Anat Fort, a pianist and composer who combines jazz and classical elements with hints from her Middle Eastern heritage, has demonstrated an early ability to easily move in all musical genres. She was born in Israel and began studying classical music when she was five years old. A lifelong fascination for improvisation led her to enroll in the jazz program at William Paterson University, New Jersey. Fort graduated from the program in 1996 and moved to New York to continue her studies with Harold Seletsky and improvisation with Paul Bley. Orchard Records released her first album, “Peel”, in 1999. ECM Records eventually released A Long Story in 2007, which included a session with Perry Robinson, clarinetist Perry Robinson, and drummer Paul Motian. Fort is an active arranger and composer. She continues to live in New York with her Anat Fort Trio (basist Gary Wang, drummer Roland Schneider) and tours with them. Allmusic
