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Kai Gluska

Kai Gluska (b. 1995) is an Israeli Guitarist, Composer, Arranger and Educator currently living in Israel. A BFA graduate from The New School For Jazz And Contemporary Music, he has played with groups in some of the most prestigious performance halls in Israel such as: Tel Aviv Museum, Zappa Herzliya, Ilanna Goor Museum, Shablul Jazz Club, Ha Simta Theater, Ha Studio Theater, Beit Haamudim (which was awarded by Downbeat Magazine as one of the top ten Jazz venues in 2017/2020). Tel Aviv jazz festival (2019). In 2021 Kai played in the Bern Jazz festival in Switzerland. In 2020 he earned a prize from The America-Israel Cultural Foundation’s competition for Jazz instrumentalists. In 2015, Kai started a collaboration with the nonprofit Pannonica (which progresses Israeli culture by funding the recordings of the top Israeli jazz musicians, and establishing numerous Jazz venues, including Beit Haamudim). As part of his agenda with Pannonica, Kai links music to businesses (such as cafes, bars and restaurants), making live music more accessible to the general public and providing steady work for musicians. He has made over 30 collaborations over a span of 6 years and is now extending these collaborations to other cities. Kai recorded his debut album along with his sextet featuring GRAMMY nominated Shai Maestro on two of the songs. The album is a series of compositions and arrangements featuring his style of writing, a combination of his music influences and reflections of his lived experiences.

 

Awards

America Israel Cultural Foundation Musical Excellence award


Tags

“If you are a jazz fan and have been hiding under a rock for the past 20-plus years, you may not be aware that Israeli instrumentalists and vocalists from the discipline have attained global leadership status. It is truly remarkable how this little Middle Eastern country, with no jazz legacy to speak of, discovered the genre and ran with it…”

 

“Now, the 26-year-old guitarist is back, at least for a while, to show local fans just how far he has taken his craft since relocating to the Big Apple, with a string of shows, with varying lineups, scheduled here over the next month or so.”

Don Byas
saxophone, tenor
Kenny Burrell
guitar, electric
John Coltrane
saxophone
Grant Green
guitar
Charlie Parker
saxophone, alto

Photos

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