Tal Yahalom -voice, guitar, compositions
Danielle Wertz -voice, piano, compositions
Debuting a new duo project that came together organically throughout the past year, guitarist Tal Yahalom and vocalist Danielle Wertz dive into a collaborative writing process to explore what lies below the surface.
In this intimate and exposed duo setting, their new book of songs creates a space to explore the depths of human experience: belonging, grief, relationship, uncertainty, and the way we hold ourselves and others as life pushes us into unknown territory again and again.
Tal Yahalom is an award-winning guitarist, composer and bandleader based in Brooklyn, New York since 2014. Drawing from a wide range of influences – spanning jazz and impressionistic classical music to Brazilian repertoire and South-American guitar traditions - Tal aims to create engaging storytelling, adventurous interplay and a deep sense of groove while expanding on the traditional roles and textural capabilities of the guitar.
Yahalom performed as a semifinalist at the 2019 Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz International Guitar Competition, earned 1st place at the 2015 Detroit Jazz Festival National Guitar Competition, 3rd place at the 2016 Montreux Jazz Festival International Guitar Competition, and received an AICF scholarship award of excellence in 2014-2015.
As a leader, he performs regularly with diverse solo programs, a chamber-jazz quintet (set to release its debut album in 2025), a collective post-rock trio KADAWA, and various trios which have featured Caroline Davis, Dan Weiss, Eivind Opsvik and Rogerio Boccato. Tal is also an active part in many collaborations and stylistically-diverse projects in the New York and international creative music scene.
Following 3 solo guitar EPs of original and improvised music, Tal released ‘Solo Standards’ in June 2023 - an ambitious and creative take on classic jazz repertoire, arranged to showcase the guitar as a multi-dimensional instrument, playing several roles simultaneously while exploring various techniques and textures. He has played at acclaimed international festivals and venues such as The Jerusalem Jazz Festival, Jazzwerkstatt Bern (CH), Jazzmeile Thüringen (DE), Teatro CajaGranada (ES), Vortex Jazz Club (UK), The Jazz Bar Edinburgh (UK), unTUBO (IT), Beit Haamudim (ISR), and NYC’s The Jazz Gallery, National Sawdust and Roulette Intermedium.
“A masterful ballad interpreter” (NYC Jazz Record) and semi-finalist in the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Vocal Competition, Danielle Wertz is an award-winning artist on the rise. The New York City-based singer, composer and arranger weaves together elements of jazz, folk, and wordless vocal textures to create an intimate and personal musical world. Described as, "untarnished by the politics of music" (Jazz Music Archives) and "at home alongside more contemporary exponents of improvised singing" (LoudMouth, AU) Danielle has rapidly gained national acclaim.
A finalist in both the Ella Fitzgerald Jazz Vocal Competition and the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Vocal Competition, Wertz released her 2017 debut album Intertwined in collaboration with pianist Tal Cohen — a sparkling collection of standards and newer compositions which was ranked #4 on Capital Bop's list of "Best DC Jazz Albums of 2017.” In addition to her solo career, Wertz is an avid collaborator, featured on recording projects alongside Elena Pinderhughes, Braxton Cook, Justin Rock, and Ambrose Akinmusire, among others.
With her newest release, Other Side (2023), Wertz has made a quantum leap as a composer and conceptualist, braving essential questions of the human experience with nuanced expression and deep feeling. Born of the introspection and examination that the pandemic forced upon us all, the album pairs her own lyrical compositions based in personal stories with carefully chosen arrangements of standards from the Great American Songbook like the Rodgers and Hart composition “Spring is Here,” imbued with the longing and anger created by a world in lockdown.
SPONSORSHIP
The Jazz Gallery is a not-for-profit arts organization presenting emerging artists who challenge convention, take creative risks, and lead their field as performers, composers and thinkers. We provide a platform for artists to discover their unique voice and a home for established musicians to continue to experiment and grow. At The Jazz Gallery, artists and audiences come together from around the world to explore new creative ideas, collaborate and celebrate jazz as a dynamic art form that reflects our ever-changing world.
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