Marking our first encounter with Shani Shavit, ‘The Full Picture’ does exactly what its title say, revealing the full picture of Shavit’s expansive and nuanced artistry. Built on a deeply eclectic perspective, the record enjoys weaving in and out of jazz, fusion, latin, and funk, although eventually one must resign to considering ‘The Full Picture’ as a cohesive, peculiar entity. Such a stunning album comes from Shani’s expert musicianship, here showcasing all of her class and elegance as a bassist, composer, songwriter and singer.
A fixture of the Israeli music scene, Shavit has performed on a myriad of stages as a bassist, more recently as part of the all-star female band Halvriot. The same diversity and longstanding expertise are then found in ‘The Full Pictures’, which enjoys a wide array of moods and guests, as well as a multi-language flair. The likes of bass player Jango, pianist Adi Renert, and vocalist Tula Ben-Ari all contribute to making the album the large creative cauldron it is, inviting a listening experience that’s always soothing and charismatic, luscious and evocative.
Delving deeper into the life-long ethos that propels the album, Shavit explains: “The songs in this album were written to the drawer over 20 years. When I started recording that was a new stage in the songs’ evolution and a new day for me as a creator and there came in all my experience as a bassist in the music world, my personal taste which is very wide, and influences from all my years here on earth, which are also very wide and vast.” It’s quite curious how songs can gather meaning and purpose throughout the years. Art is truly a malleable, ever-evolving practice.
Recommended! Discover ‘The Full Picture’ now: