Gil Dor (; born December 12, 1952) is an Israeli guitar player mostly known for his long-term collaboration as an

accompanist Accompaniment is the part (music), musical part which provides the rhythmic and/or harmony (music), harmonic support for the melody or main themes of a song or instrumental piece. There are many different styles and types of accompaniment in di ...

, arranger, producer and co-composer with international concert and recording artist

Achinoam Nini Achinoam Nini (; born ), known professionally as Noa (), is an Israeli singer-songwriter, percussionist, poet, composer, and human rights activist working internationally. She is accompanied by guitarist Gil Dor and often plays the conga drums a ...

, also known as Noa.

Early life and education

Dor grew up in

Holon Holon (, ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located south of Tel Aviv. Holon is part of the Gush Dan, Gush Dan metropolitan area. In , it had a population of , making it the List of cities in Israel, tenth most populous city in Isra ...

. His parents were both amateur

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

s, and favored his approach to music very early in life. After taking piano lessons with his brother

Yuval Yuval (), also known as Kfar Yuval, is a moshav in northern Israel. Located in the Galilee Panhandle between Metula and the city of Kiryat Shmona, it is at the border with Lebanon and falls under the jurisdiction of Mevo'ot HaHermon Regional ...

(who played in Hakol Over Habibi), he started studying

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

at eleven years old, first as a self-taught musician, and later with the Israeli classical guitar master Menashe Bakish, with whom he studied for eight years. When he finished his army service in 1974, he went to

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

with his wife Neta, and attended

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

. In 1975, Dor moved to New York City where he studied at

Queens College Queens College (QC) is a public college in the New York City borough of Queens. Part of the City University of New York system, Queens College occupies an campus primarily located in Flushing. Queens College was established in 1937 and offe ...

and worked until 1981.

Music career

In 1981, Dor moved back to Israel, and soon became a working

session musician A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a reco ...

as well as an active

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

guitarist in the national scene. He also played with Israeli rock star

Shalom Hanoch Shalom Hanoch (; born September 1, 1946) is an Israeli rock singer, lyricist and composer. He is considered one of the founders of Israeli rock and modern Israeli music in more generally, both of which have been profoundly influenced by his w ...

. In 1985, he co-founded the Rimon school of music, was elected dean of curriculum and taught there while continuing his activity as session musician, jazz artist, and composer for video and theater. During the summer of 1986 and 1987 he toured with guitarist

Al Di Meola Albert Laurence Di Meola (born July 22, 1954) is an American guitarist. Known for his work in jazz fusion and world music, his breakthrough came after joining Chick Corea's Return to Forever group in 1974. He launched, from 1976 afterwards, a s ...

in Europe. In October 1989 Gil met Noa who came to study at the

Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music Rimon School of Music is a contemporary music school in Ramat Hasharon, Israel. It is Israel's largest independent professional school for advanced study of jazz, R&B, bebop, rock, and pop music. The school was established in 1985, by a group ...

. From that moment, Dor's concert and recording activities have been deeply linked to hers.Noa
– official website

Instrumentation

* Acoustic guitar custom built for him by

Linda Manzer Linda Jane Manzer (born July 2, 1952) is a Canadian master luthier renowned for her archtop, flat top, and harp guitars. Career Manzer was a folk singer in high school and played guitar. Her career began when she wanted a dulcimer, but she c ...

with 0.12 phosphor bronze strings ( D'Addario or

Elixir An elixir is a sweet liquid used for medical purposes, to be taken orally and intended to cure one's illness. When used as a dosage form, pharmaceutical preparation, an elixir contains at least one active ingredient designed to be taken orall ...

) * Gibson L-5 electric jazz guitar * Manne semi-acoustic guitar

Discography

With Achinoam Nini

* Achinoam Nini and Gil Dor Live (July 1991) * Achinoam Nini and Gil Dor (September 1993) * Noa (March 1994) * Calling (May 1996) * Achinoam Nini (April 1997) * Achinoam Nini & the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (April 1998) * Blue Touches Blue (March 2000) * First Collection (March 2001) * Now (September 2002) * Noa Gold (October 2003) * Noa Live – DVD/Double CD with the Solis Quartet (October 2005) * Genes & Jeans (April 2008) * There Must Be Another Way (2009)

References

External links

* http://www.noasmusic.com/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Dor, Gil 1952 births Israeli male guitarists Musicians from Tel Aviv People from Holon Living people Queens College, City University of New York alumni Berklee College of Music alumni