RONI BEN-HUR

Roni Ben-Hur. Jazz guitarist Roni Ben-Hur is renowned for his golden tone and improvisational brilliance; he plays straight-ahead jazz, Brazilian music, and other Latin styles with equal finesse. His talents were honed by his work with masters in each of those fields, notably bebop pianist Barry Harris, longtime Count Basie saxophonist and flutist Frank Wess, Brazilian jazz singer Leny Andrade, and composer-singer Marcos Valle. The eminent Village Voice jazz critic Gary Giddins called him “a limber and inventive guitarist” who “keeps the flame alive and pure, burning in every note.” The New York Times praised Roni’s “crisp, fluid style”; Time Out New York proclaimed him “a formidable and consummately lyrical guitarist.”

Born in Israel in 1962 but a longtime U.S. citizen based in the New York area, Roni has recorded nearly 20 albums as leader or co-leader.

Aside from his hectic touring schedule, Roni is an exceptionally dedicated jazz educator who has directed international music camps for over two decades. He founded the jazz program at New York’s Kaufman Music Center in 1994 while establishing others in New York City high schools. Roni has also presented individual workshops for students of all ages in the U.S. and Europe.

Originally from Tunisia, Roni’s family relocated to Dimona, Israel, where he was born into a large working-class family. In his teens he became enraptured by the recordings of Wes Montgomery, Grant Green, Joe Pass, Jim Hall and Kenny Burrell. He also came to love the classical Spanish repertoire via one of its performing titans, guitarist Andrés Segovia, in whose work he heard a Moorish sound that resonated with his family’s North African roots. Roni began performing in wedding bands and in Tel Aviv clubs. After moving to New York City in 1985, he discovered the music of guitarist-composer Baden Powell, a bossa nova giant; thus began Roni’s love affair with Brazilian music.

“With my family coming from Tunisia, I felt equally at home with Brazilian and jazz rhythms because both originated in Africa. And when you consider the jazz-standard repertoire, the melodic content of songs by composers like Harold Arlen, Jerome Kern and Irving Berlin is very much rooted in Jewish music. And while North Africa has that link to Moorish sounds, those sounds are also at the root of Brazilian music. So I’ve always gravitated toward those beautiful minor-key songs and romantic melodies of the standards songbook, as well as the deep rhythms in both bebop and Brazilian music.”

When Roni came onto the New York jazz scene, he was fortunate to be taken under the wing of the Grammy-winning pianist Barry Harris, a disciple of Thelonious Monk and an eventual NEA Jazz Master. As an up-and-coming guitarist, Roni played in Harris’s band, where he absorbed musical and life lessons.

In addition to leading his own bands, Roni has performed not only with the heroes and peers mentioned above but with Cecil Payne, Etta Jones, Marcus Belgrave, Charles McPherson, Jimmy Heath, Clark Terry, Slide Hampton, Chris Anderson, Earl May, Teri Thornton and Bill Doggett. Roni has also played with pianist Roger Kellaway, whose 2024 release Live at Mezzrow features Roni.

As an educator, Roni has developed an international reach. The founding director of the jazz program at the Lucy Moses School of the Kaufman Center, he has taught a multitude of jazz enthusiasts in ensemble playing, improvisation and jazz guitar. Roni has also led jazz camps from Vermont and New York to Brazil, Puerto Rico, and Turkey, where he teaches workshops in straight-ahead, Latin and Brazilian jazz. These days he holds his Roni Ben-Hur Jazz Camp in Vermont each summer, in France every spring and fall and in Havana in the winter. The camps held near the village of Uzès in the South of France double as culinary and travel experiences; they include cooking classes and excursions to nearby sites.

Your host, Dion Parson, is an educator, composer, Grammy Award-winning performer, and bandleader. He currently resides on the island of St. Thomas and serves as the Chair of the Communication and Performing Arts Department at the University of the Virgin Islands. He is also the President of the United Jazz Foundation, which is a music education organization that mentors underprivileged kids to become musicians. His musical career has allowed him to tour internationally for over 30 years, and he has been recorded on over 110 recordings..

