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Itzhak Ventura is a ney specialist. Mastering the Persian, Arabic and Turkish variants of this end-blown reed flute. He also takes it inherently naked, natural sound, and surrounds it with drum, piano, keyboards and bass, creating an elaborately expanded framework.
- Songlines Magazine -
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"From the first seconds of the performance, the understanding that you are in a new and unusual musical space becomes clear. The sound of the Ney flute echoes a primal story of a journey that continues from the mountains of Iran and Turkey to the deserts of Arabia and right to us. The rhythm section of the piano, the bass, the drums and the analog synthesizers wrap the sounds in a tailored elegance that allows for a real and fascinating dialogue and the result is a show that takes the listener to a heavenly experience between a spiritual journey and a contemporary dive"
-Gil Rubio-
About.
Itzhak Ventura’s long relationship with the ney (Middle Eastern end-blown reed flute) started whilst growing up in the vibrant port of Jaffa-Tel Aviv, a cultural hotspot of a city and very much the heartbeat of Israel’s music scene. The difficulties of learning an instrument not in any way connected with his homeland, meant that Itzhak had to go to extraordinary lengths to achieve his goal, firstly travelling to Istanbul where he learned how to play the Turkish and Arabic varieties of the ney.
The ney’s close relationship with Sufism led to Itzhak’s fascination with Sufi practice and philosophy and with the guidance of the words by the great mystical theologian Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī he discovered the Persian Sufis’ own variation of the instrument. With its totally different method of playing, learning this instrument and understanding the principles of Persian music meant starting all over again, so for several years he dedicated himself to its study under the tutelage of the only two masters in Israel, Amir Shahasar and Rabby Eyal Saeed Many. Because of the difficulties of visiting Iran, Itzhak duly travelled to California, home to a large community of Iranians, to further absorb the culture of Persian music. In turn, he was able to learn from other masters living in the area and hone his own sound and technique of the Persian ney, which he plays on 8 of the 10 pieces on this album.
The inspiration behind this album lies in Itzhak’s life changing experience around four years ago when he was diagnosed with cancer. As he explains, “The shocking news forced me to re-evaluate my life and not to take things for granted. I got a new perspective about what is really important, like taking care of my body and mind as well as appreciating my family and friends. I also promised to express myself, and so I began, for the first time, to compose.” Thanks to the financial help of a close friend, he was able to receive the best medical treatment and make a full recovery. His eternal gratitude to Michal is marked by the uplifting and fittingly titled ‘For Michal’, the first track to be composed for the album and something of a watershed moment which spawned an incredible burst of creativity, and without intending to, soon resulted in this wonderful debut release.
In addition to playing with the Jerusalem Orchestra East & West since its inception in 2009, Itzhak has played with other renowned orchestras and musicians across a wide range of musical genres. His goal for this album was to create a new hybrid, combining both ancient ney flute styles and motifs with contemporary sounds and production, whilst still maintaining the traditional musical principals and ideology with which he was raised. To achieve this, he enlisted the help of some of the finest local musicians, Avri Borochov (double bass), Aviv Cohen (drums) and Yonatan Daskal (piano, keyboards), creating a quartet which allowed him to integrate the ney and its heritage into the context of a contemporary and jazz-infused setting
Ventura has been playing with the "East and West Jerusalem Orchestra" since its establishment in 2009, and in addition records, plays and hosts with well-known orchestras and musicians in a wide variety of musical genres (Tuna, Dodo Tessa, Yasmin Moalem, Omar Adam Johnny Greenwood and more).
Ventura's debut album includes ten original compositions combining traditional motifs and virtuosic expressions.
In his second album, he created a new and up-to-date musical language that combines ancient sounds and motifs of the Ney with electronic music produced by Yuval Havkin (Rejoicer) on the Raw Tapes label.
The band members: Itzhak Ventura - Ney, Synthesizers | Sharon Manzor - Piano | Abri Borochov - Bass | Aviv Cohen - Drums
Ventura has also created a unique SOLO performance, a one man show combining the NEY with the analog synthesizers, and wrap the sounds in a tailored elegance that allows for a real and fascinating dialogue. The result is a show that takes the listener to a heavenly experience between a spiritual journey and a contemporary dive.
Itzhak Ventura’s worldwide management is handled by Sharon Cohen.
Get in touch with us for all inquiries, and we’ll refer you to our prospective local agents when relevant.
Booking:
Sharon Cohen
Info@itzhakventur.com