Assaf Kehati

"Assaf Kehati simply speaks his mind through music, and as he does so, truth begets beauty". Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz.

Who is Assaf? Assaf Kehati is a Brooklynite jazz guitarist and composer. He is dedicated to his craft, has a keen sense of style, and is a true chocolate lover. Garnering comparisons to both Pats (Metheny and Martino), the Israeli born guitarist Assaf Kehati mixes elegance, lyricism and hard swing in his compositions and playing. Equipped with his best suit and an Eldridge knotted tie, Kehati straps his guitar to his back, and rides his bicycle to his next gig. Mr. Kehati in a brief summary? Guitar Player, musical storyteller, bicyclist, and stylish guy.

Assaf Kehati venues

The big names... Leading his own jazz trio, Assaf has worked intensively within that framework, but has also expanded his group to a quartet featuring artists such as Donny McCaslin, Joel Frahm, Seamus Blake, Anat Cohen, and Billy Hart. As a leader Assaf Kehati has performed in venues such as the Blue Note, Toronto Jazz Festival, Washington D.C. Jazz Festival, YardbirdSuite, Smalls, The Kitano, Nisville Jazz Festival, and Brno Jazz Festival.

And then he was born..."I guess my first shows took place when I was 3 years old", Kehati recalls – "Every time I heardmusic, I immediately started singing and dancing, and strumming my plastic guitar in my playpen.”

Falling in love with Jazz... Assaf Kehati love for jazz started when he was 20 years old. After 8 years of playing Rock, Blues and Folk, Kehati heard Pat Metheny and started transcribing artists such as Metheny, Jim Hall, Doug Raney, Keith Jarrett, and Paul Desmond. Fascinated by the new music he had just discovered, he practiced constantly. After two years of wood shedding, he went to Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music in Tel Aviv to step up his jazz education. Already in his first year, he accomplished 3rd place in Israel's "The Jazz Player," a national competition that included all instruments.

Assaf Kehati scholarship

Where did he go next? After Rimon, Assaf Kehati received a scholarship to attend the Jazz Performance Masters program at The New England Conservatory in Boston. Kehati says "I wanted to get a fresh perspective on music and to study not only withguitarists". At the Conservatory he studied privately with with George Garzone (sax), Robin Eubanks (trombone), Ken Schaphorst (composition) and the legendary Billy Hart (drums). "After studying with Billy Hart for acouple of months, I asked him for recommendations for local musicians, and he said that I should hire him. Shortly after, I set up the first gig with Billy and we have been playing since in different occasions. A dream come true!", Kehati says.

The three albums... In 2010, while in Boston, Assaf Kehati recorded his first album "A View From My Window". Kevin Convey (The Boston Herald) wrote: "Assaf Kehati’s quartet grabs a page from the glory days of the ECM label. Group interplay that’s scarily telepathic and all-stars at every position". Assaf released his second album in 2011, “Flowers and Other Stories”. Thomas Conrad (Stereophile) wrote: "Airy and melodic and floating and free". In 2014, after moving to New York, where he lives today, his third album "Naked" was released. Hrayr Attarian (All About Jazz) wrote: "Kehati's economy of notes is not at the expense of his virtuosity, on the contrary, it sheds light on his technical prowess and crystallizes his inventive ideas”.

Now and the future... Assaf Kehati is keeping on working and developing his newest project: Velour Dreams The project is featuring new and exciting jazzed up arrangements to famous pop songs from the 80s by artists such as Sting, Depeche Mode, Suzanne Vega, Paul Simon, Sinéad O'Connor and more.

Into his mind... Assaf Kehati starts his day with practicing. Focusing on the ideas he started developing 18 years ago, when he moved from rock to jazz fascinated by all the possibilities that have opened up for him. His daily practicing is like a meditation, purifies the mind and soul, and new things come to life. Out of the routine practicing, lyrical melodies arise and unfamiliar ways of playing the guitar reveal themselves. Magic happens while stories and images are unfolding, making their way to Assaf Kehati's fingers and then to his paper