Noam Tanzer

“I believe that Noam will be a major voice on the bass for the years to come” – Bob Gullotti

Noam Tanzer is a young bassist, songwriter, and educator based in Brooklyn, New York. Playing both electric and double bass, Tanzer is part of many different musical communities and is surrounded by a diverse world of styles varying from improvised music to hardcore metal, from indie rock in Spanish to the music of Billy Strayhorn. Noam is a part of the Mike Stern band and is also actively playing with Grammy winners Miguel Zenon and Paquito D’Rivera. He additionally plays with Julieta Rada, Sean Wayland, and Mei Semones. Tanzer is an alumnus of Berklee College of Music, where he got to share the bandstand with the likes of Kurt Elling, George Garzone, Bill Frisell, Gary Burton, and Terence Blanchard. During his time there, he was selected by UNESCO artist for peace and Grammy-winning pianist Danilo Pérez to attend the highly celebrated Berklee Global Jazz Institute, where he was mentored by masters including John Patitucci, Terri Lyne Carrington, Joe Lovano, George Garzone, Dave Liebman, Ben Street, Adam Cruz, amongst others.

Picking up the electric bass at age nine, Tanzer started his musical education quite early in the village of Kfar Uria in the Judaean Foothills. At the age of twelve, he was admitted to the Jerusalem High School for the Arts, studying in the music program led by guitarist Raz Sekeles. As he got more involved in jazz, he picked up the acoustic bass and spent the next 18 months studying classical bass with world-renowned bass guru, prof. Michael Klinghoffer. The next two years to follow were rather the most significant up to that point - being closely mentored by bassist and educator Tal Gamlieli. Gamlieli opened Tanzer up to the concepts and teachings of masters like Charlie Banacos and Danilo Pérez - who amongst many other things, is the artistic director of the Berklee Global Jazz Institute. Gamlieli’s education was paramount in his process of moving to Boston, entering Berklee, and being accepted into the Global Jazz Institute. A monumental figure in Tanzer’s development and time at Berklee was the late Bob Gullotti. A true master of the drums, and one of Alan Dawson’s brightest students alongside Tony Willians, Harvey Mason, Terri Lyne Carrington, and Vinnie Colaiuta, Gullotti was widely known for the famous, 48-year-running trio ‘The Fringe’, with George Garzone and John Lockwood.

In his two-and-a-half years at the Berklee Concert Jazz Orchestra led by the legendary Greg Hopkins, Tanzer took part in many memorable nights, including the 2017 show “Michael Gibbs Directs the Only Chrome-Waterfall Orchestra”. That particular night saw a celebration of Berklee icon Michael Gibbs (worked with Mahavishnu Orchestra, Peter Gabriel, Joni Mitchell, Pat Metheny, Whitney Houston, Elton John) featuring his colleagues and students from the past Gary Burton, Bill Frisell, and Jim Odgren. In October 2019, Tanzer performed at the 62nd Monterey Jazz Festival and in Boston’s Café 939 with “The World of Garzone” – an international group from the Berklee Global Jazz Institute led by legend George Garzone.  

  After a 5-and-a-half year stint in Boston, including two academic degrees from Berklee, Noam headed to New York City. Now Based in Brooklyn, Tanzer has recently playing with artists such as Mike Stern, Paquito D’Rivera, Miguel Zenon, Mei Semones, among others.