Kobi Arad

Kobi Yakob Arad (; born: October 2, 1981) is an Israeli-born composer, and music producer. He is known for being the pianist, vocalist, and bandleader of the Kobi Arad Band. He has won a Hollywood Music in Media (HMMA) Award and an Independent Music Award, both for his work as a solo artist and as part of the Kobi Arad Band. In 2025, he won a Hollywood Independent Music Award.

He has collaborated with artists such as Stevie Wonder, Cindy and Carlos Santana, Stewart Copeland, Jack DeJohnette, and Roy Ayers. and raised in Haifa, Israel. He earned his bachelor's degree at Tel Aviv University and became the first musician to earn a doctorate in contemporary improvisation and third stream from the New England Conservatory of Music. Arad also collaborated with Stevie Wonder and his manager, Stephanie Andrews at the Berklee Performance Center in 2005.

Arad released his album Sparks of Understanding in 2009, which featured drummer Bob Moses.

Arad collaborated with recording engineer Robert Margouleff on The Experience Project in 2015. In 2015, he also released the albums Webern Re-Visioned—which consisted of re-imaginings of works by Anton Webern, and Superflow, which is a collaboration with Roy Ayers, featuring bassist Jonathan Levy.

He also recorded Ellington Upside Down, a Duke Ellington tribute CD, with the Kobi Arad Band.

On July 31, 2025, his composition 'Weave' (using his improvisation–composition hybrid-based system 'Anchor Lines') won him a Hollywood Independent Music Award for Best Jazz.

Discography (selected)

Albums

Sparks of Understanding (2009) Ancient Novice (2009) Inner Hymns (2012) Flux - A Song Cycle for Solo Fender Rhodes (2017) Sketches of Monk (2020)

Awards