ABOUT THE BAND
Hagiga in Hebrew means “celebration” and in our music we celebrate the cultural divergence of our Israeli heritage. Hagiga is inspired by the variety of musical flavors and colors of the “Israeli soundtrack”. Our compositions cross musical genres and are influenced by Swing, Moroccan, Funk and Brazilian backgrounds. It is this unique "celebration” of original Israeli jazz that is Hagiga .
Alon Farber Hagiga was founded in 2001 by Alon Farber and have since then released four albums, and the fifth one is coming on Feb 2024!!!
Our first two albums, Exposure and Optimistic View were released by Fresh Sound Records (Barcelona). Nathan Halaway from jazzreviews.com named Hagiga "one of the finer groups that the Fresh Sound label has produced".
Our third album, New Directions was released by QFTF (Berlin), and prompted internationally acclaimed saxophonist Eli Degibri to note: "Taking their time, the band captivates the listener through a deliberate, fascinating and wondrous journey."
Our fourth album, Reflecting on Freedom, was released in 2021 in
on one of the leading jazz labels in the world, Origin Record. It got many enthusiastic reviews. Chris Spector from Midwest Records wrote: "Now entering its third decade, this ensemble snake charms, belly dances and parts the waters with chops to spare. Opening the ears to jazz pouring out of Israel, these vets and pros are some really sterling travel guides to new sonic lands"
Our collaboration with Origin Records continues for our new and fifth album, The Magician, which will be released on February 2024. The album was recorded live at the Jerusalem International Jazz Festival in June 2023 and it features the famous American trumpeter Dave Douglas, who added some of his fabulous compositions to this record!
Hagiga has performed along the years quite intensively at both local and international jazz festivals and venues. That includes the Paris Jazz Festival, Copenhagen Jazz festival, Red Sea Jazz Festivals (three times!), Jerusalem International Jazz Festival (twice), OCT-LOFT Festival (Shenzen, China), Tel Aviv International Jazz Festival, The B-flat (Berlin), and Israeli International showcases.
Over the years Hagiga has collaborated with amazingly talented and important artists such as Omri Mor, Eli Degibri, Anat Cohen, trumpeter Avishai Cohen, Ofer Ganor, Omer Klein, Amit Friedman, Amos Hoffman and many others.
Alon Farber, the band leader, studied Jazz composition at Berklee College of Music, Boston, and is a recipient of the Israeli Prime Minister's Award for Jazz Composers (2016) and the Wayne Shorter Award for Composers (1998). He is one of the founders of the "Israeli Jazz Orchestra" in which he plays lead saxophone, and also serves as associate arranger and composer
"No other way to put it: The Alon Farber Hagiga Sextet is a fantastic find!"
Group Members
Alon Farber
Alto & Soprano Saxophone
Yehonatan Cohen
Tenor Saxophone, Flute & Clarinet
Oded Meir
Trombone
Katia Tubul
Piano
Assaf Hakimi
Upright Bass & Electric Bass
Roy Oliel
Drums
Article Quotes
Yair Spiegel
"No wonder that "Hagiga" exists for such a long time. The music is original, fascinating, arranged and orchestrated on the highest level. The music is inspired by Israeli and Middle Eastern genres, but the general sound is very unique, contemporary, kicking and not flattering to the Israeli ear"
Thesideman.co.il
Eli Degibri
"New Directions is a well-crafted CD led by Saxophonist Alon Farber and drummer Dani Benedikt whose writing is original and smart, balanced and most importantly, thoughtfully aware of each one of the individual band members. Taking their time, the band captivates the listener through a deliberate, interesting and wondrous journey"
Linear notes to the CD