New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Over the past few years, pianist/singer Noa Fort has been concretizing a remarkably terse, succinct, purposefully pensive sound that draws on her jazz background as well as western classical music and her own Israeli heritage. Fort sings in a bright, clear, expressive voice, backed by Zack Lober on bass and Ronen Itzik on drums.
-Lucid Culture, reprinted at New York
Music Daily
Israeli born vocalist, pianist, songwriter, improviser, painter of sounds Noa Fort was recently regarded as "one of New York's more interesting and original artists" (New York
Music Daily). She draws inspiration from different musical worlds, integrating her background of classical and jazz piano, jazz singing, and free improvisation into her original music.
Fort has sang and played the piano from an early age; she started taking classical piano classes at age 5 and cannot remember a time when she did not sing. However, her life journey took her to other places (she earned her first bachelor degree in Biology, and researching birds in the Israeli desert is one of her most favorite moments out of that experience). Yet she knew that music was her true passion. It wasn't until she traveled to
India for a year, taking private lessons in tabla and playing with traveling musicians like her, that she decided to pursue this passion professionally. Upon her return to
Israel she started her studies in the Jerusalem Academy of
Music and Dance, both as a vocalist and a pianist. She started performing with various bands and projects in
Israel and quickly gained a name as a versatile pianist/keyboardist/vocalist. She also led the Noa Fort Quintet which played her original compositions, written in her last year in the academy. She graduated in 2012 and moved to New York in 2013.
Since her arrival in New York in 2013, she has played in numerous venues such as The Stone, Cornelia Street Café, Roulette, Rockwood
Music Hall, Spectrum, Pete's Candy Store. She has collaborated and played with greats such as
William Parker, Okkyung Lee, Rene Hart, Anat Fort. She recently participated in the Banff Jazz and Creative music workshop under the leadership of Vijay Iyer. Fort also holds an MA in music therapy from NYU; she uses music in her work with youth at risk, adults with developmental disabilities and people who suffer from mental illnesses and believes in the power of music to heal.
No World Between Us is Fort's first release as a bandleader. The album is comprised of 10 original songs, written, composed and arranged by Fort for a piano+voice trio, as well as a poem by Rumi that was composed by Noa and arranged by the band. A guest trumpet appears on 3 songs. The songs describe a personal journey of the current day; dealing with themes such as 'being in the moment', self-acceptance and appreciation, expectations society has on us and how we choose to deal with them, as well as songs about love and heartbreak. The band has been playing in NYC and performing these songs for some time before going into the studio. On the recording, Fort aimed to capture the feel of a live show; the recordings took place over two days in Tedesco studio, and Fort was singing and playing at the same time with no vocal overdubs, giving the performances a more natural and personal sound of connection between the artist, the songs and her instrument, along with the band interaction as a unit for a cohesive sound.
Noa Fort - voice, piano, compositions
Zack Lober - bass, voice (track 10)
Ronen Itzik - drums, voice (track 10)
Josh Deutsch - trumpet (track 8, 9, 10)
Tal Gur - voice (track 10)
1. Now Is Our Time 03:24
2. Traveling (In Time and Space) 03:32
3. Variations on Longing 03:14
4. Mirrors 04:11
5. Unwritten Signs 02:35
6. Empty Space (Halal Paur) 03:08
7. Winter Requiem 02:54
8. No World Between Us 03:51
9. The Guest House 03:34
10. Just Wait 04:21
All songs composed and written by Fort, track number 9 lyrics by Rumi and translation by Coleman Barks.
