Assaf Kehati (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: אסף קהתי) (born October 21, 1979) is an Israeli

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or ...

and educator based in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Education

Kehati first started playing the piano and guitar at the age of ten and later following with classical violin. His grandmother was a professional pianist who first introduced him to playing an instrument. As a teenager he played rock, pop, and classical music. At age 19, he started to take interest in jazz. Shortly after, he was accepted to Rimon School in

Ramat HaSharon Ramat HaSharon ( he, רָמַת הַשָּׁרוֹן, ''lit.'' '' Sharon Heights'', ar, رمات هشارون) is a city located on Israel's central coastal strip in the south of the Sharon region, bordering Tel Aviv to the south, Hod HaSharon t ...

. A few months into his jazz studies, he became the winner of a number of local jazz awards, including the third place of “the Jazz Player” national competition in Israel. He also became a member of Rimon Honors Ensemble, “Hot Jazz”, which featured famous Australian jazz fusion guitarist,

Frank Gambale Frank Gambale (; born 22 December 1958) is an Australian jazz fusion guitarist. He has released twenty albums over a period of three decades, and is known for his use of the sweep picking and economy picking techniques. Recording career Solo ...

. In 2007, he moved to Boston to pursue his graduate studies at the

New England Conservatory The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on Hu ...

. There he has also worked as an assistant professor after receiving his Masters in Jazz Performance in 2009.

Career

While in Israel, Kehati performed with many prominent musicians including Alon Farber, Shai Chen, Haggai Amir, Udi Shlomo, and Daniel Sapir. He appeared at the Tel Aviv Jazz Festival, Channel 22 TV, Shablul Jazz Club, Machtesh Ramon Jazz Festival and at the Israel National Festival in Jerusalem. In 2010, Kehati recorded his first album "A View From My Window" and "Flowers And Other Stories" in 2011. In 2014 he released a third album, Naked. His style is said to be influenced by

Hector Berlioz In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

Pat Metheny Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works, and other side projects. His style incorporates elements of progre ...

, and

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted mo ...

. Kehati has played and worked with renowned artists such as

Ran Blake Ran Blake (born April 20, 1935) is an American pianist, composer, and educator. He is known for his unique style that combines blues, gospel, classical, and film noir influences into an innovative and dark jazz sound. His career spans over 40 rec ...

George Garzone George Garzone (born September 23, 1950) is a saxophonist and jazz educator from Boston, Massachusetts. Biography Garzone is a member of the Fringe, a jazz trio founded in 1972 that includes bassist John Lockwood and drummer Bob Gullotti. The ...

Eli Degibri Eli Degibri (Hebrew: אלי דג'יברי) (born May 3, 1978, in Jaffa, Tel Aviv, Israel) is an Israeli jazz saxophonist, composer, and arranger. Early life Degibri first began playing the mandolin at age 7 in an after school music program at ...

Donny McCaslin Donald Paul McCaslin (born August 11, 1966) is an American jazz saxophonist. He has recorded over a dozen albums as a bandleader in addition to many sideman appearances, including on David Bowie's final studio album, ''Blackstar'' (2016). Early ...

Seamus Blake Seamus Blake (born December 8, 1970) is a British-born Canadian tenor saxophonist. Early life and education Blake was born in London, England and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. His mother introduced him to jazz when he was a c ...

Anat Cohen Anat Cohen ( he, ענת כהן, born 1975) is a New York City-based jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, and bandleader from Tel Aviv, Israel. Biography Cohen began playing clarinet and saxophone. In 1996, she studied at the Berklee College of Music ...

, and more prominently, with the legendary drummer

Billy Hart Billy Hart (born November 29, 1940) is an American jazz drummer and educator. He is known internationally for his work with Herbie Hancock's "Mwandishi" band in the early 1970s, as well with Shirley Horn, Stan Getz, and Quest, among others. Bi ...

who has been a part of his trio since 2009. He has played worldwide in Israel, South America, Russia, Canada, Washington DC, Atlanta, Boston and in the renowned

Blue Note Jazz Club Blue Note Jazz Club is a jazz club and restaurant located at 131 West 3rd Street in Greenwich Village, New York City. The club was opened on September 30, 1981, by owner and founder Danny Bensusan, with the Nat Adderley Quintet being the featured ...

in New York City.

Discography

* A View From My Window (2010) * Flowers and Other Stories (2011) * Naked (2014)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kehati, Assaf 1979 births Living people Mainstream jazz guitarists Israeli jazz musicians 21st-century guitarists