In a way, Israel is the second Norway of jazz: in terms of the number of inhabitants, the country has produced an unbelievable number of outstanding musicians for years. Guitarist Ofer Mizrahi is also one of them, albeit atypically. Because Mizrahi didn’t come from the elite schools in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, including a detour via Brooklyn, but taught himself to play the guitar and then studied in India because of his interest in the sitar.
And so he not only mixes jazz with folk music from the Middle East and Indian ragas, he even had his own instrument built for it: a 24-string guitar he designed himself, which he calls “whale guitar”. In the underpass he comes with an equally extraordinary pure string trio with cellist Leat Sol Sabbah and bassist David Michaeli.
Ofer Mizrahi, Wed., March 22nd, 8.30 p.m., Unterfahrt, Einsteinstr. 42, www.unterfahrt.de