Eli Degibri (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: אלי דג'יברי) (born May 3, 1978, in Jaffa,

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the ...

, Israel) is an Israeli

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

saxophonist, composer, and arranger.

Early life

Degibri first began playing the mandolin at age 7 in an after school music program at the Jaffa Conservatory of Music. Three years later, after attending a jazz concert, he became enamored with the

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

and switched his studies to that instrument. In 1994 Degibri was selected to receive a full scholarship to attend the Berklee College of Music's Summer Performance Program. The following year Degibri was again awarded a full scholarship, and participated in the Berklee program for a second summer. In 1997, at age 18, Degibri received a full scholarship to attend the Berklee College of Music and relocated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. After a year at Berklee, he was one of only six musicians to be selected, with a full scholarship, to attend the

Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz The Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz is a non-profit music education organization founded in 1986. Before 2019, it was known as the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, but was then renamed after its longtime board chairman, Herbie Hancock. The i ...

program, where he studied and performed with Ron Carter, Benny Golson,

Jimmy Heath James Edward Heath (October 25, 1926 – January 19, 2020), nicknamed Little Bird, was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, and big band leader. He was the brother of bassist Percy Heath and drummer Albert Heath. Biography Heath w ...

and Clark Terry.

Career

After graduating from the Monk Institute in 1999, Degibri was asked to join pianist Herbie Hancock's sextet, playing the music of Hancock's album '' Gershwin's World''. He toured the world with them for two and a half years and appeared on ''The Jazz Channel Presents Herbie Hancock'' in 2002. In 2002 he moved to New York City and formed a quintet with

Kurt Rosenwinkel Kurt Rosenwinkel (born October 28, 1970) is an American jazz guitarist, keyboardist, composer, bandleader, producer, educator and record label owner. Biography A native of Philadelphia, Rosenwinkel attended the Philadelphia High School for the ...

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Ben Street Ben Street is an American jazz double bassist. Street has performed and recorded with many renowned artists, including John Scofield, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Mark Turner, Ben Monder, Michael Eckroth, Sam Rivers, Billy Hart, Danilo Perez, Aaron ...

, and Jeff Ballard. The band performed at the

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical c ...

, the Jazz Standard, 55 Bar, and Smalls Jazz Club. That same year Degibri joined the Al Foster Quartet. In 2003, he released his first album, ''In the Beginning''. In 2006, he released his second album, ''Emotionally Available'', again on Fresh Sound. That year, he appeared on another album, ''One Little Song'', a duo collaboration with pianist

Kevin Hays Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant ''Kevan'' is anglicized from , an ...

. He was featured on Al Foster's 2008 album ''Love, Peace and Jazz!'', a live recording at the

Village Vanguard The Village Vanguard is a jazz club at Seventh Avenue South in Greenwich Village, New York City. The club was opened on February 22, 1935, by Max Gordon. Originally, the club presented folk music and beat poetry, but it became primarily a jazz ...

, and on Foster's 2008 DVD ''The Paris Concert''. A live show of the Al Foster Quartet at the Village Vanguard was broadcast on

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

on May 21, 2008. In 2008 Degibri formed an organ trio with Gary Versace and Obed Calvaire and released his fourth album, ''Live at Louis 649''. In 2010, he released the album '' Israeli Song'' on

Anzic Records Anzic Records is an independent record label, based in New York City. It was founded in 2005 and has released many albums by Israeli musicians, but does not restrict itself to performers from that country. History and scope The label was founded ...

with Ron Carter, Al Foster, and

Brad Mehldau Bradford Alexander Mehldau (; born August 23, 1970) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. Mehldau studied music at The New School, and toured and recorded while still a student. He was a member of saxophonist Joshua Redman's Qua ...

. In January 2011 he was invited to headline at the Red Sea Jazz Festival's first winter edition, where he performed in a duo with pianist Kenny Barron. In April 2011 he joined drummer Al Foster, bassist

George Mraz George Mraz (born Jiří Mráz; 9 September 1944 – 16 September 2021) was a Czech-born American jazz bassist and alto saxophonist. He was a member of Oscar Peterson's group, and worked with Pepper Adams, Stan Getz, Michel Petrucciani, Stephan ...

, and pianist Fred Hersch at Birdland Jazz Club in New York for a performance dedicated to Joe Henderson. The quartet was also invited to perform at the 2011 North Sea Jazz Festival and

Gent Jazz Festival The Gent Jazz Festival is an international jazz festival held annually in Ghent, Belgium in mid July. It lasts two weeks and the programmation is divided in two parts: the first week, called ''All That Jazz.'', unites some of the best jazz perfor ...

. In October 2011 Degibri was chosen as the successor to bassist Avishai Cohen as co-Artistic Director of the Red Sea Jazz Festival. On April 30, 2012 he was invited to be a part of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

's first

International Jazz Day International Jazz Day is an International Day declared by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in 2011 "to highlight jazz and its diplomatic role of uniting people in all corners of the globe." It is celebrated ...

at the UN General Assembly in New York. On August 29, 2013 he released his sixth album, ''Twelve'', on Degibri's label, PiLi Records, with Plus Loin Music and Gadi Lehavi, Ofri Nehemya, and Barak Mori. Degibri has also worked with Eric Reed and the

Mingus Big Band The Mingus Big Band is a 14-piece ensemble, based in New York City, that specializes in the compositions of Charles Mingus. It was managed by his widow, Sue Mingus, along with the Mingus Orchestra and Mingus Dynasty. In addition to its weekly Monda ...

Tom Oren Tom Oren (born November 4, 1994) is an Israeli jazz pianist and winner of the 2018 Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz International Piano Competition. Oren was born in Tel Aviv, Israel. He graduated from Thelma Yellin High School of the Arts, Giva ...

has played with the Eli Degibri Quartet since 2017.

Discography

As leader

* ''In the Beginning'' (2003) * ''Emotionally Available'' (2006) * ''Live at Louis 649'' (2008) * '' Israeli Song'' (2010) * ''Twelve'' (2013) * ''Cliff Hangin (Blujazz, 2016) * ''Soul Station'' (Degibri Records, 2018) * ''Henri and Rachel'' (2021)

As co-leader

* ''One Little Song'' (2006) - with

Selected sideman

* ''The Jazz Channel Presents Herbie Hancock'' (2002) - Herbie Hancock * ''Love, Peace and Jazz! Live at the Village Vanguard'' (2008) -

Al Foster Aloysius Tyrone Foster (born January 18, 1943) is an American jazz drummer. Foster's professional career began in the mid-60s, when he played and recorded with hard bop and swing musicians including Blue Mitchell and Illinois Jacquet. Foster ...

* ''The Paris Concert'' (2008) -

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Degibri, Eli 1978 births Living people Israeli jazz saxophonists People from Jaffa Berklee College of Music alumni Musicians from New York (state) 21st-century saxophonists Fresh Sounds Records artists Israeli expatriates in the United States