Eli Degibri Quartet - My One and Only Love

A Celebratory Premiere Performance of His Tenth Album | Special Guest: Jess Coren

Eli Degibri – saxophones | Jess Coren – saxophone (special guest) | Uri Tzoref – piano | Alon Nir – bass | Yahli Stern – drums

The Eilat Jazz Festival is proud to present Eli Degibri’s premiere performance celebrating the release of his tenth and most personal album, My One And Only Love.

The album was recorded in New York at the beginning of 2023, during a concert tour in the United States. While the quartet was performing at the legendary Blue Note club, Eli and the quartet took advantage of their time in the city to enter the studio and record the album.

Shortly afterward, following the October 7 massacre and the outbreak of the war, the album’s release was postponed time and again. Now that it is finally being released, the passage of time lends it an additional layer of meaning—both personal and Israeli—as an intimate work exploring identity, belonging, and a sense of home.

The spirit of the album, which looks back at the journey that shaped Degibri’s artistic and personal identity, takes tangible form onstage with the appearance of jazz saxophonist Jess Coren. Coren was Degibri’s first teacher, accompanying him at the beginning of his career and even helping him acquire his first saxophone. This moving full-circle moment reflects the relationships and human connections that have become an inseparable part of Degibri’s musical journey.

Throughout his career, Degibri has performed and recorded with leading figures in world jazz, including Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Al Foster, and Brad Mehldau. In 2011, after more than 15 years of extensive musical activity in New York, he returned to Israel, where he has continued creating and collaborating with a range of prominent musicians, including Yoni Rechter, Alon Olearchik, Shem Tov Levi, Shlomo Gronich, and others.

The festival premiere is not merely the launch of a new album, but a one-of-a-kind event in which Degibri’s personal journey—from his first lesson to the world’s greatest stages—receives musical expression in his most personal, profound, and honest work to date.

Performance duration: 70 minutes