GADI LEHAVI & GABRIEL CHAKARJI PIANO DUET / CHRISTIAN SANDS SOLO PIANO
GADI LEHAVI:
Gadi Lehavi was born on 29 April 1996). Playing by ear from an early age and experimenting with improvisation drew Gadi naturally to jazz.
A visit to New-York opened a door to the world. He was discovered by the renowned jazz musician Ravi Coltrane, who invited him to play together at the famous "Village Vanguard" and "Birdland" jazz clubs.
Since then, Gadi Lehavi has been performing in music festivals around the world and already had the privilege of performing and collaborating with some of the greatest musicians of our time. Among them: Ravi Coltrane, Chick Corea, Dave Liebman, Bobby McFerrin, Eli Degibri, Phil Wilson, Kurt Rosenwinkel and Eddie Gomez.
Gadi is a graduate of the "Rimon School of Jazz & Contemporary Music" where he studied with pianist, composer and arranger Rami Levin and with pianist and composerAvi Adrian. He also studied classical piano with Dr. Michal Tal and with Professor Jonathan Zack from the "Buchmann-Mehta School of Music".
GABRIEL CHAKARJI:
Gabriel Chakarji is a young pianist who is deeply passionate and committed to the music. Originally from Caracas Venezuela, Gabriel began studying classical piano at the age of nine. After high school he studied composition at Ars Nova School of music. In his teens Gabriel fell in love with jazz so he took part of the Simon BolÃvar Big Band where he was exposed to the jazz repertoire and learned a professional way to perform with different ensembles, touring with the Simon BolÃvar Big Band to New York and Boston in 2011. He is constantly performing in the most important and popular venues in the city like Dizzy's Club Jazz at Lincoln Center, Smoke Jazz Club, Harlem Stage, Fat Cat, Subrosa, SOB's, etc. Besides from his personal project he is featured as sidemen with numerous artists such as Luisito Quintero, Linda Briceño, Barbara Rodriguez, Jhon Benitez and the Orchestra Scc. Gabriel is primarily involved in concerts, tours, recordings and compositions.
CHRISITAN SANDS:
Christian Sands — Steinway Artist and three-time Grammy Nominee — is an emerging jazz force. His abundant piano technique perfectly matches his conception, accomplishing a much deeper musical goal: a fresh look at the entire language of jazz. Christian says, "My music is about teaching the way of jazz and keeping it alive." Whether it's stride, swing, bebop, progressive, fusion, Brazilian or Afro-Cuban, Sands develops the past while providing unusual and stimulating vehicles for the present ... and for the future. He expresses himself through an extensive vocabulary of patterns, textures and structures, all the while maintaining a strong sense of understatement, sensitivity, taste and swing — hallmarks for as long as he has been playing.
From a very early age, Christian possessed an insatiable appetite for music. He was enrolled in music classes at age 4 and wrote his first composition at age 5. He started playing professionally at the age of 10, and studied at the Neighborhood Music School and the Educational Center for the Arts in New Haven, CT. He received his Bachelor of Arts and Masters degrees from the Manhattan School of Music. For his participation on the MSM "Kenya Revisited" album, Sands received a Grammy Nominations for Best Latin Piano Solo.
His meteoric rise in the jazz world already includes performances with the legendary Oscar Peterson and Dr. Billy Taylor. He met Dr. Billy Taylor at the Jazz in July program in 2006, and formed an immediate connection. Dr. Taylor dubbed him his protégé, and Christian has followed in his mentor's footsteps by encouraging, inspiring and advocating for the preservation and history of jazz. He teaches and promotes the passion and richness of jazz to young people as well as to mature audiences. In 2015 he started the Jazz Kids of Montmartre in Copenhagen, Denmark, and he also teaches at Jazz in July, where he is an alumnus.
A deeply rich and soulful feeling can be heard in Christian's music, characterized by his infectious energy and spirit. It was that same spirit that caught the attention of Grammy award winning bassist, Christian McBride, who asked Sands — then 20 years old — to sit in at the Village Vanguard with his big band, Inside Straight. That appearance led to Sands becoming a member of bassist Christian McBride's Trio, with whom he has toured throughout the world. Their 2013 CD release, "Out Here," received a Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Instrumental Album.
Since arriving on the scene, Sands has shared the stage with such jazz luminaries as Wynton Marsalis, Diane Reeves, Shelia E, Warren Wolf, Tia Fuller, Gary Burton, Stefan Harris, Teri Lynne Carrington, Jason Moran, Geri Allen, Ben Williams, Randy Brecker, Steve Johns, Avery Sharpe, James Moody, Bill Evans (sax), Russell Malone, Terrance Blanchard, Louis Hayes, Patti Austin, Marcus Baylor, Craig Handy, Carl Allen, Kirk Whalum, and Wycliffe Gordon.
The power and prowess of his playing has taken him from the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., to the Newport Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, Detroit Jazz Festival, Gilmore Jazz Festival (Kalamazoo), Clifford Brown Jazz Festival (Delaware), and the Savannah Music Festival; to New York's celebrated jazz clubs such as the Village Vanguard, Jazz Standard, Blue Note and Dizzy's Club Coca Cola; to international jazz clubs in Japan (Blue Note), Germany (A-Train), Russia, Italy, Corsiva, France, Belgium, Denmark and Spain.
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