Jazz artists jam in the museum gallery

The jazz vibe has arrived at the Israel Museum with the start of the first Jerusalem Jazz Festival, a new event bringing together local and international musicians for two days of performances in the museum galleries.

Several dozen jazz artists will perform shows and sessions in six different galleries of the museum — including the exhibit of “Brief History of Mankind,” the Pop Art Gallery and Modern Art Gallery — and at the Yellow Submarine Music Center in the city’s Talpiot industrial zone.

“It was fun choosing the right gallery for each band,” said Avishai Cohen, a well-known Israeli trumpeter currently living in New York, who is the artistic director for the festival. “It’s all part of the human element of this experience.”

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Cohen worked closely with Eyal Sher, director of the city’s annual Israel Festival, the museum staff, the Jerusalem Foundation and the Yellow Submarine, which acts as a center for musical education and performance in the city, to put together the festival.

The festival is also part of the museum’s 50th year celebrations, said museum director James Snyder, at a reception prior to the opening of the event.

“We love when contemporary artists come to our house,” he said.

The festival is offering ticket packages for the performances, which began Wednesday night, and will continue on Thursday night and Friday morning and afternoon. For more information, head to the Jerusalem Jazz Festival website.