Israeli guitarist-composer Yotam (full name Yotam Silberstein) swings hard with an all-star cast for his debut compact disc, “Resonance” (to be released on Jazz Legacy Productions).
The New York-based guitarist is joined by the stellar rhythm section of Christian McBride on bass, Aaron Goldberg on piano and Greg Hutchinson on drums. Special guest trumpeter Roy Hargrove also appears on faithful recreations of Clifford Brown’s “Daahoud” and Joe Henderson’s “Mamacita.”
“Aaron, Christian, Greg and Roy, in my opinion, are a few of the giants of their generation,” Yotam says in a news release. “I was very honored to have them on the record. We have have forged a special chemistry together. And I think you can hear that on the album.”
Yotam is known for his unusual musical blend of bebop, Brazilian music, American blues, Jamaican reggae and Israeli folk songs. According to his bio, he was born and raised in Tel-Aviv, Israel, and started playing guitar at the age of 10, focusing mostly on rock and blues.
In August 2005, Yotam received a scholarship to further his jazz studies at the New School in New York City. Less than a month later, he was selected as one of 10 top guitar players to participate in the semi-finals of the distinguished 2005 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Guitar Competition. In 2009, in addition to releasing his second release, he toured with the Sam Yahel Trio, opening for Steely Dan in major concert halls.
Since then, he has played in many of the city’s great venues with great jazz artists like James Moody, Benny Golson, Curtis Fuller, Louis Hayes, Jimmy Heath, Frank Wess, Junior Mance, James Spaulding, Pat Martino, Antonio Hart, Slide Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Stars to name a few.