“The music on the album is about this special bond between Omer and myself, between the history and cultural identity we share with each other. Here I might be said to hoist a flag and return to my roots. It's very intensive, extremely authentic, and it means a great deal to me.” Avi Avital “Explosively charismatic” (New York Times) in live performance, Avital has been described as playing “with the freedom of rock or jazz musicians” (Boston Globe) even in Baroque repertoire. Avital Meets Avital is Avi’s first cross-genre album release. Following three core classical releases on DG, Avi now explores the sound of world music, incl. several world premiere recordings. For his very personal project he teamed up with jazz bassist Omer Avital, with whom he shares much more than just a surname: Both attended the same music academy in Jerusalem, where Omer studied jazz and Avi the classical tradition, and both were born and raised by Moroccan parents in Israel. Having grown up with this inner ambivalence, for a long time the two musicians focused on their Israeli homeland and Western musical culture, Avi Avital in classical music, Omer Avital in jazz. Avital Meets Avital brings their different musical backgrounds and shared cultural heritage into dialogue, drawing on the diverse influences of Moroccan and North African sounds, classical and folk traditions, Israeli harmonies, and Mediterranean rhythms, to create a musical melting pot where chamber music meets the raw energy of jazz. All pieces are composed and arranged by Omer and Avi Avital, apart from the album's final track.