Ari Erev

STATS Rank: 6,817 Views: 3,561

Primary Instrument: Piano

Jazz Pianist, arranger and band leader.

“About Time” Album - (2008)

“A Handful of Changes” Album (2012)

With the recording and release of his latest album - “A Handful of Changes” - pianist Ari Erev is taking his place as one of Israel's top modern jazz pianists and composers.

Featured mostly on his own originals during this project, plus two songs by Alexander Argov and a pair of jazz standards, Ari leads a program that includes a top-notch rhythm section, New York tenor-saxophonist Joel Frahm, and guest altoist and clarinetist Ofer Shapiro. The results are memorable.

Born and raised in Israel, Ari Erev started playing the piano when he was just four. “My early influence was my father, an amateur pianist, who played jazz at home. I studied classical music until I was 17. At that time, I turned to jazz as my main route in music. I was always fascinated by the harmonies in jazz and that is what drew me to that music.”

Ari studied jazz and improvisation with the highly respected jazz educator Dr. Zvi Keren, pianists Nahum Perperkovich and Arik Strauss, and arranger-composer Ilan Mociach at the Rubin Academy of Music in Tel-Aviv.

As a performing musician, Ari plays and performs regularly in Israel's top jazz clubs, including “Milestone”, “Shablul Jazz” in Tel-Aviv, and Jerusalem's “”Yellow Submarine”, as well as in Jazz performances in Europe. He has also performed in festivals and jazz series, including a comissioned production for the 20th anniversary of the Tel- Aviv Jazz Festival, and on Israeli radio and TV. He composed music for the documentary “Bokito”, has played in theater plays, and has served as the musical director for a number of vocalists' jazz productions. He also teaches piano jazz improvisation.

Throughout his performance career, Ari cooperated with musicians such as saxophonists Joel Frahm (USA), Rosta Fras (Cz), and Jamie O'Donnel (UK), bassists Tibor Elekes (Switzerland) and Petr Dvorsky (Cz), and trumpeter Hendrik Jorgenson (DK). Among the Israeli artists with whom he has worked have been pop/rock singer Gali Atari, saxophonists Robert Anchipolovsky, Erez Barnoy, Kobi Salomon and Ofer Shapiro, bassists Yorai Oron, Arie Volinez, Udi Kazmirski and Tal Ronen, drummers Gideon Pasahov, and Shahar Haziza, world-renowned percussionist Gilad Dobrecky, guitarists Dan Adler and Inbar Fridman, and vocalists Tami Gerassi (Kelly), Julia Feldman and Ayelet-Rose Gottlieb.

In recent times, Ari has led a jazz trio performing a Bill Evans tribute program called “Jazz From The Heart”. He also is part of the “Nocturno Quartet” - playing jazz arrangements of Mexican songs and Cuban Bolero's.

In 2008 he made his debut recording, a trio set called “About Time”. The release of “A Handful of Changes”, featuring saxophonist Joel Frahm, is his latest accomplishment.

“I hope that this album will create new opportunities for me to perform with different musicians and share my music to a greater audience, possibly also outside of Israel itself.”

Last Updated: May 13, 2012

“..Piano playing with a lot of elegance and sensitivity… it is evident it is performed with great love and with a thorough acquaintance and respect for the history of Jazz…”
--- Barak Weiss, Artistic Director, Tel-Aviv Jazz Festival

”...Performance is absolutely spotless... presenting sophisticated and intelligent mainstream Jazz,... Ari's piano work that shines brightly and is exceptionally lovely throughout. His touch and intimate feel for the melody is absolutely gorgeous... the entire album is a feast from start to finish.”
--- Adam Baruch, Jazzis.com

”...a canvas of colours...(the) notes move from deep and pensive, filled with reminiscence and wistfulness an extended metaphor for time itself. ...(the album) is a masterful arrangement of emotion and sound...”
Gili Karev, MidnightEast.com

”As a composer, Erev wrote a few tunes that can become Jazz standards... Delightful Latin Touch... Intimate, solid, and emotional piano sound... Beautiful simlicity...”
Yossi Harsonski, Yosmusic.com (Hebrew)

“Joyful music, optimistic and full of life... like a delicate and emotional Samba... Excellent album!...”
Asher Kesher, Tel-Aviv News (Yeditot Tel-Aviv) (Hebrew)

“.. .smart, promising and eloquent compositions. Conceptually, these praise gems are brilliantly scored by Erev and executed by a cast of superior players which makes this journey one worth taking.”
Rob Young, Founder & Publisher of TheUrbanFlux.com

“Impressive team of musicans... Tends to a delicate and intimate musical direction... High quality performance of mainstream Jazz... Very pleasent listening...”
Omer Shomrony, Globes (Hebrew)

“One of the top jazz piano men in Israel... everyone locks into a fine groove..., this is a kind of date you want breezing in your headphones... A player/leader/writer that knows his stuff, you're always in good hands here.”
Chris Spector, Editor and Publisher, MIDWEST RECORD

“… a fine trio of solid musicians… (Erev’s solo on ‘These Foolish Things’) is a study in ideation… The stars were aligned just right when ‘ I Remember You’ was added to the mix….This album is jazz in its true form.
5 STARS.”
--- John Gilbert, eJazzNews.com

”… This is a splendid album, quiet and introversive, full of beauty and romance... Most warmly recommended!...”
--- Adam Baruch, jazzis.com

“…a pianist of gentle melody and delicate feeling… he has a story to tell us in his music…”
--- Yossi Harsonski, yosmusic.com

“How pleasant it is to meet ‘About Time’, Ari Erev’s new album… Relaxed, and skilled Trio playing with a deep and warm sound, showing a great love for Jazz… Ari combines abstraction and complexity with warmth, delicacy and beauty, and he does it gently and intelligently, leaving space to each of these foundations… A heartwarming album with evidence of talent, maturity and lots of good taste…”
--- Avi Efrati, Tel-Aviv News

“…program that is coherent in feeling and approach, lyrical, melodic and carefully reserved… Some of the original compositions… are well-articulated, with a clear and elegantly developed theme, with enough room for his trio members to add their own comments…”
--- Eyal Hareuveni, AllAboutJazz.com

“…very heartfelt jazz trio music… a beautiful “Turn Out The Stars” as program closer… Erev succeeds in displaying his love of this music.”
--- Mark Salesky, blogcritics.com

Primary Instrument:
Piano

Location:
Tel Aviv

Willing to teach:
Advanced students only.

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