Culture Magazine - Dreams were meant to come true

International Aroma:
Dreams were meant to come true

Jazzman Dekel Bor, who has performed with the biggest names in the international scene, comes to Israel on tour with fresh interpretations of the works of Bach,
sharing the best advice he ever got...


> Dekel Bor (32) is not yet a house-hold name for Israeli audiences.
Bor is a jazz artist working with some of the american jazz world's biggest legends:
Johnny Griffin, Reggie Workman, Pat Martino and Billy Hart among many many others.
So far Bor has released two albums, "Emuna" and "Home", released in the US under the baton of producer Robert Sadin (who earned Grammy-awards for his work with Sting, Joni Mitchel, Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter).
Bor is also very active as a guitarist endorsing the biggest guitar and amplifier brands. To celebrate this tour "Collings Guitars" has made a special guitar bearing Bor's name.
"I have never prepared and practiced so much towards a concert tour, as I have for this one" says Bor.
"Besides, I'm very excited to perform in Israel again".

What awaits our local audience who comes to hear you?

"I will perform, along with my trio, a very personal interpretations of my favorite Bach works: the Piano Preludes, the famous Goldberg Variations and the immortal Violin Sonatas.
To my ears it sounds like the bastard-son of John Coltrane, Thom Yorke and the sum of all my heartbreaks.
A woman who came to our press-release show said she the music  felt to her like diving into a pool of sounds, in which one loses one's sense of time and place,"

How did you come to "manipulate" the music of Johann Sebastian Bach?

"My father, Alon Bor is the principle percussionist for the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and last year's recipient of the Cultural Ministry's lifetime achievement award.
My earliest memories are of my father playing Bach on his marimba, and I remember that even as a child I could feel that this music was different, special."

After Bach, is there another classical or modern composer you will be working on?

"For years I have been working on some of the piano preludes by Shotokovich, and a week ago I bought myself the sheet music for Chopin's Nocturnes as a gift.
If and when I'll get to actually adapting them to the trio - I can't say.
Right now I'm madly in love with Bach, so I can't think of anything else."

From your tours and travels all over the world, can you tell of one experience you find significant?

"It's definitely  hard to pick just one out of ten years of touring.
Two experiences I feel worth mentioning are both concerts.
The first occurred during a university tour in midwestern US - during the concert I noticed from the stage a large and visible group listening carefully.
The promoter threw us a party after the show during which I got to meet them, learning it was a group of palestinians and pro-palestinians, who told me that only in middle-america they can come hear a concert by an israeli artist on neutral ground, and really hear the music itself - without the political pressure.
The second happened right in my musical backyard - at the NYC jazz club smalls, where I used to play a weekly gig.
One night right in front of me sat jazz legend (and my mentor) Jim Hall, Russell Malone and Adam Rogers, who ended up joining us onstage.
I felt like I'm singing in front of the Beatles."

After a night like this, do you even have musical fantasies left?

"Of course! the ultimate tour would start by joining Coltrane at the Vanguard, on with Miles Davis at the Plugged Nickel, sitting in with Zeppelin at the Garden, with Karajan in Berlin as my desert..."

After we had our fun, what is the best advice you ever got from the musical legends you meet?

"My parents keep reminding me, that dreams were meant to come true."



For more information about Dekel Bor and his Bach-Electrified Tour visit dekelbor.com