Home » Jazz Articles » Interview » Yaron Stavi: Profoundly Bassist
Yaron Stavi: Profoundly Bassist
Yaron Stavi
bass, acousticNigel Kennedy
violin
Richard Galliano
accordionb.1950
Robert Wyatt
drumsStavi was born in Israel in 1975 and it was where he grew up. He remembers, "there was always music in my family home. Both my parents love music and listen to it a lot. During my childhood they listened mainly to classical music. They used to go to classical music concerts and took me with them at quite an early age. My first memories of music are of hearing the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and other classical concerts." It was not only going to concerts which influenced the young Stavi. His older brother is also a musician and Stavi comments, " My older brother was already playing the piano when I was a little boy, so his playing was always there, too. I loved and lived music from as far back as I can remember. I can't remember any time when music was not a main part of my life. I fell in love with sounds and music since I was born and I still love it more than anything else."
I wondered how Stavi had come to pick up a bass and choose it as his instrument. He explained, " As I said before, my parents exposed me to music at a very early age and I am very grateful for that and thank them for it. The first instrument I played was the violin. I was six years old and chose to play it because I had heard a lot of classical music concerts and LPs. I played the violin for two years and stopped because I didn't like it enough and didn't enjoy practicing, so it wasn't the instrument for me. At the same time, when I was about 6 or maybe 8 I started to hear more kinds of music such as pop and rock and I loved it. One of the first things I heard which completely blew my mind away was the Beatles. I became pretty obsessed with their music and I still think that when it comes to songwriting, singing, harmonies, playing and so on it doesn't get any better. I am still a huge Beatles fan and listen to their music often. It is the best music and the more I listen the more I love and enjoy it. I remember as a young child being attracted to the bass playing of
Paul McCartney
bass, electricb.1942
Bruce Springsteen
composer / conductorb.1949
Stavi is more often than not found playing jazz and double bass these days. I wondered when he had made the switch. Stavi says, "Around the time I began playing bass, I was first exposed to jazz. I found it interesting, challenging and fascinating. It really felt like a music in which you could express a lot of things in your playing. I got more and more into jazz and realized that if I really want to play jazz, I should play the double bass. At the age of 17, I got my first double bass and started taking lessons. I actually studied classical double bass playing. This brought me back to classical music which was always there somewhere and was the place where I started from. I loved playing classical music on the double bass as well as jazz. With the double bass and the electric bass, I really felt that I found my place in music and that music found its place in me. During that time I listened a lot to jazz and got inspired by people like saxophonist
John Coltrane
saxophone1926 - 1967
Miles Davis
trumpet1926 - 1991
Charles Mingus
bass, acoustic1922 - 1979
Ron Carter
bassb.1937
Charlie Haden
bass, acoustic1937 - 2014
Jaco Pastorius
bass, electric1951 - 1987
From the point of view of the bass, Stavi says his main influences are Carter, Haden,
Ray Brown
bass, acoustic1926 - 2002
Brick Fleagle
b.1906Though primarily influenced by the sound of the bass, Stavi has a diverse taste in music and this is reflected when he discusses what he listens to now. "I listen to quite a lot of kinds and genres of music," he says. "I guess more than anything, I like to listen to songs. Nothing does it to me more than a great song. I listen to rock and pop songs a lot. I go back and listen often to the artists that inspired me and made me play music in the first place—the Beatles; Springsteen;
Stevie Wonder
vocalsb.1950
Brian Wilson
vocalsb.1942
Michael Jackson
vocals1958 - 2009
Jimmy Page
guitar
Eric Clapton
guitar and vocalsb.1945
Stavi is also interested in World Music. "I am a huge fan of Brazilian music." He comments, "I love Samba, Choro, Bossa Nova, MPB (Música popular Brasileira— a trendy, Brazilian music linking samba and regional Brazilian music). I obviously admire the great musician and writer
Antonio Carlos Jobim
piano1927 - 1994
Joao Gilberto
vocals1931 - 2019
Elis Regina
vocalsb.1945
Joao Bosco
guitarb.1946
Milton Nascimento
guitar and vocalsb.1942
Gilberto Gil
guitarb.1942
Wayne Shorter
saxophone1933 - 2023
Herbie Hancock
pianob.1940
Keith Jarrett
pianob.1945
Astor Piazzolla
bandoneon1921 - 1992
Within a few years of taking up the bass, Stavi began to perform. He began when he was 16, performing with school friends, but his first professional performances came shortly after he met a man who was to become a friend and remain one of the influential people in Stavi's life— saxophonist
Gilad Atzmon
saxophoneNow that we had touched on the spiritual side, I asked Stavi about his take on life—if he had a philosophy. He said, "Well, that's a serious question. I guess that 'live and let live' is quite a basic thing. I wish more people would connect to that. I try to be positive about life and about music. It is not always the easiest thing but I guess it is the better option. I believe that life without art and therefore obviously music is not really worth living. I think that music is an incredible gift that we, musicians and music lovers, can enjoy endlessly. I believe in love, peace and communication. I think that if people would communicate more with each other the world would be a better place to live in. When it comes to music, I think that more than anything, our aim as musicians is to create beauty. I believe that we should find the way to express ourselves and play what we feel and what sounds best to us, and at the same time connect to the audience, excite them, give them a good time and something to enjoy. After all, art is there for us to enjoy and celebrate."
