Rotem Sivan

Guitarist Rotem Sivan possesses a dynamic sound with a stylistic bent toward modern creative jazz, post-bop, sophisticated indie pop, and hip-hop. The Israel-born, New York-based virtuoso established himself early on the solo albums Enchanted Sun (2013) and A New Dance (2015). 2018′s experimental My Favorite Monster covered a range of different styles and occasionally crossed over into pop and hip-hop. 2019′s star-studded Same Way Home offered sophisticated jazz-pop melodies alongside canny beats and production from hip-hop. 2023′s Far from Shore offered 14 originals with varying personnel including five singers, alternating guitarists, bassists, drummers, and saxophonist Braxton Cook. Sivan released Dream Louder in January 2024 as a musical love letter to his wife Lore, exploring the themes of family, love, and humanity. He was accompanied on the set by bassist Hamish Smith, drummer Miguel Russell, vocalist Sami Stevens, and contributions from virtuoso whistler Luke Krafka. Born in Jerusalem, Sivan initially studied classical music while attending the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music at Tel Aviv University. He moved to New York City in 2008 to study jazz at the New School. Since graduating, he has appeared with a bevy of name artists including Peter Bernstein, Ari Hoenig, Ben Street, Gracie Terzian, Ferenc Nemeth, and others. As a solo artist, he debuted in 2013 with Enchanted Sun, followed a year later by For Emotional Use Only. In 2015 he delivered his third studio album, A New Dance, featuring his trio with bassist Haggai Cohen Milo and drummer Colin Stranahan. Both Milo and Stranahan were again on board for 2017′s Antidote. For Sivan’s next project, he worked with producer Stelios Phili (A$AP Ferg, SZA, M.I.A.), creating an experimental pastiche of jazz, rock, hip-hop, psych, and R&B. Easily his most challenging album, My Favorite Monster was credited simply to Rotem and released in August 2018. 2019′s Far from Shore was recorded with a large cast. In addition to playing guitars, bass, keyboards, and producing, Sivan recruited lyricist/vocalist Michael Goldstein, five selectively utilized vocalists, saxophonist Braxton Cook, bassists Tim Lefebvre and Adam Neely, guitarists Josh Smith, Mark Lettieri, and Paul Davids, and drummers Ulysses Owens, Jr., Anwar Marshall, and James Muschler. The set drew almost universally complimentary reviews for its use of bright melody, myriad textures and dimensions, and an up-to-the-minute production style. Following some touring, Sivan married Lore, his companion of five years, in the summer of 2022. He composed a song cycle for his wife and members of her family. In 2023, he entered the studio with bassist Hamish Smith, drummer Miguel Russell, vocalist Sami Stevens, and virtuoso whistler Luke Krafka. They recorded Sivan’s songs and balanced the album with covers of the Beatles’ “Blackbird,” “West Virginia Mine Disaster,” a mournful Appalachian folk tune immortalized by Jean Ritchie, and a wooly reading of “Mack the Knife” (from Kurt Weill-Bertolt Brecht’s Three Penny Opera) that shifts from a distinctive elegant beat to midtempo swing to joyful New Orleans second-line rhythms. Produced by Sivan and titled Dream Louder, the album was issued in January 2024. ~ Matt Collar & Thom Jurek