Oz Noy

Oz Noy (Hebrew: עוז נוי; born April 25, 1972, on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, Israel) is an Israeli-American jazz guitarist and composer. His style incorporates a blend of jazz, funk, rock, blues, and rhythm & blues.
Noy started his professional career in Tel-Aviv at the age of thirteen and rose through the ranks of local professional sidemen with such ease that he became on of the most established session guitarists and performed with the Israeli musical elite in a matter of couple of years.
Upon moving to New York in mid-90s, Noy once again established himself on the local scene, thus an international stage, for his guitar virtuosity and recognizable tone. He worked with some of the most celebrated musicians of this era and performed with even more. Among them Justin Timberlake, Sting, Cyndi Lauper, Allman Brothers Band, Dave Matthews, Idina Menzel, Harry Belafonte, Nile Rodgers, Toni Braxton, Gavin DeGraw, Chick Corea, Allen Toussaint, Steve Lukather, Mike Stern, Robben Ford, Eric Johnson, Paul Shaffer, Joe Bonamassa, Dweezil Zappa, Steve Perry, Steven Tyler, and Joe Perry.
==Early life and career==
Born in Israel, Noy grew up in a city of Rishon Lezion, south of Tel-Aviv. Influenced by The Beatles, Miki Shaviv, and his older brother, a bassist, he started playing guitar at the age of ten, first considering picking up drums. His professional career commenced at the age of thirteen, being inspired by John McLaughlin and specifically Friday Night in San Francisco with Al DiMeola and Paco De Lucia. By the age sixteen he was already playing with leading Israeli musicians and performers. In a span of a few years he became one of the most established studio session guitarists in the country and a member of the house band on Israel’s top-rated television show.
In 1996 Noy moved to New York where he established himself on the local scene as a guitar virtuoso with a unique voice in jazz fusion and since then performed and collaborated with some of the most celebrated musicians of this era. Among them Warren Haynes, John Patitucci, Keith Carlock, Anton Fig, Vinnie Colaiuta, Dave Weckl, Dennis Chambers, John Medeski, Greg Leisz, Will Lee, John Abercrombie, James Genus, and Reggie Washington.
In 2003, Noy released his debut record “Oz Live”, which was recorded at NYC’s legendary Bitter End. It lead to being signed with Magna Carta Records the following year. In 2005 he released his first studio record “HA!” featuring Fig, Carlock, Lee, and Genus with special guests Mike Stern and George Whitty. Album received favorable critical reception and garnered even more interest for the follow-up trend-setting albums: Fuzzy (2007) and Schizophrenic (2009).
Since then Oz Noy signed with Abstract Logix and has released nine more albums in various band formations featuring special guests from the world of music, reinforcing his own niche in the music world. He would also tour extensively both as a sideman and as an artist in his own right.
Noy formed an R’n’B with neo-soul silkiness band Ozone Squeeze in 2017 and recorded two albums, Ozone Squeeze (2017) and Squeeze it! (2023) in different band formations with Rai Thistlethwayte, Darren Stanley, Sara Niemietz, and Nathaniel Townsley. In 2022 Noy released an album of jazz standards titled Riverside with Ray Marchica and Ugonna Okegwo.
Oz Noy lives in New York City.
==Discography==
===As an artist===
* Oz Live! (Magna Carta Records, 2003)
* Ha! (Magna Carta Records, 2005)
* Fuzzy (Magna Carta Records, 2007)
* Schizophrenic (Magna Carta Records, 2009)
* Twisted Blues - Vol. 1 (Abstract Logix, 2011)
* Twisted Blues - Vol. 2 (Abstract Logix, 2014)
* Asian Twistz (Abstract Logix, 2015)
* Who Gives A Funk (Abstract Logix, 2016)
* Ozone Squeeze (Abstract Logix, 2017)
* Booga Looga Loo (Abstract Logix, 2019)
* Snapdragon (Abstract Logix, 2020)
* Riverside (Outside In Music, 2022)
* Squeeze it! (Abstract Logix, 2023)
Category:1972 births
Category:Israeli Americans
Category:Jazz guitarists
Category:Composers