| Ariel Lanyi sits on a pillow to reach his piano and needs to stand on a chair to play the double bass. He peeks over the rims of the drum set and isn't big enough to use a full-sized violin.The piano is the 9-year-old Israeli prodigy's favorite instrument, but when he gets going at a jam session, he can't stick to just one, playing each with dexterity well beyond his years.The classically trained whiz kid has already recorded a jazz album and is now the youngest member of the Kadima Collective, a leading avant-garde jazz troupe in Israel.Ariel began playing his family's piano at 2. By the time he had his first formal lesson, two years later, he could already play a Bach prelude. At 7, he discovered jazz.He said he knows he's different from other children, but that's a good thing."I'm special — unique," he said.On a recent weekend, Ariel stayed up past his 9 p.m. bedtime to perform a free-form jazz concert in a small bar in Jerusalem.His gray-haired teacher, Jean Claude "J.C." Jones, squeezed rhythms from every part of the bass during the performance, while the dimpled, blue-eyed protege replied on the violin."The music is completely mature and... |
