Bassist
Omer Avital was born in the small Israeli town of Givataim where his formal training began at age 11 when he entered the Givataim Conservatory to study classical guitar. He grew up in Tel Aviv, in a Moroccan-Yemenite family, where evidence of his Middle Eastern and Spanish influences came together with jazz and blues. While enrolled at the Talma Yalin, Israel's leading arts high school, he switched his focus to the acoustic bass, was the leader of the jazz ensemble, and wrote all the arrangements. By his senior year at age 17, he was playing professionally, but then spent less then a year in the Israeli Army. After discharge,
Avital moved to New York City playing with
Roy Haynes,
Jimmy Cobb,
Nat Adderley,
Walter Bishop, Jr.,
Al Foster,
Kenny Garrett,
Steve Grossman,
Jimmy Lovelace, and
Rashied Ali. But his big break came in 1994, not playing with giants, but leading his own groups and big band during the after-hours sessions at Small's in Greenwich Village, along with pianist and co-collaborator
Jason Lindner. Some of their sidemen included
Mark Turner,
Myron Walden, Gregory Tardy,
Joel Frahm,
Charles Owens,
Grant Stewart,
Jay Collins, Jimmy Green, Ali Jackson,
Joe Strasser, and
Daniel Freedman. In 1997, the Impulse label released Jazz Underground: Live at Smalls, featuring
Avital's quartet. He signed to record his debut album Devil Head the following year, but it was never issued.
Think with Your Heart and
Arrival were the first of many CDs for the Fresh Sound/New Talent or Small's labels, and
Avital continued working with an array of musicians including
Joshua Redman, Aaron Goldberg, trumpeter
Avishai Cohen,
Anat Cohen,
Marc Miralta, the Israeli/international worldbeat band
Third World Love, pianist
Yonatan Avishai,
Yuval Cohen, Emilio Solá y La Orquestable,
Antonio Hart,
Bill Saxton,
Jeff Ballard,
Brad Mehldau,
Antonio Hart,
Claudia Acuña,
Kurt Rosenwinkel,
Peter Bernstein,
Larry Goldings,
Marlon Browden, pianist Omri Mor from Jerusalem, the Ithe Izraeli Magreb Orchestra, the Andalusian Orchestra Ensemble, and the legendary Algerian pianist Morris Al Mdiuni. ~ Michael G. Nastos