ABOOUT 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 influenced by swing, maroccan, funk and Brazilian backgrounds. It is this unique "celebration” of original Israeli jazz that is Hagiga.
Hagiga was founded in 2001 by Alon Farber and Dani Benedikt, and have since released three albums: "Exposure" and "Optimistic View" were released by Fresh Sound Records label. Nathan Halaway from jazzreviews.com named Hagiga "one of the finer groups that the Fresh Sound label has produced". "New Directions" released by QFTF, was quoted by saxophonist Eli Degibri as he commented - "Taking their time, the band captivates the listener through a deliberate, interesting and wondrous journey."
Hagiga has been performing at both local and international jazz festivals and venues including The B-flat, OCT-LOFT festival, Red Sea Jazz festival, Copenhagen Jazz festival, Jerusalem International Jazz festival, International showcase, Tel Aviv International Jazz festival and Paris Jazz festival. Over the years Hagiga has collaborated with amazingly talented and important artists such as Omri Mor, Eli Degibri, Anat Cohen, Avishai Cohen (trp), Ofer Ganor, Omer Klein, Amit Friedman.
Alon Farber, band leader, studied Jazz composition in Berklee College of music, Boston, and was awarded the Israeli Prime Minister Award for Jazz composers (2016) and the Wayne Shorter Award for composers (1998). He is one of the founders of the "Israeli Jazz Orchestra" were he takes both roles of the lead saxophone and an 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
Eden Giat
Piano
Assaf Hakimi
Upright Bass & Electric Bass
Roy Oliel
Drums
Article Quotes
Nathan Halaway
"This is one of the finer groups that the Fresh Sound label has produced…Let it be known that Farber and his musicians have incredible empathy and their own voice. They are NOT copycats, nor sound like anyone else…This record is for anyone who is wanting to hear a new voice emerging in the jazz scene"
Jazzreview.com
Mark F. Turner
"This Tel Aviv-based group influences include Wayne Shorter and Dave Douglas while attempting to display their own style with brassy horns, a meaty rhythm section, and subtle hints of their Middle Eastern heritage."
Allaboutjazz.com
Jay Deshpande
"No other way to put it: The Alon Farber Hagiga Sextet is a fantastic find… Hagiga has developed a tasteful interplay while melding disparate musical traditions from around the world"
Allaboutjazz.com
David Franklin
"Filled with delightful surprises, Alon Farber's Exposure offers fresh takes on a variety of idioms"
JazzTimes.com
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