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| Roni Eytan releases Melody People  Harmonica virtuoso and composer Roni Eytan is a harmonica player and composer who has been described as “redefining the instrument's role in jazz and world music.” At 23 he joined Grammy-winning pianist Danilo Pérez's band, performing worldwide, and has since been sought after as a sideman. He is the only harmonica player personally chosen by Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter for the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz, where both mentored him.With a sound that blends influences as wide as brass, woodwinds, strings and folk traditions, Eytan pushes the sonic possibilities of the harmonica. His search for new territory led him to commission and help create the first microtonal harmonica, an instrument built to voice the subtle inflections of Middle Eastern maqam, opening ground never before reached on the instrument. In the history of the harmonica in jazz, there have been just a handful of players who stood out as exemplary. In the 1940s, Larry Adler pioneered moving the harmonica, an instrument previously relegated to the ranks of vaudeville, juke joints and folkloric traditions, into the more sophisticated realms of classical and jazz. Another towering figure was Belgium's Jean Baptiste "Toots" Thielemans, who in the 1950s and 1960s transformed the humble harmonica into a legitimate jazz voice by playing on equal footing with jazz icons like Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, George Shearing and Bill Evans. A stream of harmonica virtuosos followed in his wake, from Howard Levy and Hendrik Meurkens to Grégoire Maret and Gabriel Grossi. Now comes Roni Eytan, whose innovations are redefining the instrument's role in jazz and world music. Eytan makes a profound statement with Melody People. Produced by the acclaimed pianist Shai Maestro, who also plays piano on the album, it was written for a chamber-like acoustic ensemble, emphasizing a dynamic and evolving dialogue of collective improvisation between the musicians. An homage to Roni's grandfather, a storyteller and music lover who passed down melodies through generations. Joined by pianist Shai Maestro, guitarist Nitzan Bar, bassist Barak Mori and drummer Daniel Dor, Eytan showcases his considerable gifts on Melody People, that was out (10/30) on bassist-composer Petros Klampanis' PKmusik label. Photo: Adam Friedlander write your comments about the article :: © 2026 Jazz News :: home page |