Yonathan Avishai

Born in Tel Aviv in 1977, Yonathan Avishai grew up between Israel and Japan before settling in France in the early 2000s, first in the Dordogne and later in the Yonne. A pianist, composer and jazz musician, Yonathan Avishai develops an acoustic approach highly attentive to silence, melody and short forms, in a register where the jazz trio often engages with a chamber‑music sensibility. After beginnings on the Israeli scene, he took part in the Third World Love project alongside Avishai Cohen, Omer Avital and Daniel Freedman, a group active for about ten years and documented on several records, including Third World Love Songs (2002), Avanim (2004), Sketch of Tel Aviv (2006), New Blues (2008) and Songs and Portraits (2012). Settled in France, Yonathan Avishai later led his own projects, notably his trio with Yoni Zelnik and Donald Kontomanou, heard on Trio (2015), The Parade (2016), Joys and Solitudes (2019) and Shapes and Sounds (2024). His path has also crossed long‑term with trumpeter Avishai Cohen, in his quartet on the albums Into the Silence (2016), Cross My Palm with Silver (2017), Naked Truth (2022) and Ashes to Gold (2024), and in duo on Playing the Room (2019). As a solo artist, Yonathan Avishai released Retrouvailles in 2023.