Biography
Tel Aviv serves as home base for trumpeter, flugelhornist, composer, producer, and bandleader Sefi Zisling. Mastery of Hebrew folk and liturgical traditions, jazz, funk, fusion, R&B, Afrobeat, and hip-hop allows him to direct and contribute to multiple ensembles, among them Funk'n'stein and the Ramirez Brothers. Since 2007 he has belonged to Kutiman’s studio and road ensembles. Zisling also works regularly as a sought-after session musician, appearing on well over one hundred recordings that include projects by Keren Ann, Rejoicer, and Apifera. His first album as leader, Beyond the Things I Know, surfaced on Raw Tapes in 2017; two years later he made his Tru Thoughts debut with Expanse, featuring Kutiman on the single “Happy Solar Return.” The three-track Welcome Sunset EP arrived in 2022, followed in 2024 by his third full-length release, The Librarian.
Born in Tel Aviv, Zisling began trumpet lessons at age ten and honed his technique and musical vocabulary at the renowned arts secondary school Thelma Yellin. He performed with numerous groups, among them Funk’n’stein, which issued three widely praised albums between 2000 and 2014. In 2003 he co-founded Coolooloosh, whose self-titled debut appeared in 2005 and whose Elements of Sound followed in 2008. Between those studio sets the band issued the concert recording Live in the Dark, a remix collection, and the compilation Combina before dissolving in 2014. Four years after disbanding they resurfaced with the EP The Stakes Are High. During his tenure with the group Zisling established himself as a premier session player, contributing to projects by Eggroll, Kutiman, and all four albums by Israeli indie-rock outfit Girafot between 2006 and 2017.
In 2007 Zisling joined guitarist Uzi Feinerman (Uzi Ramirez) and drummer Eitan Efrat (Kitkit Ramirez) to form the Ramirez Brothers; each adopted the surname Ramirez and all three share vocal duties. Their self-titled debut emerged in 2009, an unruly blend of psychedelia, cosmic country, Hebrew folk, and indie rock. Who?You! (2013) incorporated funk and soul, while Octopus Yoga was self-released in 2015. In 2021 sound designer Laszlo Umbreit, electronicist Sirah Foighel Brutmann, and Kitkit joined forces for the experimental two-track Seemingly Still, on which Kitkit and the Ramirez Brothers delivered the twenty-two-minute “Miroir Séb Fragile!” The band returned in 2022 with the full-length Sci-Fi. Their live performances, celebrated throughout Israel for organized chaos, have become legendary.
Beyond the Things I Know, Zisling’s 2017 Raw Tapes debut, presented ten spacious, richly layered originals that juxtaposed light and dark atmospheres with sturdy grooves against abstract melodies and rhythms. Assistance came from producer and sound designer Rejoicer (Yuvi Havkin, whose Stones Throw album Energy Dreams featured the trumpeter) and guitarist Uzi Ramirez. Later that year the Afrobeat and free-funk single “Happy Solar Return,” recorded with Kutiman, appeared on the sophomore album Expanse. Captured live in the studio with intentional imperfections and spontaneous interplay, the sessions united Zisling with bassist Omri Shani, drummers Tom Bollig and Noam Havkin, percussionist Idan Kupferberg, guitarist Uzi Ramirez, and trombonist Yair Slutzki. The resulting music fuses African jazz, spiritual jazz, and sophisticated psychedelic funk inspired by Alice Coltrane, Fela Kuti, and Donald Byrd, all propelled by the trumpet. International acclaim greeted the album’s creative spontaneity and the musicians’ relaxed yet attentive generosity. Between 2019 and 2020 Zisling contributed to four Kutiman releases as well as albums by Asaf Avidan (Anagnorisis), Apifera (Overstand), and Abro (Leaf Boy). In 2022 he took part in Alice Russell’s Tru Thoughts album To Dust, supplying a credited remake of “Heartbreaker.” That same year he played a central role on Kutiman’s Open and appeared on the Faithful Brothers’ self-titled debut; the following year he contributed to Maya Dunietz’s Raw Tapes LP Thank You Tree.
