Eden Ladin
Eden Ladin
Since his arrival on the New York scene in 2008, Eden Ladin has become a quiet force of harmonic complexity and lyricism. Playing with a sensitivity that only comes from embracing self-reflection and collective exploration, the pianist, keyboard player and composer has earned recognition from some of the music’s most prestigious publications and institutions, and collaborated with a range of artists, including Avishai Cohen (bass), Avishai Cohen (trumpet), Terence Blanchard, Kimberly Thompson, Ben Street, Joel Frahm, Nir Felder, Eli Degibri, Mark Guiliana, Donny McCaslin, Joe Martin, Justin Brown, Marcus Gilmore and Charles Altura. Eden also has recorded with a number of distinctive voices, including Wallace Roney, Eric Harland, Ben Wendel, Myron Walden, Darren Barrett, Gilad Hekselman, Ari Hoenig, Omer Avital, Philip Dizack, Joe Sanders, Dayna Stephens, Orlando le Fleming, Harish Raghavan, Marcos Varela, John Ellis and Camila Meza.
Growing up in Tel Aviv as the son of prominent Israeli drummer Gil Ladin, Eden began playing drums at age four, but had gravitated toward the piano by age eight. He continued to cultivate a rhythmic fascination through grade school and, by age 14, had switched to piano as his principal instrument, studying privately with Alec Katz and Amit Golan, and with Yafim Yoffe for ear training and harmony. Having received the America-Israel Cultural Foundation scholarship for jazz performance studies abroad, as well as a scholarship to study as an undergrad at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, Eden began seeking out the instruction of such visionaries as, among others, George Cables, Reggie Workman, Billy Harper, Kirk Nurock, William Parker, Robert Sadin, Charles Tolliver, Gerard D’angelo, Jane Ira Bloom, Kevin Hays, Sam Yahel, Joanne Brackeen, Vijay Iyer, Doug Weiss, Ari Hoenig, Ben Monder and Lee Konitz—the latter of whom awakened Eden to an enduring concept: “Play what you sing; don’t sing what you play.”
Honesty of expression and virtuosic style has allowed Eden to play many of New York’s famed clubs and venues, including The Village Vanguard, The Blue Note, Joe’s Pub, Webster Hall, Sullivan Hall, Dizzy’s Coca Cola, Iridium, BB King Blues Club, Smoke Jazz and Supper Club, The Stone, Smalls Jazz Club, Mezzrow, The Jazz Gallery, Le Poisson Rouge, 92Y, Symphony Space, National Sawdust and Highline Ballroom. Eden also has toured internationally, and played such world-renowned festivals and performance halls as Auditorium Parco della Musica (Italy), Auditorium de Lyon (France), Wiener Konzerthaus (Austria), Opera Garnier de Monte Carlo (Monaco), Bozar Center For Fine Arts (Belgium), Vilnius Congress Concert Hall (Lithuania), Cotton Club (Japan), Ronnie Scott’s (England), Duc des Lombards (France), Marian’s Jazz Room (Switzerland) Centro Cultural Roberto Cantoral (Mexico), Sesc Pompéia (Brazil), Marciac Jazz Festival Main Stage (France), Gent Jazz Festival (Belgium), Pontevedra Jazz Festival (Spain), Red Sea Jazz Festival (Israel) and Festival Jazz International Rotterdam (Holland).
Sitting in silence, listening to the music resonating in his mind, Eden has uncovered a personal narrative of original compositions. Each reflects years of musical exploration, traveling back and forth between New York and Tel Aviv. His debut recording YEQUM (Contagious Music, 2017) presents 11 of these compositions, their unique artistries co-interpreted by Dayna Stephens, John Ellis, Gilad Hekselman, Harish Raghavan and Daniel Dor, alongside special guests Camila Meza and Yonatan Albalak. In Hebrew, “yequm” represents “universe.” Through his compositions, Eden has recreated his own personal universe, a glimpse at which he seeks to offer the listener with every track.
The record received very positive reviews from various magazines.