Roni Ben-Hur. Jazz guitarist Roni Ben-Hur is renowned for his golden tone and improvisational brilliance; he plays straight-ahead jazz, Brazilian music, and other Latin styles with equal finesse. His talents were honed by his work with masters in each of those fields, notably bebop pianist Barry Harris, longtime Count Basie saxophonist and flutist Frank Wess, Brazilian jazz singer Leny Andrade, and composer-singer Marcos Valle. The eminent Village Voice jazz critic Gary Giddins called him “a limber and inventive guitarist” who “keeps the flame alive and pure, burning in every note.” The New York Times praised Roni’s “crisp, fluid style”; Time Out New York proclaimed him “a formidable and consummately lyrical guitarist.” Born in Israel in 1962 but a longtime U.S. citizen based in the New York area, Roni has recorded nearly 20 albums as leader or co-leader. Aside from his hectic touring schedule, Roni is an exceptionally dedicated jazz educator who has directed international music camps for over two decades. He founded the jazz program at New York’s Kaufman Music Center in 1994 while establishing others in New York City high schools. Roni has also presented individual workshops for students of all ages in the U.S. and Europe. Originally from Tunisia, Roni’s family relocated to Dimona, Israel, where he was born into a large working-class family. In his teens he became enraptured by the recordings of Wes Montgomery, Grant Green, Joe Pass, Jim Hall and Kenny Burrell. He also came to love the classical Spanish repertoire via one of its performing titans, guitarist Andrés Segovia, in whose work he heard a Moorish sound that resonated with his family’s North African roots. Roni began performing in wedding bands and in Tel Aviv clubs. After moving to New York City in 1985, he discovered the music of guitarist-composer Baden Powell, a bossa nova giant; thus began Roni’s love affair with Brazilian music. “With my family coming from Tunisia, I felt equally at home with Brazilian and jazz rhythms because both originated in Africa. And when you consider the jazz-standard repertoire, the melodic content of songs by composers like Harold Arlen, Jerome Kern and Irving Berlin is very much rooted in Jewish music. And while North Africa has that link to Moorish sounds, those sounds are also at the root of Brazilian music. So I’ve always gravitated toward those beautiful minor-key songs and romantic melodies of the standards songbook, as well as the deep rhythms in both bebop and Brazilian music.” When Roni came onto the New York jazz scene, he was fortunate to be taken under the wing of the Grammy-winning pianist Barry Harris, a disciple of Thelonious Monk and an eventual NEA Jazz Master. As an up-and-coming guitarist, Roni played in Harris’s band, where he absorbed musical and life lessons. In addition to leading his own bands, Roni has performed not only with the heroes and peers mentioned above but with Cecil Payne, Etta Jones, Marcus Belgrave, Charles McPherson, Jimmy Heath, Clark Terry, Slide Hampton, Chris Anderson, Earl May, Teri Thornton and Bill Doggett. Roni has also played with pianist Roger Kellaway, whose 2024 release Live at Mezzrow features Roni. As an educator, Roni has developed an international reach. The founding director of the jazz program at the Lucy Moses School of the Kaufman Center, he has taught a multitude of jazz enthusiasts in ensemble playing, improvisation and jazz guitar. Roni has also led jazz camps from Vermont and New York to Brazil, Puerto Rico, and Turkey, where he teaches workshops in straight-ahead, Latin and Brazilian jazz. These days he holds his Roni Ben-Hur Jazz Camp in Vermont each summer, in France every spring and fall and in Havana in the winter. The camps held near the village of Uzès in the South of France double as culinary and travel experiences; they include cooking classes and excursions to nearby sites. Your host, Dion Parson, is an educator, composer, Grammy Award-winning performer, and bandleader. He currently resides on the island of St. Thomas and serves as the Chair of the Communication and Performing Arts Department at the University of the Virgin Islands. He is also the President of the United Jazz Foundation, which is a music education organization that mentors underprivileged kids to become musicians. His musical career has allowed him to tour internationally for over 30 years, and he has been recorded on over 110 recordings..