Time is the key in Yaron Herman's career. He was born on 12th July 1981 and only began playing the piano at the age of 16 after a basketball accident put an end to the high hopes pinned on him in international sporting circles. The young prodigy didn't look back.

He learned to play piano under the masterful guidance of  Opher Brayer, following a revolutionary method based on philosophy, mathematics, psychology, etc. The results are certainly unique in the history of music and piano playing; such an amazing revelation and rapid ascension, the fruits of the precocious intelligence of a gifted child. Yaron started to give concerts in the the most prestigious venues in Israel.

At 18, Yaron left for Boston where he intended to attend the Berklee College School of Music. However the highly competitive environment which left no space for individual fulfilment failed to inspire the eager young scholar. He decided to return to Tel-Aviv two months later. The stop-over in Paris on the return journey became prolonged as the musicians he met that night for a jam session hired him on the spot. He decided to stay on indefinitely. It was a time for musical exchanges and making contacts, Yaron started making a name for himself on the Parisian jazz scene.

His precocious talent and his pure energy meant that he quickly became the pianist that everyone was talking about in tones of admiration and stupefaction. He recorded his first album "Takes 2 to know 1" on the Sketch label with the drummer Sylvain Ghio when he was 21. The duo piano and drums surprised and astounded, attracting unanimous critical acclaim. Whereas established musicians would spend lavish sums on advertising and marketing, Yaron managed to pip everyone at the post using only his music to charm the exceedingly choosy Parisian press.

When asked for his impressions of the young prodigy, Georges Avakian, producer of the legendary "Kind of Blue" session by Miles Davis and the first recordings by Keith Jarrett, answered "Yaron is the real thing" : short and to the point!

What is even more surprising is the depth of his approach to playing the piano. He developed a theory of musical improvisation called "Real Time Composition" which led Laurent Cugny to invite him to run a course of lectures at the Sorbonne in Paris.

In June 2005 Yaron was awarded both prizes, solo and with the group Newtopia, in the "Concours de la Défense" in Paris: further proof that noone can remain indifferent to this young artist's talent.

Yaron recorded his first solo album on the brand new LABORIE Jazz label in 2005 after several weeks spent living and working on the project in the Château de La Borie. After this time of great concentration and introspection he presented his concept "Themes and Variations", where every melody, each theme hidden in our collective subconscience is the playfully creative pretext for re-creation, improvisation and invention. Breathtaking in originality and lyricism.

Success was not long in coming, with concert tours in Europe, South America, China (he was the first jazz pianist to give a concert in the Forbidden City in Beijing) and in the United States.
Each concert was met with the same amazement, his charisma, his spirit, his lyricism left his audiences deeply moved. Few musicians are capable of arousing such emotion so young and so early in their career.

Not only did being elected "Talent Jazz Adami 2007" mark recognition for his accomplishments but it also meant that he was invited to the Festival de Jazz de Montréal, the Nice Jazz Festival, the Festival de la Villette and to the London Jazz Festival.

A Time for Everything, the new opus as a trio, time for a trio

After performing more than a hundred solo concerts around the world, Yaron decided it was time to record his next album, his first as a trio. He took great care in choosing the partners who would join him. He again chose to make the recording while in residence at the Château de La Borie, which gave him the time to get to know his musicians, living alongside them before going into the recording studio. It gave them time for talking things over, changing things round, discovering each other, trying things out and playing. It just gave them time!

The choice of Gerald Cleaver is interesting. The young drummer from Detroit (Michigan) has travelled around the world playing with dozens of musicians including Miroslav Vitous, Matthew Shipp or Jacky Terrason. With his extensive range from be-bop to free jazz, Gerald Cleaver is an experienced and accomplished drummer and percussionist. His range, his poly-rhythmic sense, his spacial awareness, his strong ferocious groove make him the perfect partner for this trio.

Matthew Brewer is of the same generation as the others and though still little-known on this side of the Atlantic is on his way up. Favoured by Jef Tain Watts, Greg Osby or Gonzalo Rubalcaba for his ample, sure, precise drive, this musician has good references for someone who is not yet 25.

Time for Change

The trio format (piano, bass and drums - the favourite formula) is an incredible challenge for young artists. It's not easy for them to make their own place in the well-written history of this style of music, to make something original, new and personal next to such trios as Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, Oscar Peterson, Ahmad Jamal, Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea or Brad Meldhau and E.S.T. for  more contemporary references.

The real challenge being to avoid falling into either of the common pitfalls that await young trios: producing an imitation of what has been done before and inevitably falling short of the mark or alternatively, aiming for originality at any cost. This trio quite unashamedly takes its inspiration from the spirit of the times. This album is neither jazz nor pop, it neither belongs, nor wishes to belong to any specific genre except that of the three musicians, witnesses of their own times and possessing a full knowledge of where their music comes from.

A cross between Scribine and Bjork, a classic like "in the wee small hours" and "Hallelujah" by Jeff Buckley, "Toxic" by Britney Spears and the traditional "Layla Layla", Police's "message in a bottle" and the very Monkish "Monkey Paradise", taking on collective compositions like MMM or the obsessive "Paluszki". That's the challenge that this trio has pulled off. In the most uncomplexed,  natural, creative and cheerful way they have reinvented the trio, swing and groove. The raging energy, the lunar lyricism, the tension, the perpetual invention of formats, a few light touches in post-production ( under the supervision of Jean- Pierre Taleb) make this an album unlike any other. Welcome to the personal universe of Yaron Herman and his trio, a place where there is time for everything.

The famous quote by Miles Davis "You live in a modern house. You drive a modern car. You watch modern television. Why make music that is antiquated?" takes on a new meaning after listening to A Time for Everything.

MJF Debut!

	Friday Night - September 19, 2008 / 8:00, 9:30 & 11:00pm
	Coffee House Gallery