Nitai Hershkovits

Born to a Moroccan mother and a Polish father, Nitai originally started out his musical path on clarinet before switching to the piano at age 15. Jazz and improvised music were the focal point of his musical investigations throughout his teens, with a particularly strong interest for the idiosyncrasies of Sonny Rollins. In this period, Nitai won several jazz competitions in the Tel Aviv area, before his deepened interest in classical music took shape, leading to studies in both jazz – with Omer Avital and bassist Avishai Cohen i.a. – and classical piano, with Menahem Weisenberg and Amir Pedorovits. After a five-year-spell in Avishai Cohen’s trio (2011-2016), Nitai moved to New York, where he played in numerous groups, among them Oded Tzur’s quartet, of which he continues to be part today. Nitai’s contributions to Tzur’s group can be heard on ECM albums Here be Dragons and Isabela – both were met with critical acclaim with Fono Forum calling Nitai “currently probably one of the best pianists ever”. Nitai’s own debut for ECM records, the piano-solo album Call on the old Wise is released in November 2023. It is a largely improvised solo rendering, with the pianist drawing from broad influences, ranging from his extensive work in jazz contexts and cutting-edge contemporary explorations to his background in classical music. “It’s like I’m playing with several periods of music at once, but in a sort of augmented-reality-environment,” states Nitai about the album. “To me it’s is like a journey taking you through multiple varying experiences in the blink of an eye. Like jumping through frames holding different pictures or looking through windows to different worlds.”