Jazz is taking center stage in Jerusalem, as the Israel Festival presents the first Jerusalem Jazz Festival, under the artistic direction of renowned trumpet player Avishai Cohen. Taking place from December 2 – 4, 2015, the festival is initiated and supported by the Jerusalem Foundation in celebration of their 50th anniversary, and produced in collaboration with The Israel Museum and the Yellow Submarine – in other words, happening in very cool venues!
The rich and diverse artistic program gives audiences the opportunity to enjoy leading jazz artists as well as discovering emerging talents, with original productions, beloved standards, new compositions, and creative collaborations between international and Israeli musicians. The galleries of the Israel Museum will be the backdrop for many a wonderful musical encounter, while the Yellow Submarine will host master classes with musicians and late night jam sessions. The festival is a featured event of the first weekend of the Jerusalem cultural series “Hamshushalayim,” organized by the Tourism Office of the Jerusalem Development Authority. All the information is available in English on the Jerusalem Jazz Festival website.
So many highlights… just to mention a few, starting with international musicians:
David Sánchez – love that sax! The Puerto-Rican born Grammy Award winning musician merges Afro-Caribbean influences with classical training and contemporary jazz for a sound that soars. His show Carib explores the encounter of Haiti, Carriacou and Puerto Rico with West-African drum rhythms of Yuba, Calinda, and Sica. Performance: Auditorium, December 3rd, 21:45.
David Sanchez Quintet – Edward Simon (Piano), A.J Strickland (drums), Ricardo Figueroa (bass), John Lee Aponte (percussion). Performance: Israeli Art Gallery, December 4th at 13:00.
Guitar & electric bass player Munir Hossn was born in Paraná, Brazil, with Middle Eastern roots from his Lebanese grandfather, and musical roots that merge several cultures. His latest album Made in Nordeste (listen to the album on bandcamp), explores the sounds of colonial, native, and African music in North-East Brazilian culture. He’ll be performing for the first time in Israel, with: Luis Guerra (piano), Tuur Moens (drums), João Frade (accordion), Joël Hierrezuelo (percussion). Performances: December 2 at 21:30; December 4 at 15:00.
Israeli musicians:
The 3 Cohens – Unplugged. It’s a wonderful thing when these three sibs play together! The Israeli jazz trio – Anat Cohen(clarinet, tenor saxophone); Avishai Cohen (trumpet); Yuval Cohen (soprano saxophone) – will be hosting pianist Yonatan Avishai and contrabass player Barak Mori in this show dedicated to their latest album Tightrope. Performance: Auditorium, December 4th at 12:00.
Ben Aylon – One Man Tribe. West African drum set by a drummer who has definitely walked the walk, researching African rhythms in Senegal. Enjoy two short sets: Circle of Life, December 2nd at 21:00 and 23:00. Free admission.
Exhaust: Assif Tsahar (tenor saxophone and mbira), Igor Krotogolov (electric bass) and Hagai Fershtman (drums). Now is the time to give free jazz a fresh listen. Modern Art Gallery, December 2nd at 20:30
Check out the full schedule on the Jerusalem Jazz Festival website!
Some practical information:
Doors open nightly at the Israel Museum at 18:30, and at 11:00 am on Friday.
Ticket prices:
Daily ticket to all performances (including museum admission, not including auditorium performances): NIS 90 / NIS 75 for museum members, soldiers, and students.
Two-day ticket for all performances including museum admission, not including auditorium performances): NIS 170 / 150 NIS for museum members, soldiers, and students.
Three-day ticket for all performances including museum admission, not including auditorium performances): NIS 240 / NIS 225 for museum members, soldiers, and students.
Auditorium performances: An additional fee of NIS 40 per performance / NIS 35 for museum members, soldiers, and students.
For true groupies – the festival offers a gold card providing admission to all festival performances in the galleries and auditorium, for the duration of the festival, for NIS 400
