Asaf Harris
I Thought I Was Ready
by Howard Lawes
Asaf Harris plays I Don't Know What's Inside (but its got to be good ...) from his new album I Thought I Was Ready.
Even though jazz is an international art form it is often very difficult for jazz artists to become well known beyond their local area, let alone in a different country. The sadly missed Martin Hummell made it a defining ambition of his record company, Ubuntu Music, to advance the careers of jazz musicians from around the world and two of these, both Israeli, were guitarist Ron Magril and saxophonist Asaf Harris. Speaking to Asaf via Zoom he recalled that it was Ron that introduced him to Martin, and both Ron, with Until Now (2022) and Asaf with Walk of the Ducks (2022), released their debut albums on the Ubuntu label.
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Asaf grew up living in the picturesque town of Zichron Yaakov, founded in 1882 by Baron Edmond de Rothschild. Asaf’s mother is a teacher, his father Eytan, is a respected film cameraman and director who specialises in thought provoking documentaries often related to conflict in the Middle East. Asaf’s parents were great fans of the Beatles with a large collection of records that Asaf got to know well as a child. For many years the Beatles were banned by the government from playing in Israel, but this changed when Paul McCartney visited Israel in 2008 for his “Friendship First” concert aiming to foster peace and reconciliation between Israel and the Palestinians. Asaf and his father were at the concert, which turned out to be a life changing event for Asaf, because it was there that he decided to become a musician. During this concert the sound of the 40,000-crowd singing “Give Peace a Chance” must have been incredibly moving and unforgettable.
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The music of Israel is very diverse reflecting its European, North African and Middle Eastern origins, but western popular music and jazz also has a large audience. Asaf studied music at high school and then at the Israel Conservatory of Music and was commissioned to compose scores for some of his father’s films such as Truth, Nothing But… (2014) and Sulha (2016), and it was these opportunities that persuaded him to become a composer as well as a musician. The Israel Conservatory of Music includes a Center for Jazz Studies and as an under-graduate Asaf benefitted from the partnership that had been established with The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York. An America-Israel Cultural Foundation scholarship helped Asaf to spend two years in New York and he was chosen by the school to represent them at the 2019 International Association of Jazz Schools convention in Zagreb, Croatia, under the guidance of master Dave Liebman. He was honoured with the School’s John Coltrane Award in 2020. In New York he studied saxophone under the legendary Billy Harper, as well as younger saxophonists Chris Cheek and Abraham Burton. He studied composition with Myron Walden and Jon Cowherd, both of whom were part of Brian Blade’s Fellowship Band and drawing on his family roots, arranged some traditional Ladino (a language of Sephardic Jews derived from Spanish and Hebrew) songs for the New School Orchestra led by Arturo O’Farrell.
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​The first two tracks on his first album Walk Of The Ducks, hark back to his time in New York during a period of unrest following the death of George Floyd in 2020. Another track, The Gate Keeper, is written about the protest in Israel in the summer of 2020 against the Israeli government and includes live recordings from the actual protests.
Here is the first track from the album Helen Court 2020:
Asaf’s new album, I Thought I Was Ready (2026), is inspired by events over a longer period, highlighting that fundamental difference in both music and life, between rehearsal and live performance. In between these first two albums Asaf featured on Qamar al-Din (2024), the debut album of the band Komradin which was launched at the 25th International Oud Festival in Jerusalem. The music in this album, played with saxophone, oud and drums, uses traditional Arab structures called 'maqamat' and re-imagines traditional tunes from the classical Arabic vocal and poetry genre 'Muwashah', originating in Andalusia a millennium ago and which has seen a renaissance in recent times.
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Here is Asaf Harris and Komradin playing Dulab, a traditional piece in Maqam Hijaz:
I Thought I Was Ready features eight original tracks, each one telling a story, some capturing childhood memories, and places that are remembered with affection. The band has Asaf Harris on tenor saxophone, Guy Moskovich on piano, Omri Ever Hadani on double bass and David Sirkis on drums and is the same band that recorded music for the film scores more than ten years ago. The last track, FCB, also features the oud player, Onn Yosef Kadosh. For Asaf, like many composers, the music comes almost subconsciously, and in a period of turmoil, he has taken a step back and reflects on happier times. Following the title track, the next one, I Don’t Know What’s Inside (but it’s got to be good…) once again harks back to Asaf’s time in New York when a long queue outside the Blue Note Jazz Club prompted the remark from a passing 'down and out' guy. Langa Grove is inspired by a tranquil forest area in the foothills of the Mount Carmel range near Asaf’s childhood home where he used to hang out with his mates; the music is relaxed and dreamy, evoking lazy, summer days enjoying the outdoors with friends. The Story Of features melodies celebrating two well known Israeli singers, Yoni Rechter and Matti Caspi, who had a huge influence on Asaf’s musical DNA, shaping his love of rich harmonies and complex melodies. The last two tracks on the album borrow from traditional Middle Eastern music with Taqsim, an improvised piece based on maqamat that leads into the cryptically titled FCB and features the remarkable oud of Onn Yosef Kadosh. The album I Thought I Was Ready was released on 30th January.​
Apart from his own band and being a member of Komradin, Asaf is a long-time member of the very exciting Eli Degibri Big Band and has performed throughout Israel at various venues including the prestigious Beit Haamudin club and at the Red Sea Festival. He is also a member of the internationally renowned Ester Rada’s band. His most recent film score is Out of Mind (2024) and he has also composed for the renowned Israel Police Orchestra. He teaches at his alma mater, The Israel Conservatory of Music and at the Tel Aviv Yafo Music Centre.
Asaf has the strong belief that music can be a power for good and this is exemplified by a 2021 project at the Bilingual School in Jaffa, initiated by the principal, Sharon Ramon. The project involved translating Hebrew children’s songs into Arabic, and vice versa, and Asaf had the role of musical producer and arranger, working alongside the singer Mira Awad. The much-loved Israeli childrens' album, The Sixteenth Lamb (1978) by Yoni Rechter, provided some of the material for the project and Asaf notes that “we even received his personal blessing for the project when we started, which meant the world to me”.
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Asaf’s album, I Thought I Was Ready, is a collection of music that takes you on a journey, from a happy childhood, spending time with friends or listening to the Beatles through a crazy time in New York city where Asaf found both inspiration and turmoil, and then a return to a country that is both fascinating for its fusion of cultures but also extraordinarily challenging for reasons we are all familiar with. Asaf Harris composed the music in a period of contemplation, preparing himself for the next stage of a career in music that has so much to offer to those who take the opportunity to listen.
© Sandy Brown Jazz 2026.2