"A beloved fixture in the city’s performing and education scene, guitarist Roni Ben-Hur has for decades charmed New York with his beautifully fluid playing, crisp melodic lines and gorgeously polished tone." (Hot House)
Roni Ben-Hur—Jazz Guitar, Director of Adult Division Jazz Program; established the jazz program at the Lucy Moses School in 1994; director, music programs at Landmark and the Coalition for Social Change alternative high schools; founder and former director, Lucy Moses School PPAS Jazz Program; former faculty, Jazz Mobile, The New School, NYU, Brooklyn Conservatory of Music and Manna House workshops; nationwide college workshops; active performing and recording artist.
Jazz guitarist Roni Ben-Hur has earned a sterling reputation as a musician and educator, renowned for his golden tone, improvisational brilliance, compositional lyricism and ability to charm peers, students and listeners alike. Eminent jazz critic Gary Giddins wrote in the Village Voice: “A limber and inventive guitarist, Ben-Hur keeps the modernist flame alive and pure, with a low flame burning in every note… [He’s] a guitarist who knows the changes and his own mind.” Ben-Hur – born in Israel in 1962 but a longtime American citizen, now based in New Jersey – has released nine albums as leader or co-leader, with Time Out New York calling him “a formidable and consummately lyrical guitarist.” The Star-Ledger of New Jersey summed him up this way: “A deep musician, a storyteller, Ben-Hur works with a warm, glowing sound and has an alluring way of combining engaging notes with supple rhythm.” Along with releasing acclaimed educational products – including the instructional DVD Chordability and method book Talk Jazz: Guitar – Ben-Hur has directed international jazz camps for nearly 15 years. Jazz guitar star Russell Malone got it right when he said: “Everything Roni does is beautiful. He has the magic touch.”
