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Alon Farber

Saxophonist and composer Alon Farber is one of the leading jazz musicians in the Israeli jazz scene. His style is very unique and innovative and combines rich harmonies with contrapuntal writing. As a wind player Alon has great sensitivity for writing for horns. Alon claims that he has been influenced by great artists such as Wayne Shorter, Dave Douglas and Ornette Coleman. Alon has collaborated along the years with well-established Jazz artists such as Omri Mor, Amos Hoffman, Avi Lebovich, Omer Klein, Haggai Cohen-Milo, Avishai Cohen (the trumpet player), Eli Degibri, Anat Cohen, Hagai Amir, Tal Ronen, Uzi Finerman, Toru Dodo(Japan), Eyal Ganor and Ofer Ganor

Awards

Alon was awarded with the very prestigious Israeli Prime Minister Award for composers in 2016. Alon has received the Wayne Shorter Award from the Jazz Composition department in Berklee College of Music(1998) and the Sadao Watanobe Award (1998) from the woodwind department of Berklee. Alon is a scholar from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation in the years 1991-2001 in the field of classical saxophone. In 2014 Alon and his group "the Hagiga sextet" recieved a special award from Israel Cultural ministry

Gear

soprano- Takahiro, Mouth piece: Meyer 7

Alto - Janagisawa, mothpiece: Vandoren 7

Tenor- Selmer, mouthpiece: Morgan

Alon Farber Hagiga: Reflecting on Freedom

Read "Reflecting on Freedom" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
October 6, 2021

Israeli saxophonist Alon Farber's Hagiga (in Yiddish, “celebration") is exactly that--a warm tribute to contemporary jazz from the Middle East to South America and beyond, ably performed on the group's fourth album, Reflecting on Freedom, by half a dozen well-schooled Israeli musicians and--on several of the album's nine tracks--special guest percussionist Rony Iwyrn and vocalist Sarai Zak-Levi. Hagiga has been in the forefront of Israel's burgeoning jazz scene for more than two decades, thanks for the most part to bright ...

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Album Review

The Alon Farber Hagiga Sextet: Optimistic View

Read "Optimistic View" reviewed by Jay Deshpande

by Jay Deshpande
February 17, 2009

No other way to put it: the Alon Farber Hagiga Sextet is a fantastic find. First formed in 2001 by saxophonist Alon Farber and drummer Dani Benedikt, Hagiga has developed a tasteful interplay while melding disparate musical traditions from around the world. As Israelis, the band-members draw on a heritage of confluence and intersection. Mirroring their nation's geography, Hagiga's sound is at the intersection of north African aesthetics, European jazz, and a distinctly Asian approach to improvisation. Combining this background ...

"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… Kudos to Alon Farber and his Hagiga Quintet". Nathan Halaway (Jazzreview.com) "Filled with delightful surprises, Alon Farber's "Exposure" offers fresh takes on a variety of idioms… Indeed, throughout the album, Farber demonstrates a facile command of his instruments and of the postbop idiom." David Franklin (JazzTimes.com) "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…Farber's group provides seven inspiring tracks on their sophomore release… Such is Farber's brilliance as a songwriter and arranger—he takes the best from each of the traditions he calls upon, uniting a wide array of colors towards the common end of an exciting, celebratory music"