Album Notes

Pianist Alon Yavnai, winner of the 2008 Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album as part of the Paquito D’Rivera Quintet for the album “Funk Tango,” takes center stage as a soloist and trio leader after years of exceptional collaboration with artists like Paquito D’Rivera, Nancy Wilson, Rosa Passos, Joe Lovano and Yo-Yo Ma.

Travel Notes is a musical diary of pianist Alon Yavnai’s life as a touring musician with a multi-national upbringing, including influences from his culture from Israel, travels in Cape Verde, Angola, and Brazil. Melding solo piano with a trio combination featuring stand-out members Omer Avital on bass and oud and Jamey Haddad (Paul Simon) on percussion, the album is an intimate and personal songbook with international flavors.

Now, with the release of Travel Notes, his first recording on ObliqSound, Yavnai continues to explore new musical terrain, incorporating rhythms from Cape Verde, Peru and Morocco with Brazilian harmonic influences and his solid grounding in both classical and jazz composition.