Omer Klein

Omer Klein 2016 after an appearance in the Hofgarten (Düsseldorf)

Omer Klein (born May 15, 1982 in Israel ) is an Israeli jazz pianist and composer . Stylistically, he is also inspired by influences beyond modern jazz , such as "the traditional music of his oriental culture".

Live and act

Klein, who grew up in Netanya , began playing the piano at the age of seven and wrote his first compositions. As a teenager he studied jazz at the Thelma Yellin University of the Arts and gave his first concerts at the age of 16. The supplement Akhbar Ha'ir newspaper Ha`ir from Tel Aviv called him very early on as "one of the most fascinating artists to have brought the country in the last decade" . In 2005, Klein moved to the USA to study with Danilo Pérez at the New England Conservatory in Boston . He quickly became a widely recognized and respected musician on the local jazz scene and played a. a. in prestigious locations like the Blue Note or the Jazz At Lincoln Center . He then moved from Boston to New York, where he worked with Joel Frahm , Mark Feldman , Clarence Penn , Ben Street , Meshell Ndegeocello , Jason Lindner , Avishai Cohen , Donny McCaslin, and Jaleel Shaw .

Since 2006, Klein has recorded eight albums under his name, including one with the title Duet in a duo with bassist Haggai Cohen-Milo and several with the "Omer Klein Trio" with Haggai Cohen-Milo and drummers Ziv Ravitz and Amir Bresler. The trio album Rockets on the Balcony (2010), which was released on John Zorn's Tzadik label, was featured in Down Beat and JazzTimes . At times, Klein lived in Dusseldorf , for the Schauspielhaus he the theater music for 2011 Lemon Tree composed. He can also be heard on albums by Alon Lotringer, Daniel Zamir and Omer Avital .

Prizes and awards

Klein is the winner of various jazz competitions; In 2006 he won first prize at the Jazz Hoeilaart International Competition in Belgium. In 2013 and 2015 he was awarded the prize for music by the state capital Düsseldorf.

Discography (selection)

• Duet (2006, fsnt) Omer Klein & Haggai Cohen-Milo
• Introducing (2007, Small Records)
• Heart Beats (2009, Small Records)
• Rockets on the Balcony (2010, Tzadik )
• To The Unknown (2013, Plus Loin Music)
• Fearless Friday (2015, new sound)
• Sleepwalkers (2017, Warner Music)
• Radio Mediteran (2019, Warner Music)

Web links

• Web presence
• Portrait (Deutschlandradio)
• Omer Klein at Allmusic (English)
• Deutschlandfunk (DLF) Klassik-Pop-et cetera from January 13, 2018: At the microphone: The jazz pianist Omer Klein
• Omer Klein at Discogs (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Introducing Omer Klein (Small Records)
2. ↑ Jazz Journey Between Cultures (WAZ)
3. ^ Program booklet of the Jazzhaus Freiburg from May 16, 2010 on the occasion of the CD release concert of Omer Klein's CD Fearless Friday <
4. ↑ Review of JazzTimes
5. ↑ Song of Songs (Düsseldorf Festival September 26, 2013) ( Memento of the original from October 9, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
6. ↑ Ministry for Family, Children, Youth, Culture and Sport of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia ( Memento of the original from October 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.