Shai Maestro is one of the most talented pianists of his generation. Since his debut with his own trio in 2011, Shai has shaped a strong and unique personal identity and has portrayed an incredible musical fluidity, making him and his band one of the most powerful and harmonious groups in the music world today.
With two of his latest albums on the renowned label ECM, produced by Manfred Eicher, Shai instantly became part of the line of famous jazz pianists who have defined the label—Keith Jarrett, Paul Bley and Chick Corea. With a pure form of improvisation, joyful interplay, emotion and energy, Shai and his current close-knit quartet play with all kinds of influences which come together in one-of-a-kind evolving high-energy concerts and inspirational recordings. Cinematic, challenging yet accessible and recognisable in every emotion, Shai’s most recent album, Human (ECM), was largely written and recorded during the Covid-19 pandemic and released in 2021. On this album, Shai presents a quartet, bringing the music to a new level yet again. The quartet features Ofri Nehemya on drums, Peruvian bassist Jorge Roeder and USA trumpeter Philip Dizack.
Shai began playing classical piano at the age of five and after listening to Keith Jarret and Oscar Peterson at the age of eight, improvisational music and especially jazz, became the focus point in his playing and style. He turned down offers from prestigious American music schools and at 19 years old, joined the band of double bassist Avishai Cohen, where he co-wrote the famous album Gently Disturbed. For five years, he celebrated success at the best-known festivals and venues with Cohen and drummer Mark Guiliana. Shai moved to Brooklyn, New York, where he formed his own trio in 2011 and recorded six albums which marked his presence as a unique voice and artist in the world of music today.
Combining extensive worldwide touring, Shai signed with Sony for worldwide publishing and began to expand his artistic creativity and palette—scoring music for films, writing and arranging his music for large orchestras, producing (a.o. Gilad Hekselman’s album Fast Moving Century) and writing for renowned contemporary pop and electronica artists. Highlights include the invitation to perform a commissioned programme with the world-famous Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra (conducted by Keitaro Harada) at Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre. In the summer of 2022, Shai presented his new full scale orchestral work Alice written for the national Orquestra de Câmara Portuguesa and his quartet, conducted by Pedro Carneiro.
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