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Eldad Tarmu
Vibraphonist, educator and composer of jazz, world, and classical music
About Me
Eldad Tarmu was born in Los Angeles, California, where he started his musical career studying
drums and percussion. He learned to play jazz vibraphone mentored by Dave Pike. He studied
in Israel at Tel Aviv University, then he returned to the US and began touring internationally
with various jazz ensembles, performing in festivals and music venues in over twenty-five
countries, mainly in Europe and Asia. In 1997 he released his first record, Aluminum Forest,
followed by Get Up Close in 2001, to notable critical acclaim.
Throughout his career, he collaborated with names like Ron Affif, Ray Anderson, Mike Clark,
Billy Higgins, Freddie Hubbard, Taj Mahal, Frank Morgan, Poncho Sanchez, Cybill Shepherd,
and Ernie Watts.
Upon graduating from California State University Los Angeles with a Master's degree in Afro-
Latin Music in 2005, he was appointed Head of the Jazz Department at the “Richard
Oschanitzky” Jazz School of Tibiscus University (currently a department of West University) in
Timisoara, Romania, following a collaboration with Romanian bassist, violinist, and music
researcher Johnny Bota, who was one of the school founders. During his residence, he
established a partnership with the American Corner in Bucharest, aiming to promote jazz as an
American art form, and toured Eastern Europe with various ensembles and guest jazz
musicians from the US. In 2008, he returned to the US to continue his education at Stony Brook
University, where he got a Master's degree in Classical Composition, as well as a Doctor of
Musical Arts degree in Jazz Performance, under the guidance of Ray Anderson. A professor of
Music Studies at Hudson County Community College and Raritan Valley Community College in
New Jersey, he developed and introduced a Latin-American Music course for HCCC,
In recent years, he has been increasingly focused on original contemporary classical music for
chamber ensembles and vibraphone, composing for string quartets and woodwind quintets, as
well as piano works. His second chamber music CD, called Stained Glass Stories, was released
in 2017 under the musician's label, Queen of Bohemia Productions, and in 2018 under 4Tay
Records. The album is dedicated to the musician's late mother, Chicago-born painter Galya
Pillin-Tarmu.
An album of jazz-funk originals, called Tarmu Jazz Quartet, featuring saxophonist Adam
Hutcheson, bassist Sam Bevan, and drummer Cengiz Baysal, was released in early 2023.
His latest project features Horace Silver compositions arranged for vibraphone, bass, and
drums, and has been released in January 2025.
Eldad is endorsed by Zildjian and Mike Balter Mallets.
