Israeli saxophone player and composer Eli Degibri can now add artistic director of the Red Sea Jazz Festival to his impressive list of accomplishments.
Israel’s premier jazz festival recently announced that it has selected the saxophonist and composer to collaborate with Dubi Lenz, the other artistic director, to bring the four-day international jazz festival into its 26th year.
Degibri first began creating waves on the jazz scene at the age of 16 when his prominence among leading jazz musicians on the Israeli scene earned him a full scholarship to Berklee College of Music’s Summer Performance Program. Degibri excelled at Berklee and returned for two summers in a row before receiving a full ride to attend the college full-time a year later.
He became one of only six musicians in the world to be selected to attend the exclusive Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance, from which he graduated with honors. Throughout his career he has worked and collaborated with Ron Carter, Benny Golson, Jimmy Health, Clark Terry, Herbie Hancock, Brad Mehldau… Since 2001 he is member of Al Foster Quartet that performed at 8th Jazz Fest Sarajevo 2004.