Israeli-born, Boston-based guitarist Issi Rozen has emerged as a leading performer on the Boston jazz scene, creating a unique musical style by blending Middle Eastern and Latin motifs with post bop and straight ahead jazz. Rozen has created an infectious sound that is dynamic, passionate and seemingly effortless. He has a natural sense for melody and an awesome ability to make his guitar sing. His unique blend of styles has earned The Issi Rozen Quartet rave reviews from jazz critics and audiences nationwide.

In 2003, Rozen released his latest recording Dark Beauty on New Step Music. Dark Beauty is a beautiful and powerful extension of Rozen's critically acclaimed releases Homeland Blues and Red Sea (both on Brownstone Recordings). On his recordings, the guitarist taps into the melodies of his homeland to bring a new dimension to jazz. Rozen melds Middle Eastern, Latin and bluesy influences with post-bop playing, creating a sound that has its own exotic flavor and personality. Having composed most of the material on the albums, Rozen captivates the listener both as a talented performer and as an innovative composer.

Homeland Blues was picked as one of the top 20 CDs in 2000 by WBEZ radio in Chicago, one of the leading jazz radio stations in the country. In 1999, Rozen won the "Best Jazz Performer" award from Boston Magazine in its annual "Best of Boston" issue.

In addition to playing, Rozen also enjoys teaching aspiring musicians. In 2002, he joined the faculty of the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston where he teaches guitar and music theory.

Here's some of what the critics are saying about Issi Rozen:

Pianist Gilad Barkan's music forms a bridge between cultures. His compositions are poignant and enchanting, harmonically sophisticated yet accessible, linking his love for popular musics from around the world - notably Africa, Brazil, and his Israeli homeland - with a joyous rhythmic and melodic freedom as an improviser, and a distinctly warm and lyrical sound.

Born in England and raised in Israel, Barkan grew up in a musical family and took up the piano as a teenager. He soon became interested in improvisation and while attending Rimon School of Jazz he began performing in a Tel-Aviv nightclub. After a year of study, during which he won the school's Jazz Musician of the Year competition, he moved to Boston to study at Berklee College of Music.

During his years at Berklee, Barkan began performing and recording with guitarist Issi Rozen, whose releases on New Step and Brownstone Records have been commercially successful as well as critically acclaimed by Jazz Times, NPR and many others. Barkan also appears regularly as a pianist and bassist with Sergio and Fernando Brandão, and other prominent musicians on Boston's jazz and world music scenes.

Barkan's trio debut (Modulation, New Step Music) earned a wealth of praise from critics and his group has been invited to perform nationally and internationally, as well as on radio and network television. Live Sessions, Barkan's second New Step release, includes some of the most exciting and moving performances by Barkan's trio and quartet, and describes a period of musical growth and exploration towards a lighter, more open-ended group sound.