Asaf Yuria

Biography
Articles

Born in Tel Aviv, Israel in 1985, Yuria was raised on the recordings of John Coltrane, Charlie Parker and countless others – by high school, he’d advanced to play alongside some of the finest musicians in the capital’s close-knit jazz scene. The bright lights of New York were always an aspiration for the young Yuria. He eventually moved to the US to follow his dreams, spending thirteen successful years performing with a variety of musicians including Jimmy Cobb, Kirk Lightsy, Freddie Redd, Billy Kaye, Joe Magnarely, Eddie Henderson, Jerry Gonzales and many more.

Yuria enrolled at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in the late 2000’s. There, he came under the influence of close mentor Billy Harper, as well as the likes of George Cables, Reggie Workman, Billy Hart and Charles Tolliver. More recently, Yuria has been a key part of countryman and world-renowned bassist Omer Avital’s quintet for the past five years, and in 2018, he released his debut album, Papa Wawa.

In 2019 he recorded his second album Exorcisms for the new and exciting label JoJo records, finally to see light this year.

Omer Avital Qantar: New York Paradox

Read "New York Paradox" reviewed by Edward Blanco

by Edward Blanco
April 21, 2020

Israeli bassist and composer Omer Avital and his group Qantar, offer their second album, New York Paradox, producing a musical sound in a unique, splashy and audacious style which is quite riveting. The uniqueness here extends to the members of this quintet who have formed a special bond which is quite evident when they are performing. All five players are Israeli-born and live in the Bed-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. For Avital, this is his twentieth-plus recording as leader ...

Album Review

Omer Avital/Qantar: New York Paradox

Read "New York Paradox" reviewed by Fiona Ord-Shrimpton

by Fiona Ord-Shrimpton
March 27, 2020

The world in its collective viral neurosis is in a cold sweat. What to do? Store shelves are empty, hands have never been cleaner, and if all goes wrong, salaries may soon rise for those who will work. In these trying times, some days you simply must “Avital"—Omer Avital understands this. Thanks to his latest album, New York Paradox , you can, that is you can eavesdrop on the newly broken horizons made through the “rhythmic and harmonic vocabularies underpinning ...