Yonatan Riklis
Yonatan Riklis - film composer, pianist & organist jriklis@gmail.com
Born: 1986, Tel Aviv, Israel.
A 2011 BFA honorable graduate of the New School for Jazz & Contemporary Music in New York City. Studied under the instruction of jazz giants such as Junior Mance, Billy Harper, Reggie Workman, the late great Charli Persip, David Schnitter, Jeremy Manasia, Aaron Goldberg, Tardo Hammer, George Cables, Hal Galper & many more. Yonatan has had the honor and privilege of playing with many of the top players and jazz legends in NYC such as John Mosca, Don Hahn, Ned Goold, Ari Roland and many others at the various venues around the city such as Dizzy’s Coca Cola Club, Symphony Space, The Iridium, Fat Cat, Smoke, Smalls, Garage & more.
In 2010 he won the 1st prize scholarship from the ‘Eubie Blake Foundation’.
Since 2012, Yonatan is based in Tel-Aviv and is one of the most in-demand pianists/organists in the Israeli jazz scene. He toured since then in Israel with international jazz figures such as Victor Lewis, Jesse Davis, Vincent Herring, the late Jim Rotondi, Joe Farnsworth and more. Yonatan performs and records with top musicians such as Eli Degibri, international singer Emma Smith (which with the latter he collaborates regularly in Israel and around the world and both are currently working on an album together), Ron Magril (Yonatan is featured on Magril’s album ‘Inspired’ which recieved many great reviews and exposure around the jazz workd) and is regularly playing at the finest jazz clubs in Israel and in prestigious jazz programs and festivals (such as the Red Sea Jazz Festival, the Jerusalem Jazz Festival, The New Orleans Jazz Festival in Tel Aviv and more).
Yonatan is a faculty member of the prestigious jazz program founded by the late great jazz master Amit Golan (Yonatan was his long time student) at the Tel Aviv Conservatory, CJS which is a partner of the New School in New York.
Yonatan also frequently composes projects for the international music company ‘Artlist’.
Yonatan composed the music for the films:
‘Café Europe’ (Doc. 2012)
‘Dancing Arabs’ aka ‘A Borrowed Identity’ (2014) https://album.link/DancingArabs
‘Shelter’ (2017) – for which Yonatan received his first Israeli Film Academy Nomination for Best Original Score. https://album.link/Shelter
‘All-In’ (2018)
‘Spider in the Web’ (2019) – for which Yonatan received his second Israeli Film Academy Nomination for Best Original Score. https://yonatanriklis.hearnow.com/
‘A Mind Like Still Water’ (Doc. 2020)
‘Take the ‘A’ Train’ (2021)
‘Reading Lolita in Tehran’ (2024) starring acclaimed actress Golshifteh Farahani
https://li.sten.to/readinglolitaost
Born: 1986, Tel Aviv, Israel.
A 2011 BFA honorable graduate of the New School for Jazz & Contemporary Music in New York City. Studied under the instruction of jazz giants such as Junior Mance, Billy Harper, Reggie Workman, the late great Charli Persip, David Schnitter, Jeremy Manasia, Aaron Goldberg, Tardo Hammer, George Cables, Hal Galper & many more. Yonatan has had the honor and privilege of playing with many of the top players and jazz legends in NYC such as John Mosca, Don Hahn, Ned Goold, Ari Roland and many others at the various venues around the city such as Dizzy’s Coca Cola Club, Symphony Space, The Iridium, Fat Cat, Smoke, Smalls, Garage & more.
In 2010 he won the 1st prize scholarship from the ‘Eubie Blake Foundation’.
Since 2012, Yonatan is based in Tel-Aviv and is one of the most in-demand pianists/organists in the Israeli jazz scene. He toured since then in Israel with international jazz figures such as Victor Lewis, Jesse Davis, Vincent Herring, the late Jim Rotondi, Joe Farnsworth and more. Yonatan performs and records with top musicians such as Eli Degibri, international singer Emma Smith (which with the latter he collaborates regularly in Israel and around the world and both are currently working on an album together), Ron Magril (Yonatan is featured on Magril’s album ‘Inspired’ which recieved many great reviews and exposure around the jazz workd) and is regularly playing at the finest jazz clubs in Israel and in prestigious jazz programs and festivals (such as the Red Sea Jazz Festival, the Jerusalem Jazz Festival, The New Orleans Jazz Festival in Tel Aviv and more).
Yonatan is a faculty member of the prestigious jazz program founded by the late great jazz master Amit Golan (Yonatan was his long time student) at the Tel Aviv Conservatory, CJS which is a partner of the New School in New York.
Yonatan also frequently composes projects for the international music company ‘Artlist’.
Yonatan composed the music for the films:
‘Café Europe’ (Doc. 2012)
‘Dancing Arabs’ aka ‘A Borrowed Identity’ (2014) https://album.link/DancingArabs
‘Shelter’ (2017) – for which Yonatan received his first Israeli Film Academy Nomination for Best Original Score. https://album.link/Shelter
‘All-In’ (2018)
‘Spider in the Web’ (2019) – for which Yonatan received his second Israeli Film Academy Nomination for Best Original Score. https://yonatanriklis.hearnow.com/
‘A Mind Like Still Water’ (Doc. 2020)
‘Take the ‘A’ Train’ (2021)
‘Reading Lolita in Tehran’ (2024) starring acclaimed actress Golshifteh Farahani
https://li.sten.to/readinglolitaost