Born in Israel in 1982, pianist Roy Assaf started his formal classical training at the Tel Aviv Conservatory at the age of eight. In 1999, he graduated from the three-year jazz program at Thelma Yellin - Israel’s premier high school of the arts - and won the international Red Sea Jazz Festival competition for young musicians. Mr. Assaf was a prominent local player in Israel and a member of the Tel Aviv Jazz Big Band. He led his own jazz quintet, performed in the International Jazz Blues and Videotape Festival, and was recorded live by Israel Broadcasting Authority and by national radio stations.

In 2000, Roy Assaf was awarded a status of an outstanding musician by the Israeli army and enlisted to serve in the Education Corps for three years. Following his military duty, he received a Diploma in Jazz Performance from the Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music in Israel, and several scholarships from Berklee College of Music. In 2003, Mr. Assaf moved to Boston to pursue his undergraduate studies at Berklee. He studied individually with Opher Brayer, Joanne Brackeen, Danilo Perez, Kenny Werner, Michel Camilo, Richie Beirach and Sonny Bravo, while receiving additional scholarships and awards from the Eubie Blake National Jazz Institute and America-Israel Cultural Foundation.

Before graduating, cum laude, from Berklee in May 2005, Roy Assaf was invited to perform at the Promising Artist of the 21st Century Performance Series in Costa Rica. Shortly thereafter, he has performed with his jazz quartet at the Phoenix Jazz Festival in Kobe, Japan. In the last few years he made sufficient impact to perform, among others, with James Moody, Joe Lovano, George Garzone, Dave Samuels, Victor Mendoza and Giovanni Hidalgo. Mr. Assaf has recently moved to New York and has gradually become part of the international jazz touring circuit.

Roy Assaf has been teaching piano and instructing jazz ensembles worldwide, while focusing on the following areas: Basic theory, Various piano techniques, Classical repertoire, Jazz repertoire, Improvisation, Ear training, Jazz harmony, and Accompanying singers and horns. Roy Assaf is currently available for private lessons in the New York City metropolitan area. For further information, please visit: www.royassaf.com