Track By Track: Zach Tabori Breaks Down Latest EP Ensemble

Singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, and composer Zach Tabori is delighting music lovers of all kinds with his latest project.

The Los Angeles-born jack of all trades recently released his new EP Ensemble, a true labor of love and bona fide odyssey that wonderfully captures the magic of live performance. Incorporating a variety of styles—including rock, funk, jazz, and cabaret—the collection is gritty and high-energy, and has a special treat for all tastes.

Produced by Tabori and recorded at Barefoot Recording in Hollywood, Ensemble also features the participation of Frank Zappa keyboardist/vocalist Tommy Mars, who lends his piercing falsetto and sharp piano skills to the song “Buy My Shirt.”

Tabori stopped by to give Musical Notes Global a behind the scenes look at the tracks that comprise Ensemble. Check out his thoughts below!

“Lately It Feels Better Than Alright”

I wanted to write a song that would be a heavier version of a disco track. Take a disco drum beat, add two distorted guitars and throw in a clavinet with a wah-wah pedal and you get this ULTRA thick sound that hits you right in the chest, but also makes you want to dance. Lyrics are about existential crises.

“Slick”

If somebody ever attempted to use artificial intelligence to make a funk band, this song is what I would imagine the end result sounding like. There’s a lot of James Brown influence, especially in the beginning horn lines. Alexander Matthias plays the sax solo, with beautiful Organ accompaniment by the legendary Tommy Mars (of Frank Zappa’s band!) The ending is when the system overloads…

“Buy My Shirt”

It’s about the relationship between art and commerce. When you live in Los Angeles, people will constantly drag you to shows. The more shows you witness, the more you start to notice trends in genre, fashion, lyrical content and sometimes even performance banter…This song attempts to analyze and understand the various sociological phenomena that exist in a metropolitan musical landscape. Tommy Mars does his signature falsetto and synth brass on this track, which was an amazing moment to experience in person. I got to play the tubular bells too!

“Lick”

There’s a musical phrase that’s rather infamous in the jazz community for being a go-to riff in many notable instrumental solos throughout jazz history. I thought it would be interesting to write a song based entirely on that musical riff. One could almost call it a musical meme…I thought it would be a good way to end the record.

Listen to Ensemble below.