Red Sea Jazz Fest To Feature Israeli Stars, International Guests

By DownBeat I Nov. 8, 2022

The quartet Third World Love will reunite to open this year’s Red Sea Jazz Festival on Nov. 10.
(Photo: Courtesy Third World Love)

The Red Sea Jazz Festival will return to Eilat’s Harbor, Israel, Nov. 10–12, featuring music and original productions by leading Israeli and global artists.

Maestro Yossi Fine, one of Israel’s best-known jazz bassists. has programmed 18 concerts to take place over the festival’s three days. Along with well-known names, this year’s event features numerous young and up-and-coming artists honoring and innovating the local and international jazz scenes.

Jacob Collier, the five-time Grammy winner, will be joining the festivities amid his world tour. The three-time Grammy winning keyboardist Corey Henry will perform in a trio show combining jazz and soul.

Other highlights will include a concert by multi-instrumentalist Mulatu Astatke, “the godfather of Ethio-jazz”; a Three Duets concert by saxophonist Eli Degibri with pianists Aaron Goldberg, Omri Mor and Tom Oren; and a performance by clarinetist Anat Cohen’s Quartetinho project featuring keyboardist Vitor Gonçalves, bassist/guitarist Tal Mashiach and James Shipp on vibraphone, percussion and electronics.

The Israeli group Third World Love with pianist Yonatan Avishai, trumpeter Avishai Cohen, bassist/oud player Omer Avital and drummer Amir Bresler will be open the festival. After nearly a decade of absence from the stage, the group is reunited for a one-time show exclusively for the festival.

Other promising artists from the international jazz scene who are scheduled to appear include London-based saxophone player Emma Rawicz, trumpeter/composer Giveton Gelin with his quintet and the Colombian keyboard virtuoso Jesus Molina with Israeli bassist Guy Branfeld.

Purchase of a full entry pass grants attendees access to all festival concerts and master classes, including one-time entry to Eilat’s dolphin reef.

Since its establishment in 1987, the Eilat Jazz Festival annually hosts dozens of top musicians from around the world alongside rising talents. During the 36 years of the festival’s existence, it has hosted legendary jazz performers such as Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Al Foster, Ron Carter, Ricky Lee Jones and Dianne Reeves alongside well- known Israeli stars such as Degiberi, Avishai Cohen (bass), Omer Klein, Avishai Cohen (trumpet) and many more.

The festival got its name thanks to its location inside the port of Eilat, where the open view of the Red Sea Bay serves as a backdrop for the artists and concerts. Starting from the first year of the festival, all the concert halls and facilities are built using cargo containers placed on top of each other. The festival has three concert halls of different sizes, a central complex with a food fair, bars and a free concert stage. DB