Born to Play: Roni Ben-Hur
By Lisa Iannucci

Roni Ben-Hur in Madrid February 2007 (Photo: Sergio Cabanillas)

For guitarist Roni Ben-Hur, the path to jazz was an unusual one.

Born in Israel, the first music he heard was exotic North African rhythms and melodies of his parents’ native Tunisia, the lush, ancient sounds of the Sephardi Jews. Having grown up around this seductive mix, he grew to accept music as an integral part of daily life. “Though no one in my family was a professional musician, music was a central part of our life,” he says. “Music elevated us in times of happiness, as well as hardship. This experience taught me the strength and power of music.”

Happily for him, he parlayed a childhood love into an esteemed career. Ben-Hur’s latest release, Keepin’ It Open on the Motema label, debuted to critical acclaim. Prime Time A&E says he’s among “jazz elite guitarists,” while 20th Century Guitar called it “guitar jazz at its finest.” It’s easy to see why—the music ranges from standards like “Can’t We Be Friends” to Israeli folk song “Eshkolit” to a hip rendition of Monk’s “Think of One.”

Ben-Hur is also an educator and author; he taught guitar as a teenager in Israel, and created two prestigious high-school jazz programs in Manhattan, where he also conducts a variety of master classes and instructional workshops, including the jazz program for adults at the Lucy Moses School. Bette Midler was so impressed, she personally requested he create model music ed programs for other New York public schools.

As a teenager, Ben-Hur found himself drawn to the complex harmonies and rhythms of jazz, and decided to pursue it as a career. He emigrated to the U.S. in 1985 and settled in New York, where he immersed himself in the vibrant downtown music scene. Loaded with talent and eager to learn, he befriended pianist/educator Barry Harris and began participating in Harris’ Jazz Cultural Theater project. (An educational venture Harris founded in a Manhattan storefront, JCT offered instruction in jazz piano and hosted performances by up-and-coming artists. For a number of established jazz musicians in the mid-’80s, it was a critical genesis.)

Ben-Hur eventually joined Harris onstage—and within a few years, he was heading his own band.

His first release, Backyard, appeared on the Swiss TCB label in 1995, and its 1998 follow-up, Sofia’s Butterfly, earned Ben-Hur Best New Artist honors in that year’s Jazziz magazine annual Reader’s Poll. A passionate bandleader, player, composer-arranger, he is not only renowned for his meticulous arrangement and flawless technique, but the warmth and vibrancy of his playing.

In jazz circles, his keen melodic sense and intense passion is a byword. As such, he works steadily as a session player—which explains why he’s performed and recorded with jazz notables Rufus Reid, Bill Doggett, Cecil Payne—to name just a few. His current lineup, The Roni Ben-Hur Quartet, features Ronnie Mathews on piano, Santi Debriano on bass, Lewis Nash on drums, Jeremy Pelt on trumpet and Steve Kroon on percussion.

Off stage, Ben-Hur has published three books in the Talk Jazz instructional series, a collection—based on Barry Harris’ methods—that focuses on the fundamentals of bebop. “Teaching is something I feel very passionate about,” says Roni. “I like to provide students with valuable information to help them see the bigger picture. They must always remember that music is art and art is for the sake of beauty for all people because it elevates the human spirit.”

For Ben-Hur, jazz is not only a calling, it is a life force.

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