GALO: What do you look for in the musicians and their style when inviting them to record with you?  

AY: Good taste and musicality. And, of course, openness and sensitivity, and all the other things you look for in any performer.

GALO: So can it be said that you prefer playing with the big band ensemble instead of solo?

AY: No. I like both. And I am very lucky that I can explore music in all these configurations. Every lineup has its own demands, and it’s great to be able to travel back and forth in these different musical worlds, from small and intimate to big and powerful.

GALO: Which track on the record gave you the most difficulty to write? How about the most pleasure?

AY: All of them gave me pleasure to write. I didn’t think about it as a pleasure versus difficulty. It was a whole adventure. Some pieces were more planned than others, some took longer than others.

GALO: And the album name – how did that come to life?

AY: Shir Ahava means a love poem in Hebrew. The title track was inspired by a poem by Yehonatan Geffen, an Israeli poet. The rest of the album is a love poem to my family, the places that I visited, the different music that I absorbed through the years, and to my native home, Israel.

GALO: Quite a large amount of the tracks on the record are over six minutes long. Why create such elongated compositions? Are you not afraid that people might find the tracks too long and skip to the next one? Or is the beauty of jazz music such that through the array of various sounds the attention of the fans is easily kept through the variant of surprise?

AY: I am not motivated by fear. If some people want to skip a track, it fine with me. The people who want to hear my music will listen to it if they find it nourishing and interesting, regardless of how long the tracks are.

GALO: You have your own label, AYM. With the musical world constantly evolving, especially in the business world, this was a brave move. Did the decision have anything to do with the limitations major labels put on artists?

AY: I want to be free to record my music at any time I wish. If any label would approach me in the future for recording, I’d be happy. In the meantime, I keep recording my music whenever I feel it needs to be recorded, and release it, so people can enjoy it.

GALO: Why did you put the album on your own label, AYM?

AY: Starting my own label drives me to get proactive with my music — to put it out there and not wait. Because I have kids, I think like that more and more. You don’t know what will happen tomorrow. Also, I come from Israel, a very unpredictable place! It does something to your brain. It is like, “The hell with all this waiting around. The music is here, it’s recorded. I have an opportunity. Boom! I take it. Thank you. The CD is there.”

GALO: The album itself is quite personal. There is even a picture of your wife on the cover. Why give fans a glimpse into your life?

AY: This is about me, and about my feelings and experiences and life. How can it not be personal? And the photo on the CD captures a lot of the things I love — my wife, the ocean, freedom, etc.

GALO: In a press release posted on All About Jazz, you’ve said that the album itself is a longing for two of your homes — your geographical home and your new one in the States. Do you find yourself torn between the two geographical places, not knowing entirely to which you belong to? Or do you find yourself attached to one more than the other? 

AY: I belong to both.

GALO: Most musicians must learn their pieces by heart before gracing the stage with their presence and following suit with their set. What are your strategies for learning a new piece of music? Or is a large part of your performance based on improvisation rather than playing from memory, given the jazz roots of your compositions?

AY: Every performance could be different, depending on who I’m performing with. Learning a new piece by heart comes with practicing it for hours, getting to know it. Strategies change depending on the challenges each piece presents.

GALO: Jazz music is known for thriving before a live audience. How hard is it to compose and record without the presence of one in a recording studio? Do you imagine them there?

AY: It is not easy to record jazz in the studio, at least from my experience, just from the reasons that you have mentioned. But, I think, the NDR Bigband knows what to do in the studio and is comfortable there, and we got a great recording out of it.

GALO: As a musician you must practice a lot in the comfort of your own home or when composing a new track. Does your wife or children ever express frustration after hearing the same chords or melody played over and over again?

AY: No. She understands the process and she loves music. She knows nothing comes together without hard work.

GALO: You’ve worked with Grammy winner Paquito D’Rivera on multiple occasions. In fact, it was during your working together that you won a Grammy. Can you tell us a bit of your working relationship with D’Rivera? Is he a large part of how you view music today?

AY: Working with Paquito was exhilarating and inspiring. He is a fantastic band leader. He trusts his musicians and gives them plenty of room to express their voice on stage. He is very driven and entertaining to be with, which is important when you’re on the road with someone and a man of the highest musicianship.

GALO: In 2008, Downbeat called your style a “complex transcultural stew” in reference to the different cultural sounds from North African to Peruvian that can be heard on your records. How do such ingredients find their way into your mind and onto your records?

AY: I lived in house of Peruvians for two years. I [also] have great interest in Peruvian music as well as in Moroccan music. I love the grooves, the lyrics of songs, and the history of the people — [they are all] fascinating. I investigate the music; ask the people who came from there about it. Curiosity is a key. And of course, you have to like their music, which I do.

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