Israeli jazz trumpeter gives Tucson pre-festival glimpse

On Saturday, Oct. 22, the festival is partnering with the Tucson Jewish Community Center to bring Israeli jazz trumpeter Itamar Borochov to the center for a pre-festival concert.

Borochov’s concert in the J’s outdoor sculpture garden could be like nothing you’ve ever heard before in the jazz realm. The acclaimed trumpeter takes his cues from the jazz greats (Louis Armstrong, Clark Terry, Miles Davis, Kenny Dorham and Wynton Marsalis) who inspired him to take up the trumpet at 11 years old and marry it with the sacred Sephardic sounds that surrounded him throughout his childhood.

“It is rare to find an artist like Itamar, who blends sacred Sephardic and jazz music in a truly mesmerizing way,” Jazz Festival Executive Director Khris Dodge said in a written release.

Borochov studied at New York’s New School before joining Yemen Blues in 2010. He recorded three albums with the ensemble before striking out with his debut solo album in 2014.

Critics have heaped praise on the 38-year-old’s convergence of jazz and the multicultural sounds of his native Jaffa, Israel, which he has performed on four continents and on some of the world’s most storied jazz stages.

Dodge said Saturday’s concert provides the festival with an “opportunity to establish a solid, sustaining partnership with the J.” It also serves as a preamble to the 2023 festival, which runs Jan. 13-22 with more than 20 artists including Bruce Hornsby and the Noisemakers, Terence Blanchard featuring the E-Collective & Turtle Island Quartet, Monterey Jazz festival on Tour, Pink Martini with China Forbes and conductor Evan Roider and artist-in-residence England-born trombonist Elliot Mason.

Borochov’s concert with his quartet on Saturday begins at 6:45 p.m. at the J Sculpture Garden, 3800 E. River Road. Tickets are $25 through tucne.ws/1ll8 or by calling 520-299-3000.