Mordy Ferber (Israel, Jazz, Fusion)

"Ferber’s Mr. X makes manifest his deep commitment and his firm attitudes towards his music. The compositional lines are strong; the ballads are fresh; and, the guitar work throughout is outstanding."

"Though guitarist Mordy Ferber is one of those musician’s musicians'"a technically accomplished and versatile player who is known throughout the jazz community, but who remains relatively obscure among jazz listeners'"he has found the time to release a CD that showcases his talent in a wide-ranging array of styles. Actually, Being There was recorded in 1996, and it is just now making its way into the distribution channels on the Half Note label. Better late than never, that’s for sure. Perhaps Ferber was too busy with his behind-the-scenes work writing music for shows like The Sopranos, Everybody Loves Raymond or Six Feet Under, as he holds down a full-time job at New York University. Or perhaps his touring throughout the world, even in lesser-known venues in Greece and China, has put him behind in his self-promotion endeavors."
"On Being There, Mordy Ferber provides reason to make sure he’s included in the lists of jazz guitarists who not only have developed sounds of their own through deep personal experience and technical mastery, but also who have shown sufficient compositional imagination to make their own statement."

"Add Mordy Ferber to the list of notable guitarists in the jazz world today. This Israeli-born sensation displays readily apparent technical fortitude and, more importantly,a confident sense of when and how to flex his talent. Ferber is a player of considerable promise who blends irreverent energies and an angular, dare we say European?, harmonic sense into an overall jazz sans frontiers."

"New York guitarist-composer, Mordy Ferber, is a powerful, contemporary guitarist with an attitude, energy, and a pluck all his own. And with a batch of riveting originals and plenty of zing per string,Ferber is clearly his own man."

"I love his sound and his feeling. He writes beautiful compositions. Mordy is committed to the highest level of quality and creativity. He’s not afraid to take risks."

Mordy Ferber is a rarity, a jazz musician from Israel who was able to develop a sound of his own. A singer as a child, Ferber originally learned the guitar so he could accompany himself. He had classical lessons and was interested in rock before he discovered jazz, starting with Django Reinhardt and eventually graduating to Charlie Christian, Wes Montgomery, Jim Hall and John Scofield among others. Ferber started working in the studios when he was 15 and appeared regularly on radio shows and television, performing in a wide variety of styles. In the Israeli Army for three years, Ferber toured the country as part of the military's entertainment unit. When he was 23, Ferber won a scholarship to the Berklee College Of Music which he graduated from in 1986. Since then he has freelanced in the U.S. and in Israel, recording All the Way To Sendai (which features among others Tiger Okoshi, Bob Mintzer and Miroslav Vitous) as a leader for Enja in 1990.

Recorded at Blue Jay Recording Studio in Carlisle, Mass., by Rob Jaczko, Gragg Lunsfora, assisted by Mark Wessel.
HIGH SPEED analog recording on 1/2 inch tape. Digital transfer by ICM, Switzerland.
MORDY was born in a small development town in Northern Israel where musical education was sparse in the young community. In spite of this, he began playing classical guitar on his own at the age of 12. A few years later he was already piaying in various rock groups before being exposed to the music of Django Reinhardt, whose playing appealed to him strongly in both a technical and an emotional way. He began to emulate the gypsy guitarist's style and on a visit to France, a 17 year old Mordy performed Django's music in several clubs there. Other influences during this period were John McLaughlin and Philip Catherine. He began to listen extensively to pianists such as Lennie Tristano, Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett.
Mordy's army service, an obligation of every Israeli citizen, was spent in an entertainment unit which toured throughout the country. Following this three year period, he was the top studio guitar player in Israel and appeared on countless recordings of Israeli pop and rock stars.
A full scholarship to the BERKLEE COLLEGE OF MUSIC brought Mordy to Boston where he spent two years acquiring his Bachelor of Professional Music (in record time). Mordy was given the JIM HALL AWARD for Outstanding Musicianship and graduated cum laude. He also performed extensively in and around Boston with some of the Berklee teachers.
In 1986 he founded the Mordy Ferber Quartet which included Bob Moses on drums, Miroslav Vitous on bass and trumpeter Tiger Okoshi. The quartet recently appeared at the Boston Globe Jazz Festival receiving critical acclaim from critics and audience alike. Mordy makes his home in Boston and spends a good deal of time in NYC. He frequently visits Israel where he enjoys widespread recognition as one of the country's rising stars.