On his second release for ECM, saxophonist Oded Tzur presents music that is particularly urgent and conceptually comprehensive, weaving an underlying idea through a series of elaborate and expansive structures.The quartet’s lineup remains unchanged from 2020’s “Here Be Dragons,” and the group’s interplay has actually grown in expressiveness in the interim. Oded and his collaborators – pianist Nitai Hershkovits, Petros Klampanis on bass, and rhythmic craftsman Johnathan Blake – put their subtle interplay on Isabela in a more intense light, exploring the nuances and colors of Oded’s self-designed raga in a suite-like sequence of quiet meditations and powerful outbursts.

The recording was captured in October 2021 at the Auditorio Stelio Molo in Lugano and produced by Manfred Eicher.