A protégé of jazz greats such as John Abercrombie, guitarist Oren Neiman’s music is both innovative and in the forefront of today’s jazz styles, as well as being celebrated for his technical precision.

Born in Ramat-Gan, Israel, and raised in Toronto, Canada, and Israel, he grew up listening to many different kinds of music, He started playing mainly in rock bands, but soon became interested in jazz. He started studying the music, and playing locally and in various venues around Israel.

In August 2001, Oren moved to NY, where he received his BFA from SUNY Purchase, studying and playing with John Abercrombie, Jon Faddis, Pete Malinverni, and Charles Blenzig. During his school years, Oren was a recipient of the Ullendorff memorial foundation Scholarship.

Following his studies, Oren has played in numerous venues in New York City. His current projects include: performing with The Abigail Payne Band led by singer/composer Abigail Payne. This band has a recorded album - “About a Cake” in 2005, and is currently in the process of producing a second one. Oren has regularly performed with his quartet, and with The Abigail Payne Band in NY venues like The Bitter End, Detour, Joe’s Pub and The 55 Bar, as well as touring the country and Canada. His own quartet performs every Thursday in Westchester, as well as other NY venues. Oren was also an Artist in Residence at the 92nd St. Y.

In January 2006 Oren released his first recording as a leader – “First of All,” on the Wizard Records label, which features 8 of his original compositions played in a quartet setting, with drummer Kenny Shaw, Bassist Nick Szatmari, and New Zealand born Tenor saxophonist Mike Stewart. The CD has been hailed as “…an album that has a warm/mysterious atmosphere, and yet conveys a sense of serenity,” and “The album is well structured and takes you on a journey throughout its own little world.” Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.