Gur Liraz
Biography Gur Liraz
Gur Liraz
Born in Tel Aviv, Israel, in 1988, Gur first took up the guitar when he was nine years old, and soon began his journey with jazz music. He majored in jazz at the prestigious Thelma Yellin High School, where he studied with some of the best musicians from the Israeli scene such as Amit Golan, Yuval Cohen, Erez Barnoy, Amos Hoffman and many more. He spent four years of that time studying under jazz guitar master, Ofer Ganor.
As soon as graduating high school in 2004, Gur became an active part of the lively Tel Aviv Jazz scene, performing in jazz clubs, bars and different venues, as well as recording. At the same time, he was also teaching guitar and music, both privately and in music schools. Later, Gur took up the classical guitar, studying under internationally acclaimed guitarists Seth Josel and Ruben Saroussi and gaining third place at the Young Guitarist’s competition of the Music Academy in Jerusalem.
In 2013, after eight months in New York, taking lessons with guitar legend Peter Bernstein, Gur moved to Berlin and soon became involved in its rapidly evolving jazz scene. He performs regularly in some of the city's most visited jazz clubs. Aside from his own quartet and trio projects, he collaborates with some of the city's most in demand musicians. Together with his quartet Gur was featured with singer Amanda Becker on her debut album, You’re Looking at Me. The two also recorded a duet album, Ask Me Now, in 2023.
During the corona virus crisis and the subsequent lockdown, Gur became more interested in the challenges of composition. Seeking an inspiring environment to investigate questions of Jewish heritage and its intersections with jazz, he applied and was accepted to the prestigious LABA Jewish culture lab. His debut album, Squiggles, will be released with the London based music label Ubuntu Music on May 19th, 2023. It features his compositions in a trio format, including Tal Balshai (organ) and Omri Gondor (drums).
Gur is also a two-time recipient of Neustart Kulture Grant, #hierspieltdiemusik and Musifonds fundings and GEMA stipendienprogramm 2021, as well as a member of the Deustche Jazz Union and GEMA Society for Composers.
