Songs from a Dream

“Strange Ground”

(Self Release)

Who knows how far Adar Broshi’s gifts would have taken him? The gifted composer and pianist died of cancer last year at age 19, leaving behind some 400 recordings of his original music as well as versions of songs that he liked. Determined to share his talents with a wider audience, his father, Oded Broshi, and former piano teacher, Avi Adrian, self-released Songs From a Dream, an album of Adar’s music as played by Adrian’s trio. Song notes provide a moving portrait of a young artist who fought the good fight, continuing to pen music even as he battled his disease, embracing life and love and the jazz and ethnic influences that drove his work. Broshi conceived of his song “Strange Ground,” included here, as an orchestral piece, and he’d even recorded it as such with samples. Adrian wrote another section to the piece, which he plays here with his trio mates, bassist Gilad Abro and drummer Israel Nahum. The song carries a melancholy air, although ultimately, it seems more triumphant than defeated, at once communicating the sadness of a life ended too soon and a celebration of the artistic spirit that lives on.