Itamar Borochov named winner of LetterOne 'Rising Stars' jazz award

Israeli jazz trumpeter Itamar Borochov has toured across four continents and performed at prestigious venues around the globe.

Itamar Borochov, Israeli jazz trumpeter who won the Rising Stars jazz award (photo credit: JAKA VINSEK)
Itamar Borochov, Israeli jazz trumpeter who won the Rising Stars jazz award
(photo credit: JAKA VINSEK)
Israeli jazz trumpeter Itamar Borochov was named the winner of the LetterOne Rising Stars Jazz Award on February 6th, 2021, via a global live-stream broadcast on NPR’s WBGO.  Borochov was awarded the European Award, while Immanuel Wilkins of Philadelphia was announced as the winner of the North American Award.  
Borochov was raised in the port city of Jaffa and started playing trumpet at age eleven.  Immersed in jazz and the work of pioneering trumpet players such as Miles Davis and Louis Armstrong, he was influenced by Middle Eastern and North African music, which he heard at his local synagogue.  Itamar eventually moved to New York to study jazz, where he quickly established himself on the local scene. Once back in Europe, he developed into an enthralling band leader and released several albums under his own name, presenting a careful balance between technical playing and storytelling while staying true to his roots and musical upbringing. Borochov is creating a new musical hybrid - bringing the sacred sounds of his upbringing to a jazz quartet setting.
Borochov has toured across four continents and performed at prestigious venues such as Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, and SummerStage at Central Park, as well as international festivals including Roskilde, the Montreal Jazz Festival, the London Jazz Festival, the Tel Aviv Jazz Festival, the Red Sea Jazz Festival, and the Shanghai World Music Festival. 
The “LetterOne ‘Rising Stars’ Jazz Award is one of the most prestigious and lucrative jazz prizes in the world and is a significant event in the international jazz calendar. The award is sponsored by Mikhail Fridman, an international businessman, philanthropist, and jazz fan.