Eli Degibri
Cover art for Eli Degibri's Israeli Song (2010), via Discogs
Eli Degibri: Herbie Hancock Recruited Him Straight Out of a Six-Musician Fellowship
Eli Degibri: Herbie Hancock Recruited Him Straight Out of a Six-Musician Fellowship
In 1998, Eli Degibri, a tenor saxophonist from Jaffa, was one of six musicians selected nationally for a fellowship at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, a highly competitive program built to place young players directly into professional touring bands. It worked immediately: in 1999, straight out of the Institute, Herbie Hancock brought the twenty-one-year-old into his sextet, and Degibri spent the next two and a half years touring the world playing the "Gershwin's World" repertoire.
That same year, Degibri also turned up on Alon Oleartchik's double live album "אולארצ'יק ג'אז" (Olarchik Jazz), recorded over three nights at Tel Aviv's Camelot Club, sharing the bandstand with trumpeter Avishai Cohen, already profiled here, years before either of their international careers took off.
By 2002 he had moved to New York and formed his own quintet with guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel, and that same year he joined drummer Al Foster's band, a chair he held for nearly a decade. Foster later said Degibri was the only young saxophonist whose playing gave him real joy, not just competence. In between all of that, Degibri kept releasing albums under his own name: "In the Beginning" (2003), "Emotionally Available" (2006), "Live at Louis 649" (2008), and in 2010, "Israeli Song" on Anzic Records (the same New York label built around clarinetist Anat Cohen, already profiled here), a record that put him in a room with Ron Carter on bass, Al Foster on drums, and Brad Mehldau on piano, three of the most recorded names in jazz history backing an Israeli saxophonist on his own tune.
His 2015 record "Cliff Hangin'" got a five star review from DownBeat magazine, the American trade publication that has been reviewing jazz records since 1934 and rarely hands out its top score. He followed it with "Soul Station" (2018), a tribute to saxophonist Hank Mobley, and "Henri and Rachel" (2020), named for his grandparents.
Degibri isn't only a name from festival posters and old liner notes. Since 2018 he has headed Jazz Studies at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, meaning the players training there right now, the ones who might fill this subreddit's spotlights five years from now, are learning from him directly. He also headlined the Red Sea Jazz Festival in 2011, Israel's largest annual jazz festival held every August in Eilat, and was named its co-Artistic Director that same year, played the UN General Assembly for UNESCO's first International Jazz Day in 2012, and performed at the White House for President Obama in 2016.
Where to start listening:
- His official platforms:
- "Israeli Song" (2010, Anzic Records) for the Ron Carter and Brad Mehldau session, sample the title track on YouTube
- "Cliff Hangin'" (2015) for the DownBeat five star record, sample the title track's official video
Cover art for Eli Degibri's "Israeli Song" (2010). No rights-clear photo of Eli Degibri was found on Wikimedia Commons after a genuine search, so album cover art stands in here instead of a photo of the artist.
Eli Degibri: Full Discography
Note on Buy links: Buy links are plain (non-affiliate) Amazon links — no Associates tag is set up yet as of 2026-07-31; append ?tag=<ASSOCIATES_TAG> to each once Erik provides one.
Discogs artist ID: 2193301. Real name per Discogs: Eli Degibri (Hebrew: אלי דג'יברי), namevariations include "Elli De Gibri," אלי דג'ברי, אלי דג'ירבי, דג'ברי. Identity confirmed (not a name collision) via multiple extraartists credits consistently crediting "Eli Degibri" with tenor/soprano saxophone, matching his known instrument, and via his listed Discogs groups: Eli Degibri Trio (id 5507591), Eli Degibri Quintet (id 5571125), Al Foster Quartet (id 3217071), The New Talent Jazz Orchestra (id 6021315), Yakir Ben-Hur Quintet (id 14102854).
Name-collision note (critical, project-standing risk): Two of Degibri's own credited releases ("אולארצ'יק ג'אז" / Olarchik Jazz, 1999, and "תה בשניים" / Tea for Two, 2015) also credit an "Avishai E. Cohen" on trumpet. A direct Discogs id check confirms this is artist id 542342, which this project's own earlier research (O-output/19-yuval-cohen-spotlight/discography-full.md) already established is the trumpeter (Anat Cohen's brother), not the bassist. This was initially misattributed to the bassist during this build (based on an unreliable general web search) and corrected after a direct extraartists pull; see _process/03-gatekeeper-review.md and _process/04-revision.md in this folder for the full catch. Do not re-introduce the bassist attribution for these two releases.
Discogs data-modeling quirk: Two of Degibri's own leader/co-leader releases ("In the Beginning" and "Live at Louis 649") are credited on Discogs to group entities ("Eli Degibri Quintet" and "Eli Degibri Trio" respectively) rather than directly to his personal artist ID, so Discogs' own role tag for these on his personal artist page reads "Appearance" even though they are genuinely his own albums as bandleader. They are listed here under Leader, not Sideman, reflecting the real-world role, not the raw Discogs tag.
