With Graham Dechter (Guitar), Polly Gibbons (Vocals), Kevin Axt (Bass), and Ray Brinker (Drums)
About Tamir Hendelman
Born in Tel Aviv, Tamir Hendelman began keyboard studies at age 6, moving to the U.S. in 1984 and winning Yamaha’s national keyboard competition two years later. Concerts in Japan and the Kennedy Center were followed by study with Billy Childs and Clare Fischer and at the Tanglewood Institute and Eastman School of Music, where he received a BM in composition in 1993. He became the youngest musical director of the Lovewell Institute for the Creative Arts in 1994-1996. After a brief period exploring film scoring, Tamir focused on jazz piano, forming his own trio, appearing with saxophonists Teddy Edwards, Rickey Woodard, Tierney Sutton, Bill Holman and more. In 1999 he was a special guest of the Henry Mancini Institute. Since 2000 Tamir has been a member of the Jeff Hamilton Trio and in 2001 he joined the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, touring the US, Europe and Japan. Recordings and concerts with Roberta Gambarini, Jackie Ryan, James Moody and Natalie Cole followed. Tamir has also accompanied Barbra Streisand on Love Is The Answer, at the Village Vanguard as well as on her 2012 North American orchestral tour
Tamir Hendelman’s trio recordings include 2008’s PLAYGROUND and 2010’s DESTINATIONS, both reached the #3 and #1 spots of the US Jazz Charts. He has also arranged for and performed on recordings by artists such as Graham Dechter, Christian Howes, Lori Bell and Richard Galliano. In 2001, he premiered Clayton’s orchestration of Oscar Peterson’s Canadiana Suite with the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. Peterson wrote in his online journal: “It was a satisfying but strange feeling… to hear a new young voice make some exhilarating and thoughtful solos in the spaces that I used to occupy in those pieces…I look forward to hearing more from him.” In 2011, he premiered John Clayton’s new arrangement of Rhapsody In Blue at the Fujitsu-Concord Festival performing the orchestral version with the Winston-Salem Orchestra in 2014.
Since 2005, Tamir Hendelman has been on the jazz faculty of UCLA and has conducted numerous workshops in universities and music programs in the US and abroad. In 2013, his music was honored with commissioned orchestrations from The Penfield Commission Project, which he performed alongside a jazz orchestra and a 115-member studio orchestra.
“There are many fine pianists with impressive technique and swing who are convincing in a number of styles and play with real feeling. What increasingly distinguishes Hendelman is his gift for imaginative arranging…. He will compose an introduction that makes it difficult to predict what follows, but seems perfectly suited—even organic—once the tune begins.” (www.allaboutjazz.com)
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All non-profit concert proceeds help support music education for young musicians in the Coachella Valley.
