The slippery modes of Near Eastern music lend themselves easily enough to jazz and have been material for jazz musicians as far back as Duke Ellington’s “Caravan.” On Pardes, guitarist-oud player Amos Hoffman and pianist Noam Lemish perform a lush set of compositions in that manner, steeped in the particular traditions of Sephardic Jews. Thrumming jazz bass lines support improvisations on the oud; the rhythm section steps between jazz and Near Eastern tempos as different but complementary cultures veer apart and converge.
