Tamir Hendelman

Israeli-born award-winning jazz pianist Tamir Hendelman has performed with Barbra Streisand, Natalie Cole, James Moody, Tierney Sutton, Gladys Knight, John Pizzarelli and Quincy Jones, just to name a few. He has been a member of the Jeff Hamilton Trio and Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra since the early 2000s. “There are many fine pianists with impressive technique and swing who are convincing in a number of styles and play with real feeling. What increasingly distinguishes Hendelman is his gift for imaginative arranging. For one thing, he will compose an introduction that makes it difficult to predict what follows, but seems perfectly suited – even organic – once the tune begins.” (AllAboutJazz.com)

Hendelman began his keyboard studies at age six, while attending the Anazagi Conservatory in Tel Aviv Israel. In 1984, his family moved to Los Angeles and two years later, at age 14, he won top honors at Yamaha’s National Keyboard Competition. Hendelman moved on to study at the Tanglewood Institute in 1988 and received a Bachelor of Music Composition from Eastman School of Music in 1993.

“When we moved to LA when I was 12,” Hendelman explains, “I had a teacher who really helped open my ears and imagination. I started getting much more into the piano. I listened to recordings by Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Chick Corea and Oscar Peterson. I was also getting more into the writing. Ravel was a favorite of mine, and still is.”

Since moving back to Los Angeles, Hendelman has become a member of the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra and the Jeff Hamilton Trio and has toured the world wide. He received awards from ASCAP and the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts and was a guest soloist with the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra in 1999.

In 2009, Hendelman had the honor of recording with Barbra Streisand on Love is the Answer, produced by Diana Krall, and the follow up DVD One Night Only, recorded live at the Village Vanguard. Both releases topped the Billboard charts.

“Hendelman plays with a fullness of content and intensity, bringing new presentations of tunes. Not a fixed position player, Hendelman wears off the ivory over the entire keyboard,” said Harvey Barkan (LA Jazz Scene).

Hendelman’s musical travels have taken him from Alaska to New York, and Thailand to Israel inspiring his music along the way. His debut CD as a leader, Playground, was released in 2008 in Japan on Swing Bros. On his newest CD, Destinations (Resonance Records), Hendelman takes listeners along on a voyage of musical discovery. “Destinations to me is not only about the places I have traveled to, but also about the journey of being a jazz musician.”