Amir Bresler is a drummer from Tel Aviv Yafo, Israel, who has been playing as a session musician for years, best known stateside for his work with Rejoicer, Omar Klein Trio, Steve Arrington, and for being part of the group Apifera. In November 2020, while under lockdown, Bresler had an itch to create, so he took a friend up on an invitation to a small village outside of Tel Aviv where he was able to set up shop in an auditorium known as “The House of Arches.” He then invited a series of musicians to join him in the auditorium, where they would come up for the day, jam on one of Bresler’s compositions in the morning until they got it tight, and then record the track live in the afternoon. The result is Bresler’s first solo album, House of Arches.

For this project, Bresler enlisted the help of keyboardist/producer Rejoicer, Yemen Blues frontman Ravid Kahalani, bassist Gilad Abro, pianist Nomok and trumpeter Sefi Zisling. If you are familiar with Bresler’s work with Apifera, you can see where his contributions come in not just as a drummer, but as a composer as well. Over the course of six songs, Bresler is giving you some really thoughtful compositions. These aren’t just loose, noodling jam sessions, these are songs with structure and purpose and a point of view. The album is rooted in jazz, but Bresler is bringing in elements of blues, funk, hip hop, psychedelic rock, prog, Afrobeat, and traditional Israeli music as well. Bresler is an excellent drummer who is able to play with a lot of emotion, and his arrangements are just as thoughtful and passionate as his playing. Each musician gets their chance to shine as instrumentalists and vocalists, but every contribution is done is service of the bigger picture of Bresler’s songs. There are some great grooves, as to be expected from a drummer led album, but it is the complex and exciting songwriting on the album that really take this project up a notch. It’s the type of album that you can press play on and just let go as a listener and trust Bresler to navigate you through this musical world.

Amir Bresler has largely been a behind the scenes type of guy up to this point in his career, but with House of Arches, he shows that he can step and lead the way. We’ve known he’s an excellent drummer, but now we know that he’s just as capable of as a bandleader, songwriter, and arranger.