Blog Posts

upcoming Carnegie Hall performance

5/23/2017

I have a very special performance coming up at the end of the month with the fantastic conductor Reona Ito. On Tuesday, May 30th at 2pm, I will be a guest artist jazz piano soloist with Mr. Ito and the New York Harmonic Band in a Japan-USA Goodwill Concert at Carnegie Hall. We will be playing arrangements of popular folk and swing songs from American history, as well as traditional and more modern Japanese music. The concert will be very unique, as I will be improvising alongside the written orchestral part, and we will be working with the interplay of jazz and classical music styles. Best of all, tickets are free! So definitely pick up tickets at the box office on the day of the show. You can learn more at the following link: https://www.carnegiehall.org/Calendar/2017/5/30/0200/PM/Japan-USA-Goodwill-Concert/. Hope to see you there!

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CD release event at mezzrow, this sunday (5/21)!

5/17/2017

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I'm so excited to share the music from my album with everyone at my CD release event at Mezzrow, this Sunday, May 21st. The set at 8:00pm is sold out for the listening room, but there are still seats available at the bar for walk-ins. The set at 9:30pm has plenty of space in the listening room, so if you want to guarantee a spot in the listening room, definitely follow this link and reserve tickets for the 9:30pm show.

I'm incredibly lucky to be sharing this night with the rhythm section from my album: jazz luminaries Curtis Lundy on bass and Billy Hart on drums. These two musicians are among my heroes, and I am so fortunate that they have given their talents to my music. This will be a very special night, and I am looking forward to seeing everyone there!

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Jesse Owens Gala at the Appel Room

4/28/2017

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I feel incredibly honored to have taken part in the 2017 Jesse Owens International Athletic Trophy Gala at the Appel Room last night alongside the great Curtis Lundy. I had the pleasure of sitting next to Muhammad Ali's family and getting to talk to them, and I had the incredible opportunity to meet several Olympic gold medalists and countless other extraordinary people. A huge thank you to Curtis and Darryl Jeffries for asking me to be part of this evening. It will be one I never forget.

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Debut album, Instead, released today!

3/1/2017

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Hi everyone!

I'm incredibly excited to announce that my debut album, Instead, is out now and available for purchase at CD Baby (physical copy), Amazon (digital copy) and many more sites! Featuring Curtis Lundy on bass and Billy Hart on drums, Instead is a culmination of many years of musical growth and development, and features original compositions from as far back as eight years that have been evolving and changing as I have played them. The music is deeply rooted in the hard bop tradition, but features a modern melodic sensibility and a wide variety of different styles ranging from bossa to up-tempo swing. It has been a privilege working with Curtis and Billy, and I hope that you enjoy listening to the album as much as I enjoyed making it.

Check back in soon for the latest details about live CD release events coming up in New York City and in the surrounding area, as well as any new reviews or publicity about the album. And a huge thanks again to everyone who made this album possible!

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Downbeat Review for upcoming album!

2/21/2017

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Hi everyone!

On March 1st, 2017, I will be releasing my debut album as a leader, entitled Instead, and featuring the amazing Curtis Lundy on bass and Billy Hart on drums. A huge thank you to everyone who has been part of this process -- especially everyone at One Trick Dog Records for providing so much support throughout the whole process -- and I am incredibly excited to share this music with all of you, and to provide updates and information about upcoming events associated with the CD. There is a lot more info to come about the album, so stay tuned, and I'm very much looking forward to everyone hearing the music!

Today, I wanted to post specifically to say how privileged I feel to have been featured in the most recent issue of Downbeat magazine! Special thanks to Bob Doerschuk for writing such a beautiful review of the CD. The digital issue of the magazine just came out today, and the print issue is out March 14th, so keep on the lookout for the review (I am on page 58). Below is a screenshot of the page that I am featured on:

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Upcoming Album!

8/31/2016

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With Billy Hart outside Studio G.

Hey everyone!

During the last week of June this summer, I went into Studio G in Willaimsburg to record the tracks for what is going to be my debut CD release as a leader. This has been an incredibly exciting process for me, and it has been particularly special because I had the opportunity to record with two of my all-time heroes: Curtis Lundy on bass, who has been a mentor to me for many years now, and Billy Hart on drums, who is a legendary performer and perhaps my favorite drummer on the jazz scene today. Working with them has been a dream come true for me.

Currently, I am mixing the record with my amazing brother Dev Avidon at Avidon Audio Labs, and it should be pressed and ready to be released in early 2017. Definitely stay tuned for more info about the record, and for information about an upcoming CD release event to promote the album!

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Graduated from Columbia University!

6/10/2016

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Hi everyone! After a grueling final semester, I am happy to say that I have now completed my undergraduate degree participating in the exchange program between Columbia University and Juilliard School of Music. A huge thank you goes to everyone who has supported me along the way.

This past four years has been an incredible journey. While at Columbia, I have met and played with some of my favorite musicians, and I have befriended some of the most incredible people I have ever encountered. It has been a true pleasure to attend both Columbia and Juilliard, and I will miss many of the people I used to see there on a regular basis. At the same time, it feels wonderful to be able to commit myself full-time to music now, and I am very excited to grow further as a musician and to continue to develop musical relationships with the amazing musicians in New York City. I have a number of projects in the works currently -- including a debut album -- and I can't wait to share the results with everyone. Stay tuned for further updates, and as always, check the schedule tab for a list of upcoming appearances.

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Columbia Jazz House featured in New York Times

12/28/2015

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Hi everyone! Happy holidays, and I hope all is well.

Many of you know that I run a small jazz advocacy group at Columbia University called Jazz House. There are nine of us jazz musicians living together in a dorm called River Hall, and we put on many concerts and jam sessions, and support efforts to promote jazz on Columbia's campus and in the surrounding area. Tomorrow, Jazz House is going to be featured in the New York Times, in an article in the Metro section written by the wonderful Mr. Corey Kilgannon (a huge thanks to Mr. Kilgannon for taking the time to get to know us and write about us). For those of you who want to read the article online, here is the link. Otherwise, pick up a copy of the paper tomorrow and read about our lives and daily activities!

If you want to learn more about the Columbia Jazz House, you can also visit our website at http://www.columbiajazzhouse.com. Here, you can find information about the people who live in Jazz House, as well as our planned concerts and events.

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Update on Progress

10/28/2015

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Hi everyone! It's been a while since I have posted, so I just wanted to write an update about what has been happening in the past couple of months.

First, up until very recently, I have been playing every week with the incredible Curtis Lundy. For those of you who don't know Curtis, you can learn more about him on his website here. He is an amazing bass player who has played with so many jazz legends, and he has also been an extremely important mentor to me in my musical development. It has been so much fun being able to play with him on such a regular basis. I am not sure if the gig we have been playing together is going to continue in the future, but definitely check back in for further developments on my gigs with him.

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Back in NYC

6/29/2015

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Hi everyone! After an amazing trip to California performing in Monique Witt's play, Split/screen, I'm back in New York City. We received some great feedback on the play while we were out there, and we were very excited to have been picked as one of the "Pick of the Fringe" plays, as well as one of laist.com's "Four interesting plays to check out at the Fringe Festival" (link). Here's hoping that we will get the opportunity to put on the play again sometime in the near future!

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