Top Shelf Talent With Ori Dagan

Ori’s 2022 release Click Right Here, a witty sendup of life in the digital age, features a top-tier octet with musical direction and arrangements by ace guitarist Nathan Hiltz. Funded by FACTOR (Foundation for Assisting Canadian Talent on Recordings), the album was praised by John Devenish of JAZZ.FM91 as “fun, provocative, fancy-free and spirited,” and by journalist and author Jeanne Beker as “the perfect balance between modernity and nostalgia.” Ori’s previous recordings, S’Cat Got My Tongue (2009) and Less Than Three <3 (2012), solidified his forward-thinking artistic voice. In 2017, with the support of over 200 crowdfunding contributors, he created the visual album Nathaniel: A Tribute to Nat King Cole, a first of its kind in the jazz genre — a collection of 12 music videos that garnered him invitations to headline around the world, won critical acclaim and recognition at film festivals worldwide, as well as an official showcase at SXSW.