As Leader / Co-Leader
| Album Title | Recording / Release Info | Label | Catalog Number | Format | Personnel | Role | Notes | Listen | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In the Beginning | Released 2003 | Fresh Sound New Talent | FSNT 170 | CD, Album | Eli Degibri (tenor saxophone); Kurt Rosenwinkel (guitar); Aaron Goldberg (piano, liner notes); Ben Street (bass); Jeff Ballard (drums); liner notes also by Herbie Hancock | Leader (credited to group "Eli Degibri Quintet," Discogs id 5571125) | His debut as leader. 11 tracks, including "Cherokee" and "All the Things You Are" | not found | Amazon |
| One Little Song | Released 2005 | Not On Label | none | CD, Stereo | Eli Degibri (tenor/soprano saxophone, vocals); Kevin Hays (piano, vocals) | Leader/Co-leader (duo) | 10 tracks | YouTube | not found |
| Emotionally Available | Released 2006 | Fresh Sound New Talent | FSNT 262 | CD, Album | Eli Degibri (tenor/soprano saxophone, arranged by, composed by); Aaron Goldberg (piano, keyboards); Ben Street (bass); Jeff Ballard (drums); Ze Mauricio (pandeiro); Kevin Hays (arranged by) | Leader | 9 tracks, includes Coltrane's "Giant Steps" and a Jimmy Van Heusen/Johnny Burke standard | Spotify | Amazon |
| Live at Louis 649 | Released 2008 | Anzic Records | ANZ-3001 | CD, Album (digipak) | Eli Degibri (tenor/soprano saxophone); Gary Versace (Hammond B3 organ); Obed Calvaire (drums) | Leader (credited to group "Eli Degibri Trio," Discogs id 5507591) | 7 tracks | Spotify | Amazon (FR) |
| Israeli Song | Released 7 July 2010 | Anzic Records | ANZ-3002 | CD, Album, Stereo | Eli Degibri (tenor/soprano saxophone, producer); Ron Carter (bass); Al Foster (drums); Brad Mehldau (piano); recorded/mixed by James Farber; mastered by Mark Wilder | Leader | 11 tracks, title track "Israeli Song." His fifth album as leader | Spotify | Amazon |
| Twelve | Released 2013-08-29 | Plus Loin Music | PL4563 | CD | Eli Degibri (tenor/soprano saxophone, mandolin, composer, lyricist, producer, choir); Gadi Lehavi (piano, choir); Barak Mori (bass, choir); Ofri Nehemya (drums); Shlomo Ydov (vocals, lyricist); choir also with Pini Shavit, Yael Shapira, Yaron Mohar; mixed by Michael Brorby; mastered by Michael Perez-Cisneros | Leader | 9 tracks, includes Vernon Duke's "Autumn in New York" | Spotify | Amazon |
| Cliff Hangin' | Released 2015 | Degibri Records | DR1007 | CD, Album (printed in Israel) | Eli Degibri (tenor & sopranino saxophone, composer); Gadi Lehavi (piano); Barak Mori (bass); Ofri Nehemya (drums); Shlomo Ydov (vocals, guitar, lyricist) | Leader | 11 tracks. Received a five-star review from DownBeat magazine | Spotify | Amazon (CA) |
| Soul Station | Released 2018 | Not On Label (self-released) | none | CD, Album | Eli Degibri (tenor/soprano saxophone, executive producer); Tom Oren (piano); Tamir Shmerling (bass); Eviatar Slivnik (drums); recorded July 5-6, 2017 | Leader | 7 tracks. Tribute to saxophonist Hank Mobley, whose own 1960 Blue Note album was also titled "Soul Station" | Spotify | not found (Amazon search results for this title are dominated by Hank Mobley's original 1960 album; no distinct Eli Degibri listing could be confirmed) |
| Henri and Rachel | Released 2020 | Degibri Records | DR1009 | CD | Not listed in Discogs's extraartists data for this release (flagged as unresolved; personnel not independently confirmed via the API) | Leader | 10 tracks, named for Degibri's grandparents. Includes a "(Due Version)" of the title track (likely a "Duo Version," possible Discogs typo, unresolved) | Spotify | Amazon (UK) |
Co-Leader (Israeli-language collaborations with Alon Oleartchik)
| Album Title | Recording / Release Info | Label | Catalog Number | Format | Personnel | Notes | Listen | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| אולארצ'יק ג'אז (Olarchik Jazz) | Recorded live, Camelot Club, Tel Aviv, April 13-15 1999. Released 1999-06-29 | NMC | 20431-2 | CD, Album (2 discs) | Eli Degibri (saxophone, vocals); Alon Oleartchik (vocals, musical production); Yonathan Avishai (piano); Ofer Schneider [עופר שניידר] (contrabass); Shai Zalman [שי זלמן] (drums); Avishai E. Cohen, Discogs id 542342, the trumpeter (trumpet) | 19 tracks across 2 discs (several as alternate takes), including "Cherokee," "Body & Soul," "One Note Samba." Named-artist credit line reads "Eli Degibri, Avishai E. Cohen, Yonathan Avishai..." plus others | Spotify | not found |
