ABOUT

SHALOSH is an instrumental piano trio that belongs to the current generation of cross genre jazz groups able to reach a wide spectrum of audiences, in the Jazz world as well as in other genres.

In their eleven  years of activity, the three childhood friends SHALOSH have refused to define or strict themselves to one genre or another, their music is raw, honest and progressive, crossing stylistic boundaries and ever changing. They have performed on some of the world’s most prestigious stages with hundreds of concerts through the years and gained recognition as one of the world’s leading young trios. 

Despite its classic jazz trio format (piano, bass and drums) and the band members’ deep roots in jazz and improvised music, SHALOSH’s music weaves its own path and creates a unique and fascinating synthesis out of such varied genres as rock, classical, electronic, African, and Middle Eastern music. 

The band has released six albums so far, five studio albums and one live show recording. Their last three albums were released on the prestigious ACT label in Germany, with whom the band grew to be one of Europe’s most active trios in the past years. Their seventh album, also on ACT, will come out in late 2025. 

The story behind the band begins in Jerusalem, where childhood friends Matan Assayag (drums) and Gadi Stern (piano) formed the mythological Jerusalem band ‘Enoma Elish’.  After the band broke up, Assayag and Stern continued their musical partnership, between Israel and New York, where Gadi lived for nearly a decade, breathing in and drawing inspiration from the NY  jazz scene. 

In early 2014 they decided to form SHALOSH and in 2016  enlisted bass player David Michaeli, who was at the time one the most promising young musicians in Israel. 

Since their debut album, The Bell Garden, came out, in March 2014, SHALOSH has made a deep mark on the international scene. The album received great attention and praise from the press in Israel and abroad, and was acclaimed as one of the most promising debut albums of the year. As well as its recognition online, It gained airplay all around the globe, and its  copies were  sold in Japan, Europe, and the USA, despite the album being released independently. 

The band promoted The Bell Garden, touring England, Germany, France, the Czech Republic, Poland, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Latvia, Albania, Holland, Romania, and Turkey.    

In January 2017, SHALOSH released its second album, Rules of Oppression, through the French label Jazz Family and the new German label Contemplate Records.

Praised by the critics of some of the leading jazz magazines in Europe as one of the best albums of the year. It was defined as “a masterpiece” by Unmagi Takoya, one of the prominent radio broadcasters in Japan. 

The album was released all over the world, and the band went on an extensive tour, performing on some of the most prominent  stages of Japan, Korea and throughout Europe, including shows at the Ronnie Scotts, Duc Des Lombards, Moods, Unterfahrt, Palatia Jazz festival, Enjoy Jazz festival, La Cote D’opal, Jarasum Jazz Festival, Salzburg Jazz Festival, XJazz festival,  Jazz n Klezmer, Alfa Jazz festival as well as many other venues and festivals. The band has started playing in rock festivals as well as jazz festivals, reaching new and young audiences who were not necessarily accustomed to Jazz.  

In February 2018 SHALOSH recorded a live performance album, through the German studio and label Bauer Studios,  This album was SHALOSH’s first live recording and was recorded direct to 2 track and released as a vinyl. 

 In November 2018 SHALOSH recorded their third studio album  for the prestigious and celebrated German label ACT. The album was a huge step forward for the band’s reputation, as their first studio album with  a major label. The album was released on May 24th and was celebrated by the press worldwide, with raving reviews from The Times, The Guardian, the Rolling Stones, Downbeat and countless others. The album was also a big hit on Spotify, charting at its “State of Jazz” playlist for weeks, and has generated close to 2 million streams.

The band’s album release tour took part in March through July 2019, and brought the band to Europe’s biggest stages including Elbjazz, Fusion festival, Enjoy Jazz, Bimhuis and many many  more. 

In July 2019 the band played its first concert with a philharmonic orchestra, in Wurzburg Germany. 

Also in 2019, the band released a video project entitled SHALOSH plus One. The project featured some of Israel’s top pop and hip hop singers, as well as some of the world’s leading jazz musicians, with ten episodes, each episode featuring a different artist as a guest soloist with the band. The band has also toured with some of the artists featured on the project, including tours with Tula Ben Ari and Daniel Zamir.  

In October 2020 the band released its fifth album, ‘Broken Balance’, under the ACT label as well. The album reached a few of Spotify’s best-known playlists and got a lot of warm reviews from the PR. 

However, with the covid-19 virus spreading and the music world shutting down, the band had taken a big blow with tour after tour being canceled, and was unable to promote their new album internationally.  Despite the difficulty, counting on their deep friendship and sheer joy of making music together, the band took the opportunity of the hiatus, to keep on meeting twice a week, refining and improving their sound as a band, and creating new music, for the entirety of their forced two year hiatus. 

In 2021-22 the band returned to touring regularly, gradually injecting their new music to their concerts, until they felt it was ready to be recorded, and in March 2023 the band recorded their fifth studio album, Tales of Utopia, a concept album built on ancient tales and legends.

Tales Of Utopia was the band’s most conceptual and ambitious work to date, it was released in September 2023 to high praise by press and the public. Receiving praise from The Times, the Guardian, Downbeat and Rolling Stones. 

Throughout 2023-24 the band toured with their new album, some landmarks included another show with Trier Philharmonic orchestra, a sold out concert at Elbphilharmonie, a TV feature in Germany and many many concerts. 

Following the Gaza war in 2023, the band has made it clear that they hold an anti-war, humanist view, and believe in peace and equality for Israelis and Palestinians. The band  brings this message of peace and equality to all of their concerts. 

SHALOSH has set itself the goal of creating music that is both accessible and sophisticated, performing with great alacrity the balancing act of challenging themselves as musicians and artists, while leaving the door open for as wide an audience as possible., Striving to break the distance screen that intellectual music may create.

SHALOSh is a rare sight in the music world, a band of ten years, whose friendship and huge passion of playing together has not diminished for a minute in these ten years. A band which is working and touring 365 days a year and is always looking for changing and developing their sound. 

The band strikes an unusual note in the contemporary jazz scene by being led by the ensemble’s three members rather than by a single leader, allowing their music to enjoy the benefits of a shared artistic development devoid of ego. Their music comes from an emotional and raw place, the band’s reaction to today’s cold urban jungle. 

Hope you enjoy what you hear,
Gadi Matan and David
SHALOSH