E-Mail This Article to a Friend Post-grads Issi Rozen and Gilad Barkan BY ED HAZELL

More important than the theory learned and hours logged practicing at music schools in Boston are the friendships and collaborations that endure after classes end. So it is with guitarist Issi Rozen and pianist Gilad Barkan, two Israeli-born jazz musicians who met at Berklee College of Music and have been making alluring, lyrical music together ever since. Rozen’s new CD, Dark Beauty (on his own New Step Music), features Barkan in a quartet that mixes post-bop mainstream jazz with occasional Middle Eastern influences. Barkan’s debut, Modulation (also on New Step), is a piano trio in the classic mold, featuring Barkan’s unfailingly melodic soloing.

Rozen’s latest, his third as a leader, has several things going for it. Rozen’s distinctive sound — a polished, pointed tone that bathes each note in a warm light — immediately grabs you; it’s an open invitation to listen closely. His solos are smoothly aerodynamic statements that make graceful beelines from the first note to the last. On "Ramat Gan" and "Maya’s Blues" his phrases grow naturally from one to the next in an arc of finely wrought melody. Every so often, he’ll throw in an earthy blues inflection or a funky riff, just to keep things down-home. On ballads like "Dreamland" he is reticent, charming, and sensual, all at once; there’s a romantic core to the music that’s aquiver with optimism and joy, with just a hint of sadness.

His quartet, with pianist Barkan, bassist Thomson Kneeland, and drummer Harvey Wirht (who’s also in the Either/Orchestra), is another important ingredient in the album’s appeal. They know how to listen to each other, and there’s a playful give and take among everyone. Even on uptempo numbers like "Sixteen," you can hear how well they respond to each other. Barkan’s elliptical lyricism makes a sympathetic foil to Rozen’s straight-shot approach. His single-note lines display an elastic sense of time, and he uses chords to break uptempo passages to create tension. Wirht is a crafty accompanist. His accents and fills not only support the soloist but they also form a coherent musical statement that runs parallel to the soloist. The only signs of the band’s youth are Kneeland’s sometimes obvious note choices at fast tempos, and an occasional uneasy fit between the two chording instruments, but the quartet’s strengths far outweigh their weaknesses.

Thoughtful interplay and a pleasingly lyrical approach are also hallmarks of Barkan’s trio CD, which features bassist Dan Greenspan and drummer Wirht. Barkan has a finely calibrated touch at the keyboard; there’s a sharp urgency to "Caravan" and "Paul’s Groove" that contrasts nicely with the delicate poignancy of "Brazilian Suite #2" and "This Is Love." He uses his left hand sparingly, so his unanchored lines fly and float through the bass and drums. He’s got a fine sense of proportion, too. On "Paul’s Groove," his lines spool out at length, and then he inserts gently percussive chords to break up the flow, or to raise the tension to a climactic level. His solo on the title track ripples and flows, spirals upwards, and eddies into short riffs and swirls of chords. His technique is solid, but he’s not into pyrotechnics. He’s more enamored of the piano’s beautiful tonal qualities and its vast potential for rapturous melody. You can practically sing along with his sparkling improvisations on "Amaravati Devi Is Getting Married" or "Affection."

Greenspan is one of Boston’s most underappreciated bassists. His rich tone and sure time anchors every track on the album. And his supportive lines surprise the listener while finding exactly the right note to flesh out Barkan’s ideas. Their duets on "All My Tomorrows" and Herbie Hancock’s "Dolphin Dance" are subtly faceted gems that glow with special warmth. The same craftsmanship and deep feeling mark Greenspan’s solo on "Brazilian Suite #2." Wirht is once again oblique but alert and in synch with his bandmates. On "Paul’s Groove," his light cymbal work lends the music an airy, singing quality that’s just right for Barkan’s untethered line.

The Bill Evans trios are clearly models for the group, and Barkan even nods to Evans with a cover of "Waltz for Debby." But Barkan has transcended his role models. When he turns to Ellington’s "Caravan," he shakes up the tune with a left-hand cross rhythm that gives it his own stamp. Like Rozen, whose cover of Charlie Parker’s "Segment" on Dark Beauty avoids the pitfalls of bebop cliché, Barkan uses tradition to inform his own voice.

Besides sharing a progressive stance toward jazz history, Rozen and Barkan share a progressive attitude toward MP3 technology that’s rare in jazz. New Step Music is among the first jazz labels to offer its releases on CD as well as in MP3 format. The MP3s are available at a substantially lower price than the CDs at www.newstepmusic.com.