Early Life
Atzmon was born in a secular Jewish family in Tel Aviv, and trained at the Rubin Academy of Music in Jerusalem.
He first became interested in British jazz when he discovered some in a British record shop in Jerusalem in the 1970s. He initially was inspired by the work of Ronnie Scott and Tubby Hayes and regarded London as "the Mecca of Jazz." He also was influenced to become a jazz musician by the work of Charlie Parker, in particular Charlie Parker with Strings recorded in 1949. Atzmon said of the album that he "loved the way the music is both beautiful and subversive – the way he basks in the strings but also fights against them." He worked with top bands as a musical producer.
In 1994, Atzmon emigrated from Israel to London, where he attended the University of Essex and earned a Masters degree in Philosophy. He has lived there since then, becoming a British citizen in 2002. He renounced his Israeli citizenship.
Read more about this topic: Gilad Atzmon
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