Israeli Jazz Pianists Reimagine Matti Caspi Classics in Unique Tribute
A unique jazz tribute concert in Tel Aviv celebrated composer Matti Caspi, featuring eight top Israeli pianists who reinterpreted his iconic melodies through creative solos and duets.
For jazz pianists, the compositions of Matti Caspi serve as an endless playground and fertile ground for improvisation. Their rich musical structures and complex harmonies naturally invite musicians to deconstruct familiar classics, rebuild them, and soar. Just as George Gershwin and Irving Berlin provided the great American songbook, Israeli masters like Matti Caspi, Sasha Argov, Yoni Rechter, and Moshe Wilensky form our own musical canon.
Caspi’s melodies have rightfully inspired countless jazz interpretations, but the unique tribute concert "Tathutsep VeTa'aneh"—a co-production of the Tel Aviv Festival (produced by the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality) and the Eilat Jazz Festival, held at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art—pushed this artistic wealth to the limit. Curated jointly by Shlomi Shaban and Niva Amali-Maoz, artistic co-director of the Eilat Jazz Festival, the event brought together eight brilliant pianists, each tasked with offering their own distinct interpretation of Caspi as both composer and producer.
A Star-Studded Lineup at the Keyboard
The stage featured a stellar lineup of artists, each writing their own arrangements and bringing their unique musical world to the keys: Yehezkel Raz, drawing from neo-classical and ambient realms; Stav Achai, blending modern jazz with touches of groove and minimalism; Katia Tobool, deeply rooted in hard-bop and lyrical jazz; Maya Dunietz, an avant-garde creator moving freely through free jazz; Nitai Hershkovits, a contemporary jazz virtuoso combining classical technique with absolute freedom; Omri Mor, a master of improvisation fusing jazz with Andalusian music; Tomer Bar, injecting R&B and soul elements; and Roy Ben-Sira, elegantly exploring Brazilian and classical traditions.
Through the pure virtuosity of the piano, the musicians delivered a tightly structured program of powerful solos and dynamic duets created specifically for the evening. Such a concert carries an inherent paradox: jazz thrives on the element of surprise—sudden rhythmic shifts and unexpected harmonic turns—yet it relies heavily on personal interpretations of well-known standards. The fascinating tension of the evening lay in how these artists could surprise and captivate audiences with songs deeply embedded in the Israeli DNA.
Surprising Interpretations and Duets
Surprises emerged from the very first notes of each performance, as pianists deconstructed familiar motifs long before touching the actual melody. Yehezkel Raz wove elements of Randy Crawford's 1980 hit "One Day I'll Fly Away" into Caspi's "Od Yom", while Nitai Hershkovits offered a poignant solo tribute to Erez Halevi's "HaDayagim", honoring both Halevi and Caspi, who produced Halevi's only masterpiece album.
Another delightful surprise came during an instrumental evening when Maya Dunietz sang the lyrics of Tirza Atar to Caspi's melody "Ma'arava MiKan". The duet moments were equally extraordinary. During a summit between Stav Achai and Omri Mor on "Hine Hine"—the song that gave the concert its title—Achai seamlessly wove classical motifs by Claude Debussy and Erik Satie into their joint performance.
The grand finale featured a rare piano trio: Stav Achai, Maya Dunietz, and Katia Tobool shared the keyboard for a sweeping rendition of "Shir Sponge", proving that when Matti Caspi's timeless creations meet the freedom of jazz, boundaries simply vanish.