| תה בשניים (Tea for Two) | Recorded at Pluto Studios, December 14-15, 2012. Released 2015 | NMC | 03307592 | CD | Eli Degibri (alto/sopranino/tenor saxophone, arranger, producer, vocals); Alon Oleartchik (vocals, translator); Avishai E. Cohen, Discogs id 542342, the trumpeter (trumpet, track 4 only); Achinoam Nini [i.e. Noa] (vocals); Ofer Ganor (guitar); Barak Mori (double bass); Ofri Nehamia (drums); Gady Lahavy (piano, spelled differently from "Gadi Lehavi" elsewhere in Degibri's catalog, possibly the same person, unresolved); plus סלעית להב (accordion), דורון מזרחי (acoustic guitar), Yael Shapira (cello), אביהי אור-נוי (flute), שחר פוייאי (violin), Paula Valshtein (vocals) | 9 tracks, Hebrew-language versions of jazz standards, e.g. "תה בשניים" = "Tea for Two," "כל כולי" = "All of Me" | YouTube | not found |
As Sideman / Guest / Compilation Appearance
Confirmed sideman credit (extraartists checked directly):
| Year | Project | Title | Label | Role | Notes | Listen | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Herbie Hancock | The Jazz Channel Presents Herbie Hancock (DVD) | Image Entertainment (ID0695BJDVD) | Tenor Saxophone | Confirms his Hancock sextet tenure; DVD-Video, NTSC | not found | Amazon |
| 2008 | Al Foster Quartet | Love, Peace And Jazz! | (label per Discogs release 8088051) | Sideman, per Al Foster Quartet group credit | Also appears on Degibri's own artist release list | Spotify | Amazon |
Listed chronologically at minimum (title, year, Discogs release ID) per Degibri's own artist release page, but NOT individually re-confirmed at the track/extraartists level in this session given time scope. Flagged as genuinely unresolved rather than guessed at; several of these are 1990s-2000s Israeli pop/vocal album session credits, plausible for a working saxophonist of his generation but not independently verified here:
- 1995: Eden (release id 11916038)
- 1996: שרים עם יפה ירקוני / "Singing with Yaffa Yarkoni" (id 13847145)
- 1997: מיקה קרני / Mika Karni (id 7517997)
- 1997: שירים מלילה גוֹב: האוסף השני (id 9184314)
- 2000: געגוע = Longing (id 7108241)
- 2001: צוללת (id 32466870 / master 3169263)
- 2002: עוד סיפור (id 10822788)
- 2003: ריקוד ירח = Moon Dance (id 566848)
- 2003: תוך כדי תנועה = In Motion (id 5257865)
- 2003: Gospel Jazz Live (id 10750289)
- 2004: The Sound Of New York Jazz Underground (id 10896594) and its companion DVD The Documentary (id 10976859), both credited to The New Talent Jazz Orchestra (Discogs group id 6021315)
- 2004: A Sonny Day (id 29641768), credited to Yakir Ben-Hur Quintet (Discogs group id 14102854)
- 2005: עומד על נייר (id 7250366)
- 2006: Some Other Day (id 10715492)
- 2007: סיפור בהמשכים (id 10801249)
- 2007: הסליל (master 1451612, main release 12781705)
- 2008: New Morning (id 12274016)
- 2008: בוּסה (id 13601415)
- 2009: Breathing (id 16297281)
- 2011: For The First Time (In A Long Time) (id 4691202)
- 2011: 4 תחנות (id 5395762)
- 2011: חתונה לבנה / לך לפסיכיאטר (id 36667471)
- 2012: העיקר זה המוסיקה (בהופעה חיה) (id 6028446)
- 2012: Zembla Variations (id 7433105)
- 2013: Something Beautiful 1709-2110 (id 8879949)
- Year unspecified in Discogs: International Jazz Festival Varna Summer (id 2815091)
Unresolved / flagged, not included as confirmed appearances: Three "Untitled" promo-only compilation CDs issued by the Half Note Jazz Club (Athens) tied to the Al Foster Quartet group entity (2006, id 11677780; 2008, id 12122044; 2010, id 11663379), plus "All In One" (1996, id 4078915, actually a different, unrelated Nino Records release mis-linked under the same group entity), "Jazzy Moments" (1998, id 13994059), and "Koktebel Jazz Festival 2010" (id 4419047). None of these show Eli Degibri by name in Discogs's extraartists data (the promo CDs list festival lineups without per-track breakdown), so his presence on any of them could not be confirmed and is not claimed here.