Eli Degibri (; born May 3, 1978, in

Jaffa Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

, 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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

saxophonist, composer, and arranger.

Early life

Degibri first began playing the

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

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 woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

and switched his studies to that instrument. In 1994 Degibri was selected to receive a full scholarship to attend the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

'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

and relocated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. 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 program, where he studied and performed with

Ron Carter Ronald Levin Carter (born May 4, 1937) is an American jazz double bassist. His appearances on 2,221 recording sessions make him the most-recorded jazz bassist in history. He has won three Grammy Awards, and is also a Cello, cellist who has reco ...

Benny Golson Benny Golson (January 25, 1929 – September 21, 2024) was an American bebop and hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He came to prominence with the big bands of Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie, more as a writer than a p ...

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 Clark Virgil Terry Jr. (December 14, 1920 – February 21, 2015) was an American Swing music, swing and bebop trumpeter, a pioneer of the flugelhorn in jazz, and a composer and educator. He played with Charlie Barnet (1947), Count Basie (1948� ...

Career

After graduating from the Monk Institute in 1999, Degibri was asked to join pianist

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer. He started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. Hancock soon joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of ...

's sextet, playing the music of Hancock's album ''

Gershwin's World ''Gershwin's World'' is a thirty-seventh studio album by the American jazz pianist Herbie Hancock. It contains songs written by George Gershwin, George and Ira Gershwin, and their contemporaries. It features several prominent musicians, includin ...

''. 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, composer, bandleader, producer, educator, keyboardist and record label owner. Biography Born in Philadelphia to a musical family, Rosenwinkel began taking piano lessons when ...

, Aaron Goldberg, Ben Street, and Jeff Ballard. The band performed at the

Blue Note Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue no ...

, the

Jazz Standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive List ...

, 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. 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 jaz ...

, 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) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

on May 21, 2008. In 2008 Degibri formed an organ trio with Gary Versace and

Obed Calvaire Obed may refer to: __NOTOC__ Geography * Obed, Alberta, Canada, an unincorporated community * Obed, Croatia, a settlement in Orle, Croatia * Obed, Arizona, United States, a ghost town * Obed River, Tennessee, United States People * Obed (name), a ...

and released his fourth album, ''Live at Louis 649''. In 2010, he released the album '' Israeli Song'' on Anzic Records with

, 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, touring and recording while still a student. He was a member of saxophonist Joshua Redman's quar ...

. 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 Kenneth Barron (born June 9, 1943) is an American jazz pianist and composer who has appeared on hundreds of recordings as leader and sideman and is considered one of the most influential mainstream jazz pianists since the bebop era. Early life ...

. 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, Stepha ...

, and pianist

Fred Hersch Fred Hersch (born October 21, 1955) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and a 17-time Grammy nominée. He was the first person to play weeklong engagements as a solo pianist at the Village Vanguard in New York City. He has recorded more than ...

at Birdland Jazz Club in New York for a performance dedicated to

Joe Henderson Joe Henderson (April 24, 1937 – June 30, 2001) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and very occasional flute player. In a career spanning more than four decades, Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day an ...

. The quartet was also invited to perform at the 2011

North Sea Jazz Festival The North Sea Jazz Festival is a festival held annually on the second weekend of July in the Netherlands at the Ahoy venue. The festival moved to Rotterdam in 2006 after the demolition of the Statenhal in The Hague where it was originally held. ...

and Gent Jazz Festival. 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 (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

's first International Jazz Day 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. Tom Oren 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 Kevin Hays

Selected sideman

* ''The Jazz Channel Presents Herbie Hancock'' (2002) -

* ''Love, Peace and Jazz! Live at the Village Vanguard'' (2008) - Al Foster * ''The Paris Concert'' (2008) - Al Foster

References

External links

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