June 2024 brought The Librarian, Zisling’s second Tru Thoughts album, performed by the same quintet heard on Expanse and augmented by additional guests on horns, percussion, and chamber strings. Drawing inspiration from Bennie Maupin and Yusef Lateef, the largely modal collection emphasizes elegant textures and resonant harmonies. Its sole departure is the hinge track “Brothers,” recorded live in 2021, whose graceful jazz-funk merges contemporary jazz, Afro-Cuban rhythms, and lush, warm harmonic language.
Born in Tel Aviv, Zisling began trumpet lessons at age ten and honed his technique and musical vocabulary at the renowned arts secondary school Thelma Yellin. He performed with numerous groups, among them Funk’n’stein, which issued three widely praised albums between 2000 and 2014. In 2003 he co-founded Coolooloosh, whose self-titled debut appeared in 2005 and whose Elements of Sound followed in 2008. Between those studio sets the band issued the concert recording Live in the Dark, a remix collection, and the compilation Combina before dissolving in 2014. Four years after disbanding they resurfaced with the EP The Stakes Are High. During his tenure with the group Zisling established himself as a premier session player, contributing to projects by Eggroll, Kutiman, and all four albums by Israeli indie-rock outfit Girafot between 2006 and 2017.
In 2007 Zisling joined guitarist Uzi Feinerman (Uzi Ramirez) and drummer Eitan Efrat (Kitkit Ramirez) to form the Ramirez Brothers; each adopted the surname Ramirez and all three share vocal duties. Their self-titled debut emerged in 2009, an unruly blend of psychedelia, cosmic country, Hebrew folk, and indie rock. Who?You! (2013) incorporated funk and soul, while Octopus Yoga was self-released in 2015. In 2021 sound designer Laszlo Umbreit, electronicist Sirah Foighel Brutmann, and Kitkit joined forces for the experimental two-track Seemingly Still, on which Kitkit and the Ramirez Brothers delivered the twenty-two-minute “Miroir Séb Fragile!” The band returned in 2022 with the full-length Sci-Fi. Their live performances, celebrated throughout Israel for organized chaos, have become legendary.
Beyond the Things I Know, Zisling’s 2017 Raw Tapes debut, presented ten spacious, richly layered originals that juxtaposed light and dark atmospheres with sturdy grooves against abstract melodies and rhythms. Assistance came from producer and sound designer Rejoicer (Yuvi Havkin, whose Stones Throw album Energy Dreams featured the trumpeter) and guitarist Uzi Ramirez. Later that year the Afrobeat and free-funk single “Happy Solar Return,” recorded with Kutiman, appeared on the sophomore album Expanse. Captured live in the studio with intentional imperfections and spontaneous interplay, the sessions united Zisling with bassist Omri Shani, drummers Tom Bollig and Noam Havkin, percussionist Idan Kupferberg, guitarist Uzi Ramirez, and trombonist Yair Slutzki. The resulting music fuses African jazz, spiritual jazz, and sophisticated psychedelic funk inspired by Alice Coltrane, Fela Kuti, and Donald Byrd, all propelled by the trumpet. International acclaim greeted the album’s creative spontaneity and the musicians’ relaxed yet attentive generosity. Between 2019 and 2020 Zisling contributed to four Kutiman releases as well as albums by Asaf Avidan (Anagnorisis), Apifera (Overstand), and Abro (Leaf Boy). In 2022 he took part in Alice Russell’s Tru Thoughts album To Dust, supplying a credited remake of “Heartbreaker.” That same year he played a central role on Kutiman’s Open and appeared on the Faithful Brothers’ self-titled debut; the following year he contributed to Maya Dunietz’s Raw Tapes LP Thank You Tree.
June 2024 brought The Librarian, Zisling’s second Tru Thoughts album, performed by the same quintet heard on Expanse and augmented by additional guests on horns, percussion, and chamber strings. Drawing inspiration from Bennie Maupin and Yusef Lateef, the largely modal collection emphasizes elegant textures and resonant harmonies. Its sole departure is the hinge track “Brothers,” recorded live in 2021, whose graceful jazz-funk merges contemporary jazz, Afro-Cuban rhythms, and lush, warm harmonic language.
Albums
Singles
