The Magician: Live in Jerusalem

Hagiga is a group that takes the freedom to play what they feel like, making the fun and craftsmanship splash!
Music Frames (Netherlands)

Beginning with Dave Douglas' contributions to John Zorn's Masada, through his seminal albums of the '90s, Israeli saxophonist Alon Farber has been deeply inspired by the beauty and uniqueness of the trumpeter's expansive sonic output. Hoping to someday find the opportunity to cross musical paths, that day came in the summer of 2023 as Douglas joined Farber's accomplished group, Hagiga (meaning, appropriately, "celebration"), at the Jerusalem Jazz Festival. Providing the band with great inspiration, Alon dubbed Douglas "the magician," as he lifted the ensemble with his presence, his tunes offering stimulating landscapes for them to explore, while Hagiga's iridescent chemistry delivered their own magic.

"...a powerful, serious album..."
Distrito Jazz (Spain)

Production Info:

Produced by Alon Farber
Recorded June 27, 2023 by Eli Zehavi
Live at Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel
Mixed by Bill Tzur, Tel Aviv, Israel
Mastered by Yonatan Danino, Tel Aviv, Israel
Band photo by Yossi Zwecker
Cover design & layout by John Bishop

Reviews of The Magician: Live in Jerusalem

Jazz Weekly (George W Harris)
Saxist and leader Akib Farber delivers a concert at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem with special guest on trumpet Dave Douglas along with a local team of Yehonatan Cohen/ts-cl, Oded Meir/tb, Katia Toobool/p, Assaf Hakimi/b and Roy Oliel/dr. The team is in an effervescent mood, with Douglas bright and dramatic working on his own "Persistence of Memor ...

Jazz'halo (Belgium) (Ferdinand Dupuis Panther)
The recordings of the album are taken from a live performance at the Israel Museum, Jerusalem on June 27, 2023. With "Persistence Of Memory" the sextet around woodwind player Alon Farber opens. The Ensemble Hagiga and guest Dave Douglas are characterized by an impressive brass power, consisting of a trumpeter, a trombonist, a soprano and alto saxop ...

Marlbank (UK) (Stephen Graham)
There's the familiar and the less familiar here - the familiar certainly for Dave Douglas fans the presence of the trumpeter's 'Spring Ahead,' which was on the Stargazer album back in the 1990s, and 'Persistence of Memory' recorded in such settings as 2009 big band album A Single Sky. The other tunes, less familiar but in keeping with what Douglas ...

Jazz & Beyond Intel (Dan Ouellette)
Saxophonist Alon Farber founded his sextet Hagiga twenty years ago, so when his band performed live in June 2023 at the Israeli Museum for the Jerusalem Jazz Festival, you could expect a solid show of layered sonics. It took its improvisational power a step higher by inviting trumpeter Dave Douglas into the collaborative zeal. Together they capture ...

The New York City Jazz Record (Jim Motavalli)
Jazz albums recorded in New Jersey, that's pretty common, but we don't see many coming out of Jerusalem. The Israeli jazz scene is unquestionably continuing to grow, and the talent there is top-notch. For The Magician: Live in Jerusalem, saxophonist Alon Farber has put together a great septet, one that sounds like a much larger band. And a visit fr ...