Yonathan Avishai

Born in Tel Aviv in 1977, Avishai took classical piano lessons while growing up and, by his teens, had discovered jazz. He began leading his groups around age 14 and playing regularly with reedist Arnie Lawrence's ensembles. He also found work with touring jazz luminaries, which included notable shows with Marcus Printup, Allan Harris, Walter Blanding, Jr., and others. As a Tel-Aviv-based musical cooperative member, he helped participate in various social and cultural events, which led to his moving to Alsace, France, in 2001 as part of an exchange program. From there, he spent time in Dordogne and studied musicotherapy at Bordeaux's Atelier de Musicotherapy. After school, he worked as a teacher and led workshops. He continued to perform and put together the Third World Love quartet with longtime friends, bassist Omer Avital, trumpeter Avishai Cohen, and drummer Daniel Freedman. Jointly they issued albums like 2002's Third World Love Songs, 2004's Avanim, and 2008's New Blues. There were also sessions with Bachir Mouhali and theater productions with director Sharon Mohar and the Compagnie L'air du Jeu, including a 2010 children's show entitled Il était une Fois un Gribouille. Also, in 2010, he joined the saxophonist Mouhali on the duo album Soledad. Following a move to Yonne, France, Avishai joined bassist Avital's quintet, appearing on 2014's New Song and 2016's Abutbul Music. He also launched his trio with bassist Yoni Zelnik and drummer Donald Kontomanou, issuing 2015's Modern Times and 2016's The Parade featuring saxophonist/clarinetist César Poirier. A year later, he appeared on trumpeter Cohen's ECM debut, Cross My Palms with Silver. He again joined Cohen for the duo's 2019 ECM session Playing the Room, before making his trio debut for ECM with Joys and Solitudes. A $10 drink minimum is charged per person in the party, per set, if the total for beverages purchased by the party does not meet the minimum. Important Notices: If you do not check in by 15 minutes into the start of the set, we reserve the right to resale your seats with no refund. Refunds must be within 24 hours of the start of the performance.