Avishai Darash
Biography
Avishai Darash (December 28, 1986), better known as Avi Darash, is an
Israeli/French jazz pianist and composer. Avi Darash’s style is derived from various
influences, namely Western classical music, American jazz, North African traditional
music and Jewish music. Avi Darash has toured around Israel, The Netherlands,
Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy, Canada and France, at places such as Beit Avichai
Concert Hall (Jerusalem), Shablul Jazz Club (Tel Aviv), Bimhuis (The Netherlands),
the South East Jazz Festival (The Netherlands) and the Concert Hall of Montreal
(Montreal). This year will mark Avi Darash’s second album release, which combines
his solo work with that of a string quartet and jazz trio.
The music in Avi Darash’s upcoming album is largely influenced by North African
music, film music, contemporary improvised music, and nature more broadly
speaking. He has been working on the solo part of the album for the past three years,
while the ensemble compositions are currently being composed. The album will
feature some of the most prominent musicians in the international jazz scene, as well
as a string quartet, thus breaking from the jazz tradition by combining it with
classical music. Avi Darash says of his music that it is a reflection of his life
experiences: “the music is dark and elegant, with a touch of humour in it”.
Avi Darash first became involved with music at the age of 11, having been inspired by
his cousin Tal ben-ari (better known as Tribul Tul) – a world acclaimed electronic
music producer – who encouraged him to develop his natural talent. At the age of 16,
Avi Darash attended his first jazz concert and was deeply moved by the experience.
The acoustic, classical aspects of the live music appealed to Avi Darash, and he began
taking piano lessons under the guidance of composer/pianist Ittai Rosenbaum –
ultimately leading him to the realisation that music was not simply a passion of his,
but something that he wants to dedicate his career to.
Avi Darash was granted a scholarship to attend the regional music program of “The
Yellow Submarine” in Jerusalem, from which he graduated with honours. In 2010, Avi
Darash completed a Bachelor degree at the Jerusalem Academy for Music and Dance
under the guidance of Refael Kadishzon, Erez Barnoy and Ilan Mochiach. During his
studies, Avi Darash travelled to New York City (2008-2009) in order to expand his
international experience, where he studied with the likes of George Cables, Bob
Cranshaw, Larry Willis and Sam Yahel. Upon his return to Israel, Avi Darash created
the “Helix Kweentet”, a contemporary jazz ensemble comprised of various up-andcoming Israeli musicians (Daniel Dor,Shachar Elnatan, Avri Borochov). The ensemble
gained recognition as a new sound in the Israeli jazz landscape, and in July of 2010
they released their first album independently.
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In late 2010, Avi Darash moved to The Netherlands in order to complete a jointhonours degree program at the esteemed Conservatory of Amsterdam, studying both
jazz music and classical composition under Marta Liebana Martinez, Hans Vroomans,
Johan Plomp and Jos Zwanenburg. Up until 2012, Avi Darash co-lead “Shuvali”, an
international jazz quartet stationed in Amsterdam. The quartet performed around
The Netherlands and at various festivals in Italy. In February of 2012, the quartet
released their debut album independently.
In June of 2012, Avi Darash produced a solo piano album titled, “Piano Works”, which
featured eight original piano compositions. The album followed a tour in Germany,
The Netherlands and Austria, organized with the help of boutique producer Katjalisa
Reiter. In February-March of 2013, Avi Darash lead an Israeli piano trio on tour,
accompanied by Avri Borochov (Yama Ensemble) and Ofri Nehemya (Avishai Cohen
Trio). The trio performed eight shows and was supported by the Bet-Avichai
Foundation.
The Ahaddaf Quartet is one of Avi Darash’s long-standing commitments. In
November of 2012, the band released their first Album, “Nasim Al Andalous”
(Whispers of the Desert East), while their second album, ‘Spoken Soul’, was released
in the Tolhuistuin in Amsterdam on November 7th of 2014. The Ahaddaf Quartet had
a successful tour in Israel following the release of their most recent album.
Avi Darash was a finalist in the All Around Rome-Jazz Awards for ensembles in 2010,
a finalist in the MIMC 2014 for classical Improvisation, and won second place at the
Leiden Jazz Awards 2014. Alongside his various musical projects, Avi Darash also cofounded the ‘Autar’ foundation in 2014, aiming to support the Arts through
government subsidies in The Netherlands and Europe.
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