Itamar Erez started as a composer of contemporary classical music. Though he played guitar and piano, he mostly left it to others to perform what he wrote. But shortly after his move from Israel to Vancouver in 1997, the familiar sources of inspiration dried up. He turned inward, dug into his psyche, and found the roots of his creative imagination. And in that process he rediscovered jazz, as well as the guitar that he’d abandoned.

“I had played in a jazz trio, but after I decided to concentrate on composition I stopped playing guitar for around eight years,” says Erez, interviewed at a Commercial Drive café. “Writing for other people removes you from your own music. Coming back to the guitar, and to performing, was very joyous. I started improvising, and the things that came out were more Middle Eastern sounds and rhythms.”

Three years ago Erez formed the Adama Ensemble with Tony Nickels on reeds, Laurence Mollerup on standup bass, and Stefan Cihelka on tablas and percussion. The combination of tablas and the oboe—Nickels’s main instrument—gives the group a unique sound.

Erez’s compositions for Adama blend various kinds of Mediterranean music with elements of jazz and classical music. On the ensemble’s excellent debut, Desert Song, released earlier this year, the genres and influences are cleverly intertwined.

For their concert at the Norman Rothstein Theatre on Monday (December 18), Erez and the Adama Ensemble will be joined by Nick Apivor on vibraphone and marimba. The range of musical textures and colours should be intriguing.

Erez has become particularly drawn to flamenco’s fiery blend of Jewish, Roma, and Arabic traditions. He took up playing guitar in that style four years ago, inspired by a Vicente Amigo concert. “His performance was a total shock for me. I didn’t believe it was possible to play guitar like that. It takes great physical strength.”

The past two summers, Erez travelled to Spain to study with flamenco legend Gerardo Nuñez. And while he was in Andalusia, his career took an exciting turn after he met another guitar master, Brazilian jazz legend Egberto Gismonti.

“Egberto is going to produce a CD of my music on his own label,” says Erez. “The album will be recorded and released next year, and we meet in a few weeks’ time in Europe to work things out. It will be solo guitar, more intimate and personal than the music for Adama. I’m already sending ideas and he writes back. It’s very exciting—and I feel really lucky.”