YORAM LACHISH oboe, English horn, zurna, shehnai, shofar
REMBRANDT FRERICHS piano, shruti box
TONY OVERWATER double bass
VINSENT PLANJER drums, tombak

LEVANTASY international ensemble is connecting the art music of the Middle-East with the land of Jazz. A unique musical concept - not only thanks to the intriguing mix between Jewish, Arab and Persian influences with Western jazz but also because musical instruments such as oboe, zurna (Turkish oboe), shofar (Jewish horn) and Tombak (Iranian drum) are seldom heard in jazz.
The ensemble was established in 2008 and released its debut album in February 2011. It has completed several successful concert tours in the Netherlands, enthusiastically acclaimed by the audience and the press, also performing at the prestigious 2010 Hague Jazz Festival and the well-known Bimhuis club in Amsterdam. Dutch National TV show, Vrije Geluiden, featured Levantasy in a special edition of "The Best of 10 Years Jazz".
Levantasy is a cooperation between Israeli oboist Yoram Lachish and the Dutch ethno-jazz Kepera Trio - pianist Rembrandt Frerichs, bassist Tony Overwater and drummer Vincent Planjer.

AUDIO SAMPLES (excerpts)

Asera / Tony Overwater

Apadana / Vinsent Planjer

Aviv (Spring) / Yoram Lachish

Adon HaSlichot (Master of Forgiveness) / Jewish liturgical hymn

The Path / Itamar Erez

Zuckerkandl / Rembrandt Frerichs

• The Sound of Europe Festival, Breda, 2011.

• Vrije Geluiden (National Dutch TV) 2011 at the Bimhuis club, Amsterdam. "The Best of 10 Years Jazz" special edition.

• Hague Jazz Festival 2010.

• Jewish Music Festival 2009, Paradox jazzclub.

"levantasy is about melodic refinement; poetic, subtle and elegant" (NRC-Handelsblad, Dutch national newspaper)

"Groundbreaking" (Jazzflits.nl)

"Big respect" (John Jorn)

"Pure beauty… A gem it is… Very beautiful and compelling" (Parool, Maartje den Breejen)

"These musician have internalized the principles of middle eastern music to such an extent, that they need only their western instruments to create an oriental sound" (ODE, American Lifestyle magazine)

"A great night... [Yoram Lachish] one of the few who is capable of ingenious improvisation on the oboe… It was mostly this fantasy rich craftsmanship and the refusal to be branded with any boundaries, which brought this concert to great heights." (Jazzenzo)

"When you hear the music, it becomes clear: Beauty of sound, poetry, and a continuous careful search for new moments of improvisation" (door Bert Jansma, Den Haag Centraal)

Download: Press kit (1MB) High resolution photos (6MB)
CONTACT: info@levantasy.com

Yoram Lachish | www.jazzoboe.com
Rembrandt Frerichs | www.rembrandtfrerichs.nl
Tony Overwater | www.tonyoverwater.com

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