Amos Hoffman, whose name is pronounced ah-moos, ranks among the most distinctive players of guitar and oud across jazz and world music. Born April 19, 1970, in Jerusalem, Israel, he grew up in a household without musicians, though his father’s work as a sculptor and painter created an atmosphere that welcomed artistic exploration. Classical guitar lessons began at age six. On his eighth birthday his father presented him with an oud, an instrument he mastered entirely on his own without formal lessons.
Enrollment at the Rubin Academy of Music in Jerusalem soon gave way to regular performances once he turned seventeen. Early listening centered on Louis Armstrong, Ray Charles, and Stevie Wonder. A stretch of open-ended discovery took him to Amsterdam, Holland; at twenty he moved on to New York and attended the New School for a brief period. The following ten years brought collaborations with Denis Charles, Sam Newsome, Jumma Santos, Jason Lindner, Omer Avital, Jay Collins, Ben Wolfe, and Evelyn Blakey, along with an enduring association in the groups of bassist Avishai Cohen. His debut album, The Dreamer, appeared on Fresh Sound/New Talent with Jorge Rossy and Duane Eubanks. While based in New York he also studied oud and maqam under Lebanese ney and oud player Bassam Saba.
In 1999 Hoffman settled back in Israel, making Tel Aviv his home. He continues to perform internationally and to teach, occasionally sharing stages with visiting artists Maucha Adnet and Papa Noel. Turning to his Ashkenazi and Eastern European heritage, he wrote the music for the 2006 album Na’ama, released on Magda Records. The recording honors the taqasim of improvisation and the maqam scales of classical Arabic tradition, its original pieces shaped by the leading Arab composers of the twentieth century.
Further pursuit of jazz fused with Middle Eastern idioms led to the RazDaz album Evolution, an investigation of melodies and rhythms that draw on compositional and improvisational practices shared by both traditions. The recording features Avishai Cohen together with ethnic percussionist Ilan Katchka and flute player Ilan Salem, two of Israel’s foremost musicians.
