Home » Jazz Musicians » Yakir Arbib

Yakir Arbib

Yakir Arbib was born in Jerusalem on March 6th 1989, and started playing the piano when he was 4 years old. At 7 years old he enrolled at Tel Aviv’s “Stricker Conservatory Of Music” where he studied between the years 1996 and 2007 taking baroque recorder, trumpet and ensemble playing in addition to classical piano repertoire. During those early years Yakir performed in many concerts/recitals in the conservatory and has received a number of scholarships.

At the age of 14 his career took on a completely different turn when he attracted the attention of the only jazz teacher at the conservatory at the time who started then giving Yakir jazz lessons, and in 2004 he was admitted to the prestigious “Thelma-Yellin Highschool of the Arts” in Tel Aviv where he continued his studys in jazz with some of israel’s most influential artists such as Amos Hoffman, Eli Degibri, and the Cohen brothers. As a jazz player, Yakir got the chance to perform as leader in some of the most important jazz clubs and festivals in Israel and Italy including “The Shablool”, “Ha Gada Ha Smalit”, “Charity Jazz Cafe”, “Diavolo Rosso”, “Villa Celimontana”, “Jazz At The Red Sea”, “100% Art”, “Roma Jazz” and has won the “America – Israel Cultural Foundation”(Keren Sharet) jazz performance award for young talents for 4 consecutive years (2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009) as well as a scholarship from Berklee College of Music to attend both their Summer program and Full-Time Degree program.

In May 2008 he was selected as finalist to participate in the prodigious “Massimo Urbani International Jazz Award” in Italy, and after winning the first place, he got signed by the highly acclaimed Philology Jazz Records label (most noted for it’s works with Lee Konitz, Chet Baker and Phil Woods) under which he released his first album in trio.

The album “Portrait” (2009) is distributed in Europe, Israel, Japan and iTunes Music - it showcases Yakir’s own original jazz compositions alongside standards.

Shortly after recording “Portrait”, in his constant search for new sounds and new ways for expressing himself, Yakir has made a radical return to classical music – composing and performing his own original works; appearing in various prestigious halls such as “Steinert Hall” in Boston, “Felicja Blumental Center” in Tel Aviv, and the “Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts” in Washington. His compositions have been performed by the ‘Kalistos Chamber Orchestra’, the ‘Triple Helix Piano Trio’ and ‘ALEA III’.

Read more

Tags

10
Album Review

Yakir Arbib: My Name Is Yakir

Read "My Name Is Yakir" reviewed by Don Phipps


Clever and entertaining, My Name is Yakir offers a diverse potpourri of jazz standards and original compositions performed by pianist Yakir Arbib. The music contrasts standards from the Dixieland, swing, bebop and hard bop eras with five originals that mix classical idioms with loose jazz structures. Arbib certainly has talent and his technical dexterity permits him to play within these various jazz styles and cross between them with ease. Arbib brings lots of energy to the covers and ...

Read more articles

Music

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.