Born in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tamir began his keyboard studies at age 6, attending the Anazagi Conservatory there. During this period, a Count Basie recording introduced him to jazz. In 1984, his family moved to Los Angeles. Two years later, at age 14, Tamir won top honors at Yamaha’s national keyboard competition. In 1988, Tamir studied composition at the Tanglewood Institute where he received his first writing commission for large ensemble. Eastman School of Music was the next stop for Tamir in 1989. There, he received a Bachelor of Music degree in composition in 1993. Since returning to Los Angeles in 1996, Tamir has been in demand as both pianist and arranger.
As leader of his own trio, and as a long-time member of the Jeff Hamilton Trio and the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, pianist-composer Tamir is known for his dynamic and sensitive touch, and his imaginative arranging. He has performed with Benny Golson, Eddie Henderson, Houston Person, James Moody, Terell Stafford and Sean Jones, recorded and arranged for Richard Galliano, Lori Bell, Graham Dechter and Claudio Roditi and toured with Natalie Cole, Barbra Streisand, Roberta Gambarini and Tierney Sutton. In recordings conducted by John Clayton, he appears with Paul McCartney, Michael Buble and Diana Krall. A featured soloist with the Winston-Salem Symphony on Rhapsody In Blue, he performed a 2018 tribute to Jobim with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. In 2020 Tamir Hendelman debuted an online solo piano series celebrating jazz artists and the Great American Songbook.