Nadav Schneerson - Sheva
Photo Credit: Nadav Schneerson by Aminata Cham.
Earlier this year, drummer and bandleader Nadav Schneerson released his debut record Sheva, a hybrid work that shifts effortlessly between analogue and electronic, earthly and transcendent. The album immediately captured our attention and has been on heavy rotation at Some Other Time HQ ever since. It’s a daring opening statement from an ambitious artist, one that signals a fearless, exploratory approach to music. Recently, we caught up with Nadav, who dialled in from his London home to discuss the project and his unique approach to creating modern, forward-thinking jazz.
When our call connects, he appears on screen flanked by two vibrant paintings, works that he informs me were made by his mother, someone he recognises as one of his most important influences. “I grew up around art and music and the desire to try something new and out of the norm,” he says. Beyond the obvious creative flair, he also credits his parents with instilling a strong sense of individuality in him from an early age, a quality that is central to his DNA as an artist. “Just trying to be unapologetically myself, that’s a value I’ve definitely picked up from them.”
For the uninitiated, Nadav’s music is the amalgamation of a vast array of classic jazz including works by Sonny Rollins, Art Blakey, Don Cherry and Thelonious Monk. On Sheva we see him blend East and West through the dynamic of a big band ensemble, finding movement in the fluidity of improvisation and the cyclical repetition of rhythms drawn from his Hebrew heritage. Each track has its own distinct atmosphere, yet all are bound by a singular creative vision.
While Sheva represents his first full-length release, it has been a long time in the making. Nadav has been toying with various forms of expression since his teenage years, using different projects in a bid to establish an artistic blueprint. In the end, hard work and patience would prove to be the key to unlocking the full extent of his creative potential.
Prior to laying down the recording for his debut, he occupied a mental space that he refers to as “complete music mode,” where he embedded himself in the London jazz scene, learning, developing and internalising the full kaleidoscopic spectrum of its effervescent atmosphere. “I was focused on meeting people, playing music and gigging as much as I could,” he says.
In 2022, with this experience under his belt, he finally committed Sheva to tape, channeling years of work into one cohesive statement. Yet, more time would elapse as he waited for the right moment to release it. “I didn’t want to rush, I was preparing to launch my solo career and wanted to be mentally ready for that.” During this period, he would also spend time searching for a label to partner with before ultimately deciding to release the album independently through his own imprint, Kavana Records.
That decision feels fitting for an artist following such a singular and personal path. “I’ve always approached music in a way where the intention behind it is like a prayer. The way I write, I want to invoke that feeling as well.” This spiritual thread is something that runs throughout his music, represented in various sonic markers and motifs, “The sound worlds it weaves into feel more modal and meditative at times. Even at its high intensities, it has a calming effect,” he explains, reflecting on the underlying themes that come to define the record.
Photo Credit: Nadav Schneerson by Fergus Riley.
Listening to the project, It’s immediately apparent that Nadav’s music speaks in a transcendent tongue. It occupies the liminal space between lived experience and consciousness, taking you by the hand and guiding you into a place akin to the astral plane. “There are certain energies you can tap into with music where you feel like you’re accessing another realm,” he theorises. “It’s like tapping into some kind of healing place.”
That kind of ascension is rare, especially in an era of listening fatigue where audiences are bloated from overconsumption. Experienced in isolation, Sheva often feels otherworldly. Its sense of depth comes from the soul that runs throughout. Nadav’s music, for want of a better word, feels truly authentic. “Even if there’s a certain thing going on in the music industry, a thing that’s in, if that’s not me, that’s not what I’m going to try and do,” he states plainly, underlining his singular vision.
It is apparent that he draws inspiration not from trends, but from the greats, both in style and intent. “Just yesterday I was listening to A Love Supreme by John Coltrane,” he tells me. “When a person is attuned to themselves, you feel a certain energy from them that helps you tap into this space.”
The pursuit of this feeling has also helped guide him through the process of building his ensemble; “It’s a personal thing with a lot of these musicians, I know who they are, so I know what they can access musically.” The result is a group that is able to translate his vision with precision, on stage and on the record.
At its finest moments, Sheva recalls the greatest spiritual jazz of John and Alice Coltrane while nodding to works like Song For My Father by Horace Silver. Yet, Nadav transforms these influences into something entirely his own, music rooted in tradition but open to infinite directions. “I want my music to impact someone as much as they’re ready for it to do,” he says. “If that’s having it on in the background and not thinking about it, that’s fine. If they listen closely and it moves them emotionally, that’s incredible and all I can hope for.”
In conversation, he speaks with the same measured patience and precision that underscores his compositions. There’s no rushing, no trend-chasing, only a quiet conviction in following his own path. With Sheva, Nadav Schneerson has opened a door into a world entirely his own, one etched in a palette of vivid colour, built to inhabit and enjoy, but most importantly, one that is only just beginning to unfold.
Sheva by Nadav Schneerson is out now.
