Shai Maestro Trio

The performance of the Shai Maestro Trio will take place as part of the Jazz Meets World concert series.

Shai Maestro will invite listeners to new worlds.

After experiments with an expanded line-up, the Israeli pianist returns to Prague in the format of a piano trio, which is most characteristic of him. On November 24, 2024, he will offer a special view of contemporary jazz, anchored in the American tradition, but enriched by a bottomless treasury of melodies and rhythms from the Levant, in the intimate setting of Atria in Žižkov.

"Listening to Shaie Maestro is like waking up to of the new world," wrote about the pianist by the well-respected website All About Jazz. Thanks to the fact that the Maestro comes to the Czech countries regularly, Czech fans have the opportunity to follow his adventurous development from the role of the youthful sideman of bassist Avisha Cohen, whose lineup he joined as a nineteen-year-old, to the absolute supremacy of a brilliant soloist and bandleader.

Originally however, it sounded right from the first meeting. Perhaps this is due to his approach to music, which mixes traditionalism with natural search and deeply personal expression. He best defined that approach himself: "The gigantic history of jazz is a great inspiration, but also a tremendous challenge. Each of us has an individual gift. It is a free choice. Turn to major or minor at a key moment, play pianissimo or fortissimo. I always try to honor and embrace history, but at the same time not try to be someone else than I am. To really let the music speak for itself.”

The respect for tradition was given to little Shai (born February 5, 1987) both by studying classical piano from the age of five and his first encounter with jazz at the age of eight, mediated by Oscar Peterson and his recording of Gershwin compositions. What was innovative and distinctive was brought to him by life itself, when the Maestro met different cultures across the world and absorbed anything that helped him express himself. Including the music of the Indian subcontinent. He studied music not only in the USA at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston and at the Jerusalem Academy of Music, but mainly in practice. The famous bass player Avishai Cohen, with whom the pianist played from 2006 to 2011, certainly helped open the door to the world and frequent concerts for Shai. However, it is not that he "made" the young, inexperienced musician, as they say. Rather, he recognized and made good use of his talent and already "ready-made" abilities. The maestro was one of Cohen's most inventive players during the important period of the albums Gently Disturbed (2008), Aurora (2009) and Sven Seas (2011) and undoubtedly significantly helped the bandleader to complete his music with his own sound.

Shai Maestro started to stand on his own two feet already in 2010, when he founded a trio, which logically resulted in Cohen's departure. So far, he has six profile albums to his credit, including the excellent trio title The Dream Thief (2018) and the quartet Human (2021) for the legendary ECM label. And before he arrives in Prague, maybe the fans can expect new repertoire.

However, this does not mean that the Maestro has given up on working with famous colleagues. He can also be heard on the albums of personalities such as Oded Tzur (Like A Great River, 2015 and Translator's Note, 2017), Theo Blackman (Elegy), 2017), Ari Hoenig (NY Standard, 2018) or Ben Wendel (High Heart, 2020).

Maestro's piano the trio will be completed by long-time teammates, originally from Peru, double bassist Jorge Roeder (also Julian Lage, Gary Burton, Nels Cline) trained in the New York scene and drummer Ofri Nehemya (Avishai Cohen, Omer Avital, Omri Mor).