I’ve been tracking the music of Yosef Gutman since first encountering his Upside Down Mountain in 2022 and have reviewed two subsequent albums, Why Ten? and River of Eden. I’m drawn to his music’s humanity, clarity, and spiritual depth. His latest, Resisei Lyla, carries those qualities forward.

Yosef Gutman
Resisei Lyla (Soul Song Records)
A review
Yosef Gutman’s music is an expression of a dedicated spiritual practice grounded in the wisdom of the Torah and of the nigunim, musical prayers in the Ashkenazi tradition whose ancient wordless melodies carry “centuries of longing,” as Gutman says in the album’s liner notes. Those notes provide an insight into Resisei Lyla’s 10 compositions:

“Resisei Lyla means fragments of night. The title comes from Shir Hashirim [Song of Songs], speaking to a knowing that transcends what can be seen or touched. This knowing is called Darkness. But when it fragments—when little gaps appear—there is clarity. There’s love.

“That’s what these ten compositions attempt to honor: both the darkness and the light that finds its way through.”

In honoring the darkness and light, Gutman’s compositions and careful arrangements, created in collaboration with Gilad Ronen, yield an oasis of understanding and acceptance, acknowledging the spirit’s struggle and its persistent hope in the promise of peace. They are ably interpreted by Gutman (acoustic bass guitar, contrabass), Omri Mor (piano), Itamar Doari (percussion), Yoed Nir (cello), and Tal Yahalom (guitar).

Among the 10 tracks are two nigunim, “Nigun Funke” and “Rachamim Rabim,” and a traditional Moroccan piyyut (a Jewish liturgical poem), “Yedid Nefesh.” These old tunes have found an expanded expressiveness in the contemporary arrangements—the old and the new triangulating the music’s spirit. A blend of musical cultures stretching from the Middle East to Los Angeles, with elements of jazz, pop, world, and folk, graces every track.

Among the highlights are “Ani L’Dodi V’Dodi Li,” which opens the album with an invitation to dance, and “Mi Zit Olah,” which offers gratitude and hope in a seamless blend of musical styles. The diaphanous title track extends a hand in brotherhood, while “Rachamim Rabim” presents an expressive, intoxicating meditation. The solemnity of “Shuvi Shuvi” yields to an impulse to dance, and the gentle “Sleeping, My Heart Awake” offers a peaceful oasis.

The album closes with Mor’s solo piano on “Yedish Nefesh.” The band had struggled with the song. The arrangement felt forced. At the end of the session, Mor spontaneously and unself-consciously delivered an expressively contemplative rendition that provides a fitting close to the album.

Available on Bandcamp as digital files, CD, and LP. The CD and LP include a handsomely produced 10-page booklet that adds another dimension to the experience. Also streaming in the usual places and on Gutman’s website.

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© 2026 Mel Minter