Assaf Hakimi

ZurHub: Countryside Motorways

by Edward Blanco
August 19, 2025

Israeli flautist Mattan Klein and fellow Jerusalem native guitarist Ezequiel Hezi Jait, based in both Tel Aviv and New York, present a stunning musical portrait on Countryside Motorways, blending the rhythms of Brazil with Israeli folk and classical music while drawing influence from legendary composers such as Hermeto Pascoal and the incomparable Chick Corea. The co-leaders are joined by three other fellow countrymen, including pianist Itay Simhovich, bassist Assaf Hakimi and drummer Dani Benedikt, forming a vibrant quintet known as ...

Alon Farber: Dreams I Dream

by Jack Bowers
June 20, 2025

Israeli-born, Berklee-educated saxophonist Alon Farber leads his able-bodied quartet, Hagiga, through its paces on Dreams I Dream, the ensemble's third recording for Origin Records and fifth overall since its inception in 2001. Even though Farber's name is on the marquee and his imprint is on every number, this is a group enterprise in which pianist Katia Toobool, bassist Asif Hakimi and drummer Yonatan Rosen have vital roles to play, fashioning a durable comfort zone wherein Farber is ...

Alon Farber Hagiga: Reflecting on Freedom

by Jack Bowers
October 6, 2021

Israeli saxophonist Alon Farber's Hagiga (in Yiddish, “celebration") is exactly that--a warm tribute to contemporary jazz from the Middle East to South America and beyond, ably performed on the group's fourth album, Reflecting on Freedom, by half a dozen well-schooled Israeli musicians and--on several of the album's nine tracks--special guest percussionist Rony Iwyrn and vocalist Sarai Zak-Levi. Hagiga has been in the forefront of Israel's burgeoning jazz scene for more than two decades, thanks for the most part to bright ...

Ari Erev: Close to Home

by Edward Blanco
September 16, 2021

Pianist and composer Ari Erev here delivers an intimate musical portrait containing a selection of light jazz music intended to convey a warm personal story. As the Israeli pianist states, the album “tells my story of family members, close friends and familiar places, to whom I relate and feel deep emotions towards." Along with eight original compositions, Erev adds reimagined songs by Paul Simon, Keith Jarrett and fellow Israeli artist Efraim Shamir. He also touches on bossa nova with the ...

Assaf Hakimi: Some Other Day

by Eyal Hareuveni
March 6, 2010

Bassist Assaf Hakimi recorded Some Other Day at the end of a seven-year stint in New York, just prior to his return to Israel. During that time he studied at the New School with such esteemed teachers as Junior Mance, Doug Weiss, Jane Ira Bloom and Billy Harper. For his debut, Hakimi summons some of his elite Israeli jazz comrades who split their time between New York and Israel--saxophonist Eli Degibri, trombonist Jonathan Voltzok and pianist Alon Yavnai.

Hakimi, who ...