Omer Avital Qantar Live at BIMHUIS Amsterdam

Qantar is the new quintet of composer and double bassist Omer Avital, who is known to lead his bands with such fervor that Downbeat has already compared him to the legendary Charles Mingus.

In his music Omer Avital plays a captivating blend of jazz and middle-eastern influences, drawing from his Jewish and Arabic heritage. The result is an urban mixture of cultures, from eastern melodies to intoxicating North African desert blues.

Omer Avital is part of a close-knit group of Israeli jazz musicians making waves in the clubs of New York. One week prior to this performance he released the first album with this band, Qantar, on his new label Zamzama.

'Avital is one of the most exciting musicians to come onto the jazz scene in the last 20 years. His live shows are pure joy... He's locked into his music with an intensity and purpose that is rare and beautiful... This is hard-driving jazz with a new soul for a new era' (Downbeat).

Personnel: Omer Avital: bass; Eden Ladin: piano; Asaf Yuria: saxophones; Alexander Levin: tenor saxophone; Ofri Nehemya: drums.

Playlist

• BIMHUIS Radio intro (0:00)
• Live concert @ BIMHUIS: Omer Avital Qantar (00:56)