Blog Posts

Downbeat Review for upcoming album!

2/21/2017

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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June: Performing at the HollyWood Fringe Festival!

5/6/2015

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Hi everyone!

This June, I will be performing for ten performances of Monique Witt's Split/Screen at the 2015 Hollywood Fringe Festival in Los Angeles, California! The music that I will be performing will be all my own original compositions and arrangements, and I am extremely excited to be premiering this work at such a great festival, and for such a beautiful play. The play is about a young man named Kit who suffers a debilitating accident in Jaipur, and focuses on the people he interacts with in the ER after his legs have been paralyzed. It is amazingly well-written, and I am very much looking forward to being part of the production.

For more information, you can visit the Hollywood Fringe Festival's website, or you can visit the play's website at http://www.splitscreentheplay.com/. To see the dates and time of the performances and to order tickets, click here.

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Spectrum: An Elegy for Piano Kickstarter!

3/16/2015

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Recently, I have been working on composing the music for a new video game project called Spectrum: An Elegy for Piano. Spectrum is a puzzle adventure game based around the concept of synesthesia, and because of this, there will be a huge focus on music and art. The main character, Timothy, meets a variety of musicians on his journey, and solves puzzles by using music and color to his advantage. It should be a beautiful game, and I am very excited to be working on it, alongside fellow Columbia students Rienzi Gokea (lead programmer and producer) and Kimberly Hou (fellow music composer).

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Update on the last six months

3/5/2015

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Hi everyone!

It's been a while since I posted anything, so I just wanted to fill everyone in on what's been happening. I've been super busy with a whole bunch of musical projects. Last semester was my first semester at Juilliard, and I've been having a blast playing with the amazing musicians there, and studying with Frank Kimbrough. Last semester we played a concert of mostly bebop music, and this semester we are putting on a show featuring the music of Jelly Roll Morton, which is very exciting for me. That show will be on April 13th at Paul Hall, and tickets are free, so definitely get tickets now if you want to come!

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Feature for One trick dog Label

7/31/2014

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Recently, a group called the People Project decided to interview my mom, who runs a small music and film production label called One Trick Dog. It's a very interesting read, as my mom has had a number of twists and turns in her career, and is very insightful into the way the music and film industries are progressing today. You can read the entire interview as the link below. In addition, the music file featured on the site is a solo piano version of an original composition I wrote and performed entitled "Lilian." Take a listen while you're reading.

http://thepeopleproject.com/music-people/category/things-we-like/one-trick-dog

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