Ohad Talmor


Ohad Talmor is an American/Swiss jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer, conductor and arranger.

Life and work

Early years

Talmor grew up in Geneva, Switzerland, where he began piano lessons at the age of 5 at the local conservatory.
He met virtuoso pianist Martha Argerich in his teens who exposed him to a world of music and musicians which helped shape his musical upbringing both as an instrumentalist and as a composer.

Talmor discovered the saxophone while attending high school in the US in 1987. Back in Switzerland, he devoted himself to this instrument while briefly studying musicology and philosophy at the University of Geneva. He also studied composition with Russian pianist and composer Alexander Rabinovitch.

In 1989, he met alto saxophonist Lee Konitz at a recording session. Lee Konitz would prove pivotal in Ohad Talmor's career, mentoring him closely for years to come. Eventually Talmor became one of Lee Konitz's privileged musical partner, resulting in 8 records and over 200 concerts worldwide.
From 1990 to 1995, Talmor was deeply involved in the European Jazz scene, leading his own quartet or quintet which featured American trombonist Glenn Ferris. During this time, he collaborated with many of Europe's leading musicians including Joachim Kühn, Matthieu Michel, Benoit Delbecq.

In 1994 and 1995 he toured Europe with Lee Konitz, Steve Swallow and different large ensembles featuring music he had composed.
Talmor eventually moved to New York in 1995 getting a Composition degree from the Manhattan School of Music in 1997.

Present day

Talmor lives in Brooklyn, New York.

As a leader, his own projects include: "Back to the Land", a group featuring Chris Tordini and Eric McPherson with guests pianists Leo Genovese, David Virelles or vibraphonist Joel Ross.

"Newsreel", a Sextet featuring Dan Weiss, Jacob Sacks, Miles Okazaki, Shane Endsley and Matt Pavolka.

"Trio", with Miles Okazaki and Dan Weiss.

Talmor's other projects include:

Steve Swallow/Ohad Talmor/Adam Nussbaum Trio and

"Mass Transformation", a Nonet focusing on the Music of Anton Bruckner and featuring Austria's Spring String 4tet, singer Judith Berkson, Pete McCann, Shane Endsley, Mark Ferber.

Since 2004, he has been a devoted student of Hindustani music, playing the bansuri under the guidance of virtuoso flutist Steve Gorn.

Talmor is involved with the bustling Brooklyn jazz scene, performing regularly with Jason Moran, Joshua Redman, Gregoire Maret, Fred Hersh, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Chris Cheek, Dave Douglas, Carla Bley, Joe Lovano, Chris Potter, Billy Hart.



As a Composer, Arranger and Conductor, Talmor is equally involved in writing for jazz and classical idioms.
He leads his "Grand Ensemble" project which last played at the New York Jazz Winter Festival and focused on a series of Virtuosic Études.

He has composed, arranged and conducted music for large ensembles, and for soloists including Kurt Rosenwinkel, Joshua Redman/Mark Turner/Chris Cheek, Gregoire Maret, Lee Konitz, Chris Potter or the late Michael Brecker.

His music has been performed by jazz ensembles around the world, including Germany's WDR Big Band, Portugal's OJM Big Band, Switzerland's Big Band de Lausanne, Lucerne Jazz Orchestra and DKSJ All Stars, Brazil's SoundScape Orquestra, Belgium's Bruxelles Jazz Orchestra, and NYC's MSM Big Band with the Brecker Brothers.
His contributions to the classical idiom include music for pianist Martha Argerich, São Paulo's Symphonic Band, members of the Seiji Ozawa Orchestra in Japan, the Spring String Quartet from Austria or Portugal National Orchestra.

Talmor's large-form compositions include "Layas", his concerto for piano, drums and double orchestras, which premiered in February 2010 by the Porto National Orchestra, with the OJM Big Band with Jason Moran and Dan Weiss as featured soloists.

Other activities

Talmor is a Professor of Composition/Arranging and Music History at the Geneva Conservatoire Populaire de Danse, Musique et Théâtre. He is also the coordinator for its Jazz program.

Since 2025, Talmor is the Professor of Jazz Saxophone and Jazz Composition at Siena Jazz University Masters program.

He is also an adjunct professor at the New School in New York City.
Talmor is actively involved as a composer for films and radio plays.

His latest score is for the movie "Low Down" featuring John Hawkes, Elle Fanning, Glenn Close and musician Flea. The movie was primed at the Sundance and Karlovy Vary Film Festivals in 2014.

He has contributed numerous scores to Sci-Fi's Radio Drama Channel Seeing Ear Theater including the Tales from the Crypt audio series
In 2011 Talmor founded the Performance Space located in Prospect Heights in Brooklyn, NY.

Since 2018, Talmor is the Artistic Director of the .

In 2012 he was awarded the Jazz prize from Switzerland's SUISA Foundation for Music for his "innovative and creative jazz work".
In 2015 Talmor was awarded the EBU Award for European Jazz Composer of the year.

Discography


The Other Quartet "13 pieces"

The Other Quartet "Sound Stains"

MOB Trio "Loose" and "Quite Live in Brooklyn"

Lee Konitz, Ohad Talmor & Axis Quartet Plays French Impressionist Music of the 20th Century

BlueSeven "Dexter"

Christophe Schweizer "Full Circle Rainbow"

MOB Trio "Quite Live in Brooklyn"

Steve Swallow-Ohad Talmor 6tet "Bum's Tale"

Lee Konitz, Ohad Talmor String Project Inventions

Demian Cabaud "Naranja"

Lee Konitz New Nonet

Steve Swallow / Ohad Talmor / Adam Nussbaum "Playing in Traffic"

TOAP Collectivo in Guimaraes "Vol. IV"

Ohad Talmor NEWSREEL

Evaristo Perez Trio feat Ohad Talmor "Why"

BlueSeven "Collage"

Kurt Rosenwinkel and OJM "Our Secret World"

Evaristo Perez Trio feat Ohad Talmor "Suite Paul Klee"

Sebastien Ammann "Samadhi"

Steve Swallow / Ohad Talmor / Adam Nussbaum "Singular Curves"

Dan Weiss "Fourteen"

Axel Fischbacher 4tet feat Ohad Talmor "Normal"

Justin Mullens Octet "The Cornucopiad"

Dan Weiss "Sixteen:Drummers Suite"

Ohad Talmor - Christoph Irniger CounterpointS "Subway Lines"

Adam Nussbaum "Lead Belly Project"

Lee Konitz Nonet "Old Songs New"

Ohad Talmor NewsReel Sextet "Long Forms"

Adam Nussbaum ″Lead Belly Reimagined″

Ohad Talmor Trio "Mise en Place" with Miles Okazaki, Dan Weiss,

Ohad Talmor ″Back to the Land″ with David Virelles, Leo Genovese, Chris Tordini, Eric McPherson, Adam O'Farrill, Shane Endsley, Russ Johnson, Grégoire Maret