Jazz Musician Oran Etkin was our Artist in Residence at the Lycee Francais de New York with our third graders, together with percussionist Sasha Berliner.

Born in Israel, Oran moved with his family to Boston when he was five and started taking instrument lessons. At fourteen, he studied clarinet with Yusef Lateef and George Garzone. He attended Brandeis University and the Manhattan School of Music. He plays the alto clarinet, bass clarinet, and tenor saxophone. Etkin invented a teaching method called Timbalooloo to teach music to children as young as three. Etkin has also been collaborating with musicians from Mali. His debut album, Kelenia (Motema, 2009), combined jazz with Malian music.

He talks about his life and his musical influences. He will play at Mezzrow in Manhattan on June 1, 2023.