OMER AVITAL
Genres: World Fusion, Post Bop • Israel

Omer Avital, hailed by the LA Times as “a pioneer in combining jazz with myriad world music elements,” is a composer, a virtuosic bassist, an oud player and an active force on the world music scene for well over a decade. The New York Times wrote: “Mr. Avital and his group are producing some of the most original music being heard in New York.” Born and raised in Israel to parents of Yemenite and Moroccan descent, Avital was surrounded from early age by the diverse musical and cultural landscape of his native land; Israeli folk songs (a mix of Arabic melodies with European harmonies), Yemenite Jewish liturgical music – an ancient and beautiful tradition of poetry, melody, rhythm and dance-, Arabic and Mediterranean popular music from Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, Greece, north Africa etc… the various Jewish traditions of songs and prayers (Ashkenazi and Sephardic), European Art music, Western popular music and read more...