Reut Regev This is R*time

Women in jazz: it used to be a topic, because there weren't any, except for vocalists. But now we have dozens of excellent female jazz muzisicans: Matana Roberts, Ingrid Laubrock, Tineke Postma, Lotte Anker, Mary Halvorson, Sylvie Courvoisier, Regina Carter, Marilyn Crispell, Esperanza Spalding, Teri Lynn Carrington, Cindy Blackman (by the way: is she really Carlos Santana's girlfriend?)... They play saxophone, guitar, piano, violin, bass or drums and most of them are definitely part of the avant-garde jazzscene. But a female trombone player?
Yes, way back when there was Melba Liston, who did some nice work (also as arranger) for Randy Weston until she died in '99. But on the present jazz scene?
Well, be prepared for a nice suprise, because here comes Reut Regev! Don't be misled by the cover of her debut cd, that looks like a Christmas album (I've noticed that on amazon.com the cover is slighty different...), because this is going to blow your mind. Regev is Israelian but has been living in New York for more than a decade now. That the likes Anthony Braxton, Butch Morris and Dave Douglas have employed her for tours or recordings, gives you an idea of what to expect.
But don't be afraid: this music is not the kind of hardboiled avant-garde some of these guys are famous for. This is R*time is very listenable indeed, with the music (all originals, some cowritten with drummer (and husband) Igal Foni) shifting between jazz, heavy rock (due to the excellent electric guitar of David Phelps), and both Eastern and African world music. This cd is really a joy from beginning till end.
The sound of Regev is very modern, a bit like Ray Anderson, but then more dry. She has definitely listened to a lot of trombonists. And she has a great band, with David Phelps on electric guitar, Brad Jones on acoustic and electric bass, and Igal Foni on drums. Percussionist Eddie Bobé guests on two tracks.
Peter