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The Quintet

meet the band

  • Shauli Einav - saxophones
  • Tim Collins - vibraphone
  • Andy Hunter - trombone
  • Yoni Zelnik - contrabass
  • Paul Wiltgen - drums
  • Shauli Einav - saxophones

    Shauli Einav - saxophones

    Saxophonist & Composer Shauli Einav has been described as a "remarkably complete musician, a virtuosic soloist with a lush sound on both soprano and tenor whose compositions are daring and deep" (All About Jazz). His album “Opus One” (Plus Loin Music) was reviewed as a "Smartly played, swinging and evocative jazz album” (DownBeat Magazine). Einav recently relocated to Paris after seven fruitful years in the vibrant music scene of NYC. Over there, he played with some of the leading jazz figures as Aaron Goldberg, Avishai Cohen, Don Friedman, Eliot Zigmund, Omer Avital, Johnathan Blake, Shai Maestro, Walt Weiskopf, Frank Gambale, Dave Liebman & Gilad Hekselman. Einav has performed with his ensembles on the main stages such as Duc des Lombards, Sudtirol Jazzfest, Rochester Jazz Festival, Swing Hall Tokyo, Bohemia Jazz Festival, Venice Jazz Festival, Red Sea Jazz Festival, Enjoy Jazz Festival, Smalls, Kitano, The Knitting Factory, Unterfahrt among many others. Born 1982 in the countryside of Israel and started playing the violin at the age of 4, at 13 he switched to the saxophone and started playing with many Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv based bands. In 1998 Einav was discovered by the legendary American saxophonist Arnie Lawrence who came to Israel to bring peace between Jews and Arabs through music. Mr Lawrence (who was mentored by Ben Webster) was the connecting piece between Jerusalem & Tel Aviv musicians to NYC’s Jazz heritage. Einav, later on, completed his BA at the Jerusalem Academy and earned his Master’s degree at the prestigious Eastman School of Music, Rochester NY.
  • Tim Collins - vibraphone

    Tim Collins - vibraphone

    Tim Collins has been called a “world-class vibes player” (CJSR Canada), “a distinctive vibraphone voice” (Radio One Australia), a “musician of fire” (Washington Post) and “nothing less than exemplary” (Downbeat). His music has been described as “thoughtful, probing composition” (Downbeat), “universal and vibrant” (Blogcritics.org) and “stunning sophisticated jazz” (PBS Australia). He has toured, performed and recorded with John Ellis, John Hollenbeck, Ralph Alessi, Marty Ehrlich, Jody Redhage, Nasheet Waits, Hector Martignon, George Porter Jr., Ben Monder, Donny McCaslin, Peter O’Mara, Joel Frahm, Ingrid Jensen, Aaron Parks, Antonio Sanchez, Aaron Goldberg, Will Vinson, Danny Grissett, Mike Moreno, Charlie Hunter, Seamus Blake, and Adam Nussbaum.
  • Andy Hunter - trombone

    Andy Hunter - trombone

    Born in Northern Michigan and musically raised on the diverse scenes of Cleveland, Shanghai and New York City, Andy Hunter now resides primarily in Cologne, Germany where he performs regularly with the WDR Big Band, with programs featuring many of the top artists in jazz today. Hunter has performed and toured around the world as a regular member of the Mingus Big Band (Mingus Dynasty and Mingus Orchestra), the Richard Bona Group, the Toshiko Akiyoshi/Lew Tabackin Jazz Orchestra, SPOKE, T.S. Monk’s 10-tet “Monk on Monk” and Cuban groups such as Ochún and La Típica Novel. Recording credits include albums with Snarky Puppy, Bob Mintzer, Orrin Evans’ Captain Black Big Band, The Birdland Big Band,The FatCat Big Band, La Cumbiamba, Hector Martignon’s Banda Grande and the WDR Big Band.
  • Yoni Zelnik - contrabass

    Yoni Zelnik - contrabass

    Born in Israel and moved to France in 1995, Yoni Zelnik is one of the most in-demand contrabassist in the French and international jazz scenes. He has been recorded on over seventy albums (Youn Sun Nah, Geraldine Laurent, Yonathan Avisha.) and has played on prestigious stages such as North Sea Jazz Festival, Lincoln Center, Tokyo Jazz Festival). Nowadays Yoni frequently plays in Avishai Cohen's (trumpet) quartet around the globe. Zelnik has played with notables such as Dave Douglas, Billy Hart, Aaron Goldberg, Walter Smith, Nasheet Waits, Ben Wendel, Johnathan Blake, Anat Cohen, Jeff Ballard, Leon Parker, Mark Guiliana, David Binney, Kendrick Scott, Jason Lindner, Justin Brown, Gregory Hutchinson, Yotam Silberstein among many others.
  • Paul Wiltgen - drums

    Paul Wiltgen - drums

    Luxembourg native Paul Wiltgen is internationally recognized as an accomplished drummer, an imaginative composer and a visionary bandleader. An artist in the truest sense of the word, Paul compellingly balances his musical aesthetic and his personal passion, creating a sound from the drums that simultaneously supports and inspires. After an extensive classical tutelage and a considerable amount of orchestral experience, Paul decided to pursue what would become his life’s passion: a career as a drummer. Not long after realizing his true vocation, Paul became one of the most in-demand drummers in and around Luxembourg. August 2001 saw the mark of a major milestone in Paul’s life: he moved to New York City to study at the Manhattan School of Music. Since graduating, Paul is in the vanguard of today’s jazz scene, having worked with many of its leading voices, including Joshua Redman, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Mike Moreno, David Binney, Lage Lund, Patrick Cornelius, Michael Janisch, Ambrose Akinmusire, Will Vinson, Walter Smith III, Bireli Lagrene, Tim Collins, Pablo Held and Franz von Chossy.

endorsements

Yanagisawa Saxophones
Aizen Mouthpieces
Jazzlab
Reed Geek
D'Addario Reeds
Berthold Records
Silverstein Works Ligatures
Rumberger Sounds Products