Saxophonist and composer Uri Gurvich was a member of the Tel Aviv Jazz Orchestra and won at 20 the Jazz Player of the Year competition in his native Israel before coming to Berklee College of Music, where he studied under Joe Lovano.
Based in New York for the past decade, Gurvich won great acclaim as a bandleader with his debut album The Storyteller (Tzadik), featuring some of the most prominent voices on the contemporary jazz scene: Argentinian pianist Leo Genovese, Bulgarian bassist Peter Slavov, Cuban drummer Francisco Mela, and special guest Chris Cheek on tenor sax. All Music Guide called Gurvich, “a major new voice in jazz”.
Gurvich’s second album, BabEl (Tzadik), features his long-time quartet and Moroccan multi- instrumentalist Brahim Fribgane on oud and percussion.
The Los Angeles Times wrote that the music “transcends borders,” placing Israeli, Yemenite, East European, and North African music into a progressive jazz context.
Their third album is scheduled to be released in September 2017.
