Eli Degibri
Israeli Song
Anzic Records
www.anzicrecords.com
By George W. Harris

Eli Degibri is a tenor and soprano saxist who’s got a nice warm sound, sort of like a modern day Don Byas. Warm, but with a hint of elliptical nuance, which he uses well here with an all star team of Brad Mehldau/p, Ron Carter/b and Al Foster/dr. Along with the excellent quartet format,as on “Unrequited” and “Mr. RC” Degribri mixes and matches various combinations, the most winning being the duo with Mehldau on the lovely original “Liora” which has a chamber-like romanticism to it. Standards like “ Somewhere Over The Rainbow” have an attractive roughness, while Gillespie’s “Bebop” snaps like a cucumber. Nice opening serve by another swinging Sabra.