Stavi has played all over the world and in all sorts of venues, from tiny jazz clubs in rural parts of Britain to large concert halls. I asked him where the most appreciative audiences were. Stavi says, "I really can't complain at all and must say that I have been playing to great audiences in the UK and abroad for many years. I believe that there is no bad audience, but sometimes the artist is not good enough. I think that if you give a good show the audience responds. I'm not trying to be diplomatic here. I have really experienced great audiences in the UK, Europe, Asia and America. If you really push me I would say that audiences in Germany and Japan might just come in first place.
I asked Stavi how he felt when playing with other musicians. How would he describe the connections the music makes between band members and audiences. He replied, " For me, playing music with other people is, just like any other thing you do together with other people, about communicating and creating something greater than ourselves. I believe that the most important thing is to listen. Very often it is even more important than playing. I believe that this is right for all kinds and genres of music. Therefore, when you ask about how aware I am of the other musicians I would say that I am very much aware and try to really listen to everything they play." And the audience? "The audience is part of the experience of music- making even though they don't play. It is totally different to play in the rehearsal room or on stage in front of an audience. The audience affects the performance of individual musicians or the whole band. It is a very unique and wonderful thing. There can be all sorts of connections between the musicians and the audience when there is listening and openness between them."
Stavi has several plans and things he would like to do in the future, "I want to continue play great music. To make more and more albums and to play more and more concerts anywhere in the world. I plan to continue playing with Atzmon and the Orient House Ensemble as I have done so for many years now. I will continue working with Beatie Wolfe, a wonderful singer-songwriter, and
Koby Israelite
drumsb.1966
Away from music Stavi does have other interests. He loves the cinema and says, "I love cinema and watching films. I think that if I had not become a musician I would have gone for that art. I have always loved it. I am also a huge tennis fan. I learned and trained as a child but then music took over and I quit. I returned to playing a few times over the years but had very long breaks from it. I love watching tennis live and on TV and I follow tennis news regularly."
Stavi is a great musician but he is also humble—still grateful to his parents and to others who have given him a chance to play. He readily contributes to ideas and articles and his enthusiasm for music is infectious. Several people have commented on Stavi's affable and gentle nature—that he is one of life's gentlemen.
Stavi is a musician who has his choice of project and the world is his musical oyster, yet he remains grounded. A musician to watch and hopefully we shall hear a lot more of him.
Tags
Yaron Stavi
Interview
Sammy Stein
United States
Nigel Kennedy
Richard Galliano
Robert Wyatt
Paul McCartney
Bruce Springsteen
John Coltrane
Miles Davis
Charles Mingus
Ron Carter
Charlie Haden
Jaco Pastorius
Ray Brown
Flea
Stevie Wonder
Brian Wilson
Michael Jackson
Jimmy Page
Eric Clapton
Antonio Carlos Jobim
Joao Gilberto
Elis Regina
Joao Bosco
Milton Nascimento
Gilberto Gil
Wayne Shorter
Herbie Hancock
Keith Jarrett
Astor Piazzolla
Gilad Atzmon
Koby Israelite
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