Yotam Ben-Or

Internationally acclaimed harmonica player and composer Yotam Ben-Or is “playing at a level that, in my opinion, matches Stevie Wonder himself״ (Bass Musician Magazine). The Israeli-Belgian musician was born and raised in Nataf, a small village in the Jerusalem area. He started playing the harmonica at the age of 10, taught by his uncle. After graduating high school, Ben-Or moved to Tel-Aviv to attend the collaborative program of the Tel-Aviv Conservatory and The New School for Jazz in New York. During his studies, Ben-Or performed throughout Israel and shared the stage with Israel’s finest musicians, received the America-Israel Grant between 2014-2016, won the first prize in the Rostov International Jazz competition (Russia 2013), and recorded with his group “Jupiter” for the album “All Original – Best Young Israeli Jazz, presented by Avishai Cohen” (2013).

In August 2014, Ben-Or moved to NYC after receiving a full scholarship to study at The New School, where he graduated in May 2016. In March 2015 he attended Betty Carter Jazz Ahead at The Kennedy Center, directed by pianist Jason Moran. Since moving to NYC, Ben-Or has been performing with his group and as a sideman at prestigious venues and festivals in town such as: Jazz at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Bric JazzFest, Blue Note. He also toured and performed at well-known venues and festivals in Europe and Israel such as: Le Duc des Lombards, Festival Da Jazz St. Moritz, Tel-Aviv Piano Festival and more. Ben-Or had the privilege of being mentored by harmonicist Gregoire Maret since he was a teenager. He performed with artists and bands such as Edmar Castañeda, Silvana Estrada, Shai Maestro, and Sonex to name a few. Since 2015, Ben-Or has been making frequent trips to Central America to study and play different Afro Caribbean styles of music with masters such as Manley Lopez (Piri). In June 2018 Ben-Or released his debut album ‘Sitting on a Cloud’. In early 2022 he released two EP's, ‘Endless’ and 'Deliberations', on which he worked simultaneously.