Rotem Sivan

Guitarist Rotem Sivan shapes a dynamic sound that leans into modern creative jazz, post-bop, sophisticated indie pop, and hip-hop. Born in Israel and now based in New York, the virtuoso built an early reputation through the solo albums Enchanted Sun (2013) and A New Dance (2015). His experimental 2018 release My Favorite Monster traversed numerous styles and occasionally veered into pop and hip-hop. The 2019 star-studded Same Way Home paired sophisticated jazz-pop melodies with sharp beats and hip-hop production. Far from Shore, issued in 2023, contained 14 originals performed by shifting personnel that included five singers plus rotating guitarists, bassists, drummers, and saxophonist Braxton Cook. Dream Louder appeared in January 2024 as a musical love letter to wife Lore, examining family, love, and humanity. Bassist Hamish Smith, drummer Miguel Russell, vocalist Sami Stevens, and virtuoso whistler Luke Krafka accompanied him on the sessions.

Sivan entered the world in Jerusalem and began with classical training at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music at Tel Aviv University. He arrived in New York City in 2008 to study jazz at the New School. Since finishing his degree he has performed with artists such as Peter Bernstein, Ari Hoenig, Ben Street, Gracie Terzian, Ferenc Nemeth, and others. His solo debut arrived in 2013 with Enchanted Sun, followed the next year by For Emotional Use Only. In 2015 he issued his third studio album, A New Dance, featuring his trio alongside bassist Haggai Cohen Milo and drummer Colin Stranahan. Both musicians returned for 2017’s Antidote. For the subsequent project he enlisted producer Stelios Phili (A$AP Ferg, SZA, M.I.A.) to fashion an experimental mix of jazz, rock, hip-hop, psych, and R&B. Credited simply to Rotem and released in August 2018, My Favorite Monster remains his most challenging album.

A sizable cast recorded the 2019 album Far from Shore. In addition to playing guitars, bass, keyboards, and producing, Sivan brought in lyricist/vocalist Michael Goldstein, five selectively used vocalists, saxophonist Braxton Cook, bassists Tim Lefebvre and Adam Neely, guitarists Josh Smith, Mark Lettieri, and Paul Davids, and drummers Ulysses Owens, Jr., Anwar Marshall, and James Muschler. The set earned nearly unanimous praise for its bright melodies, varied textures and dimensions, and contemporary production style.

After touring, Sivan married Lore, his companion of five years, in summer 2022. He composed a song cycle for her and members of her family. In 2023 he entered the studio with bassist Hamish Smith, drummer Miguel Russell, vocalist Sami Stevens, and virtuoso whistler Luke Krafka. The group recorded Sivan’s songs and added covers of the Beatles’ “Blackbird,” “West Virginia Mine Disaster,” the mournful Appalachian folk tune preserved by Jean Ritchie, and an expansive reading of “Mack the Knife” (from Kurt Weill-Bertolt Brecht’s Three Penny Opera) that moves from a distinctive elegant beat to midtempo swing to joyful New Orleans second-line rhythms. Produced by Sivan, the album Dream Louder was released in January 2024.