Yoav Eshed (; born April 28, 1989) is a jazz guitarist and composer based in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York. Yoav started to play the piano at the age of 3 and played

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...

and

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include symphonie ...

. He picked up the guitar at the age of 13.

Biography

Early life

He was born in

Ramat Hasharon Ramat HaSharon (, ) is an affluent city located on Israel's central coastal strip in the south of the Sharon, Israel, Sharon region, bordering the cities of Tel Aviv to the south, Hod HaSharon, Hod-HaSharon to the east, and Herzliya and kibbutz ...

, Israel, to a family of musicians. Yoav began studying

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

at the age of 3 and picked up the

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 the age of 13. Yoav studied jazz with Amit Golan and guitar with Shai Chen. He attended

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 ...

and won 1st place in Israel's annual jazz competition. He then received a presidential scholarship for his undergraduate studies at

Berklee Berklee College of Music () is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level ...

. In addition, Yoav won the

America-Israel Cultural Foundation The America-Israel Cultural Foundation (AICF) is a non-profit American foundation that supports cultural projects in Israel. History The America-Israel Cultural Foundation was established in 1939 to support the growth and development of a Jewish ...

jazz study scholarships between 2008–2014.

Career in Israel

In 2012, Trio Millionaires, led by Yoav Eshed, received the support of the

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: * Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) * Ministry of Culture (Algeria) * Ministry of Culture (Argentina) * Minister for the Arts (Australia) * Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan)Ministry o ...

for their musical arrangement of well-known Israeli children's songbook, ''The Sixteenth Sheep'', collaborating with singer and comedian Tomer Sharon. The trio recorded and released their debut album digitally on

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...

Career in the United States

Yoav is based in New York City and active in Europe and the jazz scene of New York, playing for various bands and leading his band, Guitar Hearts. As of 2024, Yoav is working as a sideman for leading NYC jazz musicians, and leading his quartet ‘Guitar Hearts’, as well as ‘Greenpoint’ septet.

Awards and honors

* 1st place prize at the international competition in Montana – 'Six String Theory' jazz category. * 1st place prize at Rimon Jazz Annual Competition. * International Jazz Guitar Competition in

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annu ...

- the following year he was invited to play at the festival. * Guitar Achievement Award of Berklee. * 1st place in Best Solo Performance of Made In NY Jazz Competition.

Discography

As a band leader: * ''Introducing Trio Millionaires'' (2013) * ''Two Words'' (2018) * ''August'' (2020) * ''A Way Out'' (2021) released on Sounderscore record label * ''Guitar Hearts'' (2024) As sideman: * ''Clemens Grassman - Midnight Apple'' (2018) * ''Fima Chupakin - Water'' (2019) * ''Aaron Bahr Septet - Places (Real and Imagined)'' (2020) * ''Steven Terry - Compositions'' (2020) * ''Ari Hoenig - Golden Treasures'' (2022) * ''David Sirkis - When It All Starts'' (2023) * Lau Noah - ''A Dos'' (2024)

References

External links

America-Israel Cultural Foundation grant recipient page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eshed, Yoav 1989 births Living people Avant-garde jazz musicians Berklee College of Music alumni Israeli emigrants to the United States People from Ramat HaSharon Israeli guitarists 21st-century American guitarists American jazz guitarists