About Gilad Atzmon

Gilad Atzmon was born in Israel in 1963 and had his musical training at the Rubin Academy of Music, Jerusalem (Composition and Jazz). As a multi-instrumentalist he plays Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Baritone Saxes, Clarinet and Flutes. His album Exile was the BBC jazz album of the year in 2003. He has been described by John Lewis on the Guardian as the “hardest-gigging man in British jazz”. Until 1994 he was a producer-arranger for various Israeli dance & rock projects, performing in Europe and the USA playing ethnic music as well as Rock ‘n’ Roll and Jazz. Coming to the UK in 1994, Atzmon revived an interest in playing the music of the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe that had been in the back of his mind for years. In 2000 he founded the Orient House Ensemble in London. Since then the Orient House Ensemble has toured all over the world. Gilad was a member of the Blockheads, and has also recorded and performed with Ian Dury, Robbie Williams, Robert Wyatt, Sinead O’Connor, Paul McCartney, Nicolas Meier, Dwiki Dharmawan, Koby Israelite, Asaf Sirkis, Saul Rubin, The Water Boys. In 2014 he recorded with Pink Floyd and is featured on their last album The Endless River (on the tune Anisina). Over the years Gilad Atzmon’s music has moved more and more towards a cultural hybrid. As a bandleader and reed player he has been amazing his listeners with a powerful personal style that combines great bebop artistry and Middle-Eastern roots in a sophisticated, sometimes ironical manner.