Omer Avital

Omer Avital
Omer Avital at Olympia, Paris.
Background information
Birth name Omer Avital
Born (1971-05-13) May 13, 1971
Givatayim, Israel
Genres Jazz, World
Occupation(s) Bassist, composer, bandleader
Instruments Double bass, oud
Years active 1992–present
Website www.omeravital.com

Omer Avital (born May 13, 1971, Givatayim, Israel) in is an Israeli-American jazz bassist, composer and bandleader.[1]

Early life

Avital was born in the town of Givatayim to Moroccan and Yemeni parents.[2] At age 11, he began his formal training, studying Classical Guitar at the Givatayim Conservatory. Upon entering Thelma Yellin, Israel's leading High School for the Arts, Avital switched to the acoustic bass and began studying and arranging jazz.

At the age of 17, Avital began playing professionally in various jazz, pop, and folk bands, as well as performing regularly on national television, radio, and in numerous jazz festivals.[3] After spending a year in the Israeli Army Orchestra, he moved to New York in 1992 where he began playing, recording and touring professionally.[4]

Career

Upon his arrival to New York in 1992, Avital began playing in groups with Roy Haynes, Jimmy Cobb, Nat Adderley, Walter Bishop, Jr., Al Foster, Kenny Garrett, Steve Grossman, Jimmy Lovelace, and Rashied Ali. In 1994, he began collaborating with pianist Jason Lindner, with whom Avital began leading his own groups and big band during the after-hours sessions at Smalls Jazz Club in Greenwich Village.[5]

In 1995 and 1996, Omer Avital made an impact on the New York jazz scene with a series of breakout piano-less groups at the original Smalls Jazz Club, including a classic sextet with four saxophones, bass and drums, alternately included saxophonists Myron Walden, Mark Turner, Gregory Tardy, Joel Frahm, Charles Owens, Grant Stewart, Jay Collins and Jimmy Green, and drummers Ali Jackson, Joe Strasser and Daniel Freedman. He was the subject of frequent features in the New York Times. A number of these sessions were recorded and released under the Smalls Records label.

1997 saw the release of an Impulse! Records compilation entitled Jazz Underground: Live at Smalls, which featured several recordings of Avital's quartet. He signed to record his debut album, Devil Head, the following year, but it was never issued.

In 2001, Avital released his debut album, Think With Your Heart (featuring Gregory Tardy, Jay Collins, Myron Walden, Joel Frahm, Jimmy Greene, Joshua Levitt, Daniel Freedman and Marlon Browden).

In 2003, Avital returned to Israel, where for 3 years he studied classical composition, Arabic musical theory, Oud and traditional Israeli music.

Avital returned to New York in 2005 and released three albums the following year, including two from the Smalls recording archives, as well as a fourth with the group Third World Love. In 2006, Avital's record "Asking No Permission" (featuring Mark Turner, Gregory Tardy, Myron Walden, Charles Owens and Ali Jackson) from the Smalls recording archives, was named to many best ten lists, heralding his return to the New York scene. "So we weren't crazy," wrote Ben Ratliff in the New York Times, "finally, here's proof that Omer Avital's sextet, which played at Smalls to a small but deep following in the late 90's, really was good."

In 2008, Avital was awarded the Prime Minister’s Award, the most prestigious distinction for artists in Israel. In 2011, Avital was awarded The ASCAP Foundation Vanguard Award.

In 2009, Avital joined forces with singer Ravid Kahalani and together founded Yemen Blues, a world music ensemble that combines Yemenite music with funk, blues and jazz. In 2011, Yemen Blues released their debut album, "Yemen Blues". Avital served as the music producer and arranger in addition to playing the bass, oud and more. Avital stayed with Yemen Blues until 2012.

2012 saw the release of two albums, one with Aaron Goldberg and Ali Jackson, Jr. as Yes! Trio and another, Suite Of the East, which was met with critical acclaim and was named Best Album of 2012 by TSF Jazz.[6]

His latest album, New Song, was released in the U.S. November 4, 2014, on Motema Music.

Discography

Discography as a co-leader, arranger, producer or sideman

With Third World Love
With Yes! Trio (Aaron Goldberg and Ali Jackson, Jr.)
With New Jerusalem Orchestra
With Yemen Blues
With Debka Fantasia
With Anat Cohen
With Marlon Browden
With OAM Trio (Aaron Goldberg and Marc Miralta)
With Avishai Cohen
With Claudia Acuña
With Omer Klein
With 3 Cohens (Anat, Avishai and Yuval Cohen)
With Jason Lindner
With Daniel Freedman
With Rashied Ali
With Antonio Hart

References

  1. ↑ "Omer Avital - MusicBrainz". MusicBrainz. Retrieved 2013-01-15.
  2. ↑ Fabian, Monika (2012-07-03). "Gig Alert: Omer Avital - Soundcheck". WNYC. Retrieved 2013-01-15.
  3. ↑ "Smalls Records Artist - Omer Avital". Smalls Records. Retrieved 2013-01-15.
  4. ↑ "About Omer Avital". Abutbul Music. Retrieved 2013-01-15.
  5. ↑ "Omer Avital". Allmusic. Retrieved 2013-01-27.
  6. ↑ "Les Lundis du Duc". TSF Jazz. Retrieved 2013-01-27.
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