Half an hour before the performance of the Israeli jazz pianist Hila Kolik (37) and the New York trumpeter Win Tucker, when the hall at the Municipal Music Conservatory in Afula was full of people, the pianist decided to change the show due to the fear of the reactions.
According to Kolik, who has performed with her music in the US, Europe and Israel, this is a fear that she did not have before any of the performances.
"I grew up in Afula and this is the first time I'm performing here. I was a little afraid of the audience's reactions," she admits, but in the end to her joy and the joy of the audience, she didn't change anything.
How did you feel after the show?
"I was very excited. It was a kind of coming full circle to perform in my hometown 14 years since I moved to Tel Aviv and from there to New York. The reactions were very moving, especially from the youth, the young people who study at the conservatory. For some of them, it was the first time they saw a live jazz show. We saw I saw the sparkle in their eyes and realized that we were able to influence, touch them, inspire them. There is no greater sense of satisfaction than that."
Tomorrow (Friday) Kolik will close another circle, when she will perform at the Culture Hall in Tel Aviv as part of the fifth winter festival at the hall.
"It is a great honor for me that they offered me to take part in this festival alongside amazing Israeli artists," says Kolik.
"Cedar" - Hila Kolik
Indeed, her road from Afula to conquering the world jazz scene was difficult and long.
She survived it thanks to great talent and no less than that - determination and perseverance.
She began her musical career as a classical pianist and came to jazz at a later stage.
According to her, among other things, because there were no jazz concerts in her city of residence.
"Until the army, I focused on classical music in the music major of the high school and the music arts center in Kibbutz Mazra. When you are not exposed to a musical environment in a relatively less popular style like jazz, it is difficult to open up to it and dedicate yourself to it," she explains.
The change came as a result of an almost accidental meeting at the Art House in Kibbutz Mazra.
"There I met the late jazz saxophonist Erez Barnoi (one of the top jazz players in Israel and the best jazz teachers in Israel; 17)".
Barnoy immediately recognized the pianist's potential and since he was also teaching at the time in the jazz department at the Stricker Conservatory, he convinced her to deepen her studies and travel once a week from Afula to Tel Aviv.
Her enthusiasm also caused her commanders in the army to allow her to continue studying and in return she volunteered to play at military ceremonies and holidays, to the satisfaction of both parties.
After her service, Kolik studied in a joint track of the Academy in Jerusalem with the Rimon School, and then moved to New York for a few years and performed with the top brass of the jazz scene.
When the corona broke out, Kolik had to return to Israel.
But nothing prepared her for what happened on a Saturday morning in August 2021, when she received the bitter news of Bernoy's sudden death.
The night before, the two talked ahead of their upcoming performance later this week.
"It was one of the worst days of my life. I felt that I had lost a part of my aura. He was one of my best friends. Still. To this day, a year and a half later, when I am debating about a certain matter, I simply ask myself: what Erez would have said. b 99% of the time I know and feel what he would advise," she says.
Kulik, who was supposed to record her debut album near Erez's death, stopped the plans.
"I was lost. I couldn't think about music. I didn't touch the piano for weeks."
In the end, surrounded by the love of her good friends, some of whom are friends of the late Barnoy, Kolik arrived in New York and recorded the album, which is expected to be released in early May of this year. He has a 'cedar'," she shares.
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