Oded Tzur (born January 5, 1984) is an Israeli, New York City based saxophonist, composer, bandleader and educator. His work focuses on fundamental connections between several different musical traditions, among them are

Indian Classical Music Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as '' Hindustani'' and the South Indian expression known as '' Carnatic''. These traditions were not ...

and

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 ...

, and draws inspiration from the art of storytelling. His sound on the tenor saxophone results from a technique he developed while studying Indian Classical Music, which has been credited with giving his instrument pioneering dimension and depth.

Background

Tzur was born in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

, Israel, in 1984. He studied jazz and classical music in the Thelma Yellin High School For The Arts and the Jerusalem Academy before being accepted as a disciple of

Hariprasad Chaurasia Hariprasad Chaurasia (born 1 July 1938) is an Indian music director and classical flautist, who plays the bansuri, in the Hindustani classical tradition. Early life Chaurasia was born in Allahabad (1938) (officially called Prayagraj) in the ...

, a stalwart of Indian classical music, at the Rotterdam World Music Academy. During this time Tzur developed a saxophone technique that extends the instrument's microtonal capacity, inspired by Chaurasia's

Bansuri A bansuri is an ancient side blown flute originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is an aerophone produced from bamboo and metal like material used in Hindustani classical music. It is referred to as ''nadi'' and ''tunava'' in the ''Ri ...

playing and other Indian instruments, which he named Middle Path. The technique enables the saxophone to slide between the notes and highlight specific microtones, and differs from traditional saxophone playing to a significant extent. Hariprasad Chaurasia once described it by saying: “If a curtain were to be drawn in front of him, no one could tell which instrument was being played”.

Career

Tzur first presented Middle Path in an academic context during the 2011 British Saxophone Congress in

Trinity College of Music Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance is a music and dance conservatoire based in London, England. It was formed in 2005 as a merger of two older institutions – Trinity College of Music and Laban Dance Centre. The conservatoire has ...

. Since then his findings were presented at other academic institutions, such as the

Amsterdam Conservatory The Conservatorium van Amsterdam (CvA) is a Dutch conservatoire of music located in Amsterdam. This school is the music division of the Amsterdam University of the Arts, the city's vocational university of arts. The Conservatorium van Amsterdam ...

, Copenhagen Conservatory and the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

. Tzur moved to New York in 2011 and established his first quartet with

Shai Maestro Shai Maestro (born February 5, 1987) is an Israeli jazz pianist. Biography Shai Maestro began playing classical piano aged five and graduated from the Thelma Yellin High School of Performing Arts in Givataim, Israel. After winning the National ...

Petros Klampanis Petros Klampanis (born July 15, 1981), is a Greek bassist, composer, arranger, producer, and educator. Named a “Bass Ace” by Bass Player Magazine, composer and bassist Petros Klampanis grew up in Greece. In addition to his appearances in the ...

and , which was referred to as The Coltrane Quartet Of The 21st Century by ''CD Journal'', a Japanese jazz magazine. Tzur's latest version of his quartet features Nitai Hershkovits on the piano and

Johnathan Blake Johnathan Blake (born July 1, 1976, in Philadelphia) is an American jazz drummer. Biography Johnathan Blake is the son of jazz violinist John Blake Jr. He started playing the drums when he was ten; He gained his first experience in his homet ...

on drums, while Petros Klampanis remains on the bass chair. Tzur released his first two albums on

Enja Records Enja Records is a German jazz record company and label based in Munich which was founded by jazz enthusiasts Matthias Winckelmann and Horst Weber in 1971. The label's first release was by Mal Waldron, and early releases included European and Jap ...

, which received international acclaim and brought him to the attention of producer

Manfred Eicher Manfred Eicher (born 9 July 1943) is a German record producer and the founder of ECM Records. Life and career Eicher was born in Lindau, Germany. He studied music at the Academy of Music in Berlin. He started as a double-bass player of classic ...

ECM Records ECM (Edition of Contemporary Music) is an independent record label founded by Karl Egger, Manfred Eicher and Manfred Scheffner in Munich in 1969. While ECM is best known for jazz music, the label has released a variety of recordings, and ECM's a ...

. Tzur's third album, ''Here Be Dragons'', was released on ECM. The album was referred to as an instant classic. Additionally, Tzur's unexpected performance of " Can't Help Falling In Love With You", made famous by

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

, was credited with confirming the universal nature of his work.

Discography

* ''Like A Great River'' (Enja Records, 2015) * ''Translator's Note'' (Enja Records, 2017) * ''Here Be Dragons'' (ECM Records, 2020) * ''Isabela'' (ECM Records, 2022)

Interdisciplinary work

In 2019, Tzur was invited to work with the

, where choreographer Jamar Roberts created a dance piece to "The Song of the Silent Dragon", from Tzur's debut album, ''Like A Great River''.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tzur, Oded 1984 births Living people Israeli saxophonists Musicians from Tel Aviv Indian classical musicians Enja Records artists Jazz fusion saxophonists ECM Records artists