The Sefer Yetzirah is the oldest text of Kabbalah, the practice of Jewish mysticism.  The author is unknown but it has been ascribed to Abraham.

Read by Jonathan Gillman (Ablaq), 2021

Sefer Yetzirah (Kabbalah Audiobook, Read by Jonathan Gillman)

Piano, melodeon organ, acoustic bass, tenor saxophone, alto flute, clarinet, drums

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Song 440-449 were recorded August 23-September 2, 2023. There are 2 guitar solos, 3 alto flute solos and 5 tenor sax solos. 1 song has drums.

One way I think about my eras of music is in terms of bass and drums. When I realized the percussive sound that can be created by aggressively plucking an upright, things changed (Song 57). When I realized what sound came out of an acoustic bass played with a plectrum of hard plastic, things changed. (127) When I realized my left hand playing the bass on organ was sufficient, things changed. (282) If you want to add voice, bass or drums to my music, proceed. However, my opinions on lyrics, drums and bass are similar. Each is an irreplaceable aspect of modern music which at times I love, however isn’t really necessary. The gypsies had no homes, Ablaq has no bass! But don’t let that scare you, my friend, let that liberate you! Cause when you’re free flying with Ablaq, man - what do you need a safety net for?

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Songs 450-459 were recorded August 30-September 6, 2023. There are 2 guitar solos, 1 alto flute solo and 3 tenor sax solos. 3 song have drums.

In the words of another band: “No Synthesizers”. The organ heard here is powered by my right leg. Metal-heads used to be all about musicianship (and physicality) until they started programming drums (and other instruments), including unplayable (and unlistenable) double bass parts. Nothing here is “punched in”.﷽

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Songs 470-479 were recorded September 25-October 29, 2023 in West Milford, New Jersey. There is 1 concert flute solo, 1 guitar solo, and 7 tenor sax solos. ﷽

kind hearted, heart wrenching, heart breaking, heart on his sleeve, as serious as a heart attack, heart in hand, warm hearted, cold hearted, playing his heart out, eat your heart out, heart to heart, from the bottom of his heart, bleeding heart, by heart, heart pounding, heart stopping, kickstart my heart, heart of gold, heart to heart, heart of glass, heart of stone, pouring his heart out

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Songs 510–519 were recorded over 2 years, December 24 2023 - January 22 2024. ﷽

The name of this album is “Museum”. It’s ongoing.

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520-529 were recorded January 7-February 18, 2024. One prerogative of mine is to make songs in as few tracks as possible, most often 3 (besides percussion), including a secondary melody (single-line or sometimes thirds), a full organ part (chords right hand, bass left hand), and a solo from tenor sax or otherwise. At this point it’s important to me that a main organ part, like the sax solo, is played entirely live in one take. The secondary melody is usually looped, however I make it a point to play that phrase multiple times, if not the entirety of the song.

Another interesting feature of this melodeon organ I’ve come to appreciate is that, unlike piano, where the force initiating the sound is applied directly on the keys through the upper body, the work necessary to create sound from these reed organs comes from the right foot. That may appear an obvious point, however what it means is that no force is necessary on the keys, making them easy to play and sensitive to the slightest push. ﷽

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530-539 were recorded January 17-March 1, 2024

535 uses some studio magic. No effects, but two identical tracks played an eighth note apart, creating more than echo, but harmony. It and 537 also feature acoustic bass, which I haven’t played much recently. And there’s a bonus song-song. ﷽

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540-549 recorded February 1 - March 12, 2024. 

Jonathan Harlan Gillman
Tenor sax, melodeon organ, drums

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550-559 recorded March 2 - March 22, 2024. ﷽

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180-189 recorded January-February 2022.  5 of these use samples. ﷽

Jonathan Gillman - Organ, Tenor sax, Acoustic bass, drums, et al.

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Jonathan Gillman - Piano, melodeon organ, upright bass, acoustic bass, tenor saxophone, alto flute, concert flute, clarinet, trumpet, drums, guitar

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