Five years ago, double bass virtuoso and multi-instrumentalist Adam Ben Ezra made a much-lauded solo visit to Fasching. When Ben Ezra now returns to Sweden’s biggest jazz club, he brings Cuban drummer Michael Olivera with him for an evening where jazz, hip-hop, R&B and electronica are cooked together with influences from flamenco and Arabic music.
Born and raised in Tel Aviv, he learned to play the violin at the age of five. From classical music, Adam moved on to jazz when he discovered the double bass at the age of 16. In 2008, Adam Ben Ezra broke through on the Internet with interpretations of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” and with the theme from the TV series Seinfeld. An American record company became interested and the rest is history.
With many millions of views and hundreds of thousands of followers, Adam is something of an internet star who has also toured extensively in Europe and the USA. With inspiration from bassists such as Jaco Pastorius, Stanley Clarke and Eddie Gomez, Adam Ben Ezra has redefined and breathed new life into double bass playing and created a unique soundscape, not least live where his intricate loop technique celebrates triumphs.
Adam Ben Ezra – double bass, piano, vocals
Michael Olivera – drums