Naftulik from The Audience by Eyal Talmudi & Rejoicer

First single and album opener “Naftulik” was inspired by the giants: Duke Ellington and John Coltrane. Talmudi says that the song, with his mysterious, playful tenor sax melody and Rejoicer’s repeating piano cadence, is their experimental take on the jazz standard “In a Sentimental Mood.” “It’s a wide-open melody, with space between these notes,” he says. “On one hand, it’s not so easy to follow the melody. But on another, it’s all very simple.” That’s the trick that Talmudi and Rejoicer pull off again and again: their music floats along like a cloud, softly and gently. But inside that calmness are complex, interlocking rhythms and masterful playing. And we get to sit in the audience and hear the magic unfold.