Alon Oleartchik (b. 1950)
Birthplace:
Warsaw, Polish Republic
Born:
June 15, 1950
Alon Oleartchik was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1950 and immigrated to Israel at the age of six. Following in the footsteps of his father, Edward Oleartchik, a well-known songwriter in Poland, young Alon was given an early training in classical piano. Known in later years as a remarkable bass player, Oleartchik masters a variety of instruments, including piano and guitar. He developed his interest in jazz as the bass player for Platina, Israel's first jazz band with original music, which toured in America and performed in the Newport Jazz Festival in 1972. Before studying composition at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts in the late 1970's, Alon was a co-founder, writer and singer in Kaveret, Israel's most famous and popular rock group to date. After graduation from Berklee, Oleartchik remained in America, inspired by and active in New York's Lower East Side avant garde jazz experience, where he played and recorded with, among others, Iris Lord, Eddie Jobson ("Zinc-The Green Album") and Alfonia Tims & the Flying Tigers ("Future Funk / uncut"). Returning to Israel in 1984 for a reunion concert of Kaveret, he went under contract with NMC and began his career as a solo recording artist. In his first album he was credited with breaking the mainstream stereotypes by introducing Middle-Eastern rhythms and modes. In 1991 Oleartchik was awarded the Composer of the Year award by Acum, The Society of Authors & Composers of Israel. Oleartchik has written film scores, music scores for theater, radio & TV commercials, has been the musical producer of many other recording artists, including Noa and Amal Mourcus, and occasionally contributes to the Rimon School of Music (jazz), an affiliate of Berklee College of Music, with workshops on song writing. Over the last several years he has sung with the Tel Aviv Big Band. These concerts led to the Oleartchik Jazz double album of 1999 with Avishay Cohen and Eli Dejibri.....Even with 8 solo albums to his credit, Oleartchik's commitment and enthusiasm for exploring the unfamiliar remains the same.