Daniel Zamir

Daniel Zamir was born in 1978 in Petah Tikva

Zamir was born in Petah Tikva on November 25, 1978, to a secular family. As a child he learned piano, violin and drums, and later took up the alto saxophone. He graduated from Thelma Yellin High School of Arts.

He was released from the IDF due to low weight and moved to New York. There he became interested in Jewish, Hasidic and East European music, and he completed his studies at The New School in 2002.

In New York, John Zorn signed him to his Tzadik label. With his band Satlah he recorded three albums, and later released I Believe and Redemption Songs on the same label. In New York he also became religious and joined Chabad.

In 2006 he returned to Israel and released Amen, followed by Echad in 2009. In 2010 he became academic director of the Mizmor music school and won the Prime Minister's Prize for Composers. In 2019 he released his 13th album, Elai, his first official album fully in Hebrew.

Zamir married in 2008 and divorced in 2014, and he has 2 children. He lives in Jerusalem. In 2020 he said in an interview that he is bisexual.