ended up at Smalls, a modest basement club—a true "hole in the wall." Smalls is unpretentious, with wooden benches, classic cocktails, and bowls of mixed nuts. It's the kind of place where people come purely for the music.

I didn’t know who was performing that night, but when Itamar took the stage and played the opening notes of "Right Now," I was instantly hooked. That melody has stayed with me ever since. It was the most electrifying jazz set I’ve ever experienced. His use of maqam Middle Eastern scales, effortlessly woven into classic bebop and crescendos reminiscent of rock, was nothing short of magical.