Ehud Asherie

Largely self-taught, or rather, “old-schooled,” Ehud Asherie learned the ropes at Smalls spending much of his early teens becoming a fixture of the late-night jam sessions held at this now legendary Greenwich Village club in New York City. Mentored by the late Frank Hewitt, he began to develop “his virtuosity and ear for clean crisp lines” (The Star Ledger). Later, an admiration for earlier piano styles took hold; soon enough Asherie had absorbed them into his playing becoming, in the words of The New Yorker, “A master of swing and stride.” His present style combines this broad tradition, merging idioms into a distinctly personalized approach. Acclaimed album releases under Asherie’s leadership have included Shuffle Along, which reinterpreted the music of Eubie Blake, Organic, which finds him on organ, and Upper West Side and Lower East Side, duet projects featuring the saxophonist Harry Allen and his trio recording Music Makes Me. Asherie’s most recent trio recording is Wild Man Blues on the Capri Label. Ehud has worked with a broad range of musicians including Cécile McLorin Salvant, Wycliffe Gordon, Catherine Russell, John Pizzarelli, and Charles McPherson, and has performed at clubs and festivals in South America, Europe, Asia, and throughout the US. His playing can be heard on numerous celebrated recordings, including the 2010 Grammy Award-winning soundtrack of HBO’s Boardwalk Empire. Beyond his dedication to jazz, Ehud has developed a passion for traditional Brazilian music. He has performed and recorded with acclaimed Brazilian artists including Wilson das Neves, Duduka da Fonesca, and Maucha Adnet. His appreciation and profound knowledge of the music can be heard in his new project Discovering Ernesto Nazareth.