Alec Katz
Alec Katz
Alec Katz is a sought-after pianist, composer, and educator active in Israel. Among the musicians, he has performed and recorded with are Slide Hampton, Donald Harrison, Kevin Mahogany, Eric Alexander, and Chuck Israels. Alec began playing the piano when he was seven years old, taking classical piano lessons, and was captured by playing music by ear. He was introduced to jazz by his uncle, a pianist and a jazz lover who played for him records by Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson, Erroll Garner, and Bill Evans. In high school, Alec continued to study piano and music theory and organized small jazz ensembles.
Alec began playing professionally in the early ’90s while studying at The Jerusalem Academy of Music. Playing gigs in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and around the country, he became an in-demand piano player and performed with many local musicians doing club dates, concerts, and festivals. Alec Katz has often performed with visiting American jazz artists such as Arnie Lawrence, Walter Blanding, Abraham Burton, Eric Alexander, Donald Harrison, Renee Lee, and many others.
In the late ’90s, Alec lived in The Nederlands and studied at The Royal Conservatory, The Hague. He has had the fortune to study with the legendary Dutch pianist Frans Elsen and the legendary pianist Barry Harris. During the years in The Nederlands Alec has played and recorded with some of the finest European musicians such as Niels Tausk, Klemens Marktl, Benjamin Herman, and John Engels. He graduated with honors from The Royal Conservatory with B.M. Degree in jazz piano performance.
Alec Katz formed his own trio and started a collaboration with the jazz vocalist Simona Arones. Alec and Simona have made numerous musical projects as well as recording with the legendary drummer Billy Hart and a few years later recording in New York featuring renowned keyboard player Harry Whitaker and creative drummer Daniel Freedman.
Alec continues performing at major music events and festivals such as the Red Sea Jazz Festival, Tel Aviv Jazz Festival, Givatayim Theater, Tel Aviv Museum, and Heichal Ha-Tarbut (Cultural Palace) and as a soloist with Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra.
In 2009-10 Alec Katz has invited legendary jazz bassist and composer Chuck Israels for a series of concerts and masterclasses. The highlights of this become a live trio recording with Chuck Israels on bass and Yonatan Rosen on drums at Milestone Jazz Club in Binyamina and a memorable Jazz Workshop at The Center For Jazz Studies, Israeli Conservatory in Tel Aviv.
Besides performing, writing, and producing Alec Katz also is a dedicated educator. He is teaching music for more than 20 years. Alec is a jazz piano, harmony, improvisation, and ensemble instructor at The Center For Jazz Studies, The Israeli Conservatory, and the Rimon School of Music.
