ODED LEV-ARI
Genres: Pop, Art Song, Folk • Israel

Born in 1975, Lev-Ari graduated from Israel’s Thelma Yelin High School for the Arts, where he became fast friends with Anat Cohen (and eventually her musical siblings and 3 Cohens band mates, trumpeter Avishai and saxophonist Yuval). Lev-Ari served in the Israeli Defense Force Orchestra and, from 1993 to 1996, he was house arranger for the Dan Shilon – Live! television talk show. Lev-Ari is a recipient of the America Israel Cultural Fund scholarship, and he graduated with honors from NEC. He has written more than 500 arrangements and compositions for chamber and wind ensembles, big band and symphony orchestra, as well as various jazz combos. Billboard magazine has said: “Lev-Ari’s arrangements are outstanding.” One of Lev-Ari’s prime achievements as an arranger is his work on Anat Cohen’s 2007 Anzic album Noir, which saw her front a large ensemble – the all-star Anzic Orchestra – in numbers from vintage torch song read more...