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Regarding the upcoming Israeli JazzFest in San Francisco, Eli Degibri loves the idea and hates it. And he’s one of the headliners.

On one hand, the sax player is glad Israeli jazz musicians have gained enough prestige to warrant a festival of their own. On the other, he dismisses the notion that nationality has anything to do with their abilities. They speak the language of jazz first, Hebrew second.

The Tel Aviv–based saxophonist, whose signature sound falls somewhere between a Sonny Rollins bark and a Stan Getz coo, is one of the young lions of Israeli jazz. He’s toured the world with legends such as Herbie Hancock and recorded five solo albums.

Degibri will perform a concert with pianist Kevin Hays on April 29 at the JCC of San Francisco.

Funders of the April 28-29 festival include the Koret Foundation, SFJazz, the Lisa & Douglas Goldman Fund and the Consulate General of Israel for the Pacific Northwest.

This is the first local festival of its kind and speaks to the growing influence of Israeli born and bred jazz musicians. Also performing are the Gilad Hekselman Trio, reed player Anat Cohen and her siblings, trumpeter Avishai Cohen and sax player Yuval Cohen (Anat Cohen will give a pre-concert talk before her April 28 show).

It’s a lineup that would draw fans anywhere on Planet Jazz.

“The fact that there is a festival is a symbol of the fact that Israeli jazz is recognized all over in the world,” Degibri said from his home near Tel Aviv, “especially in America where jazz was born. The world recognizes Israeli jazz musicians as worthy of being heard and even influential to the jazz scene worldwide.”

Degibri, 33, recently moved back to Israel after a 15-year sojourn in the United States. He first came at age 18 to attend Boston’s Berklee College of Music on a full scholarship and, later, the nearby New England Conservatory.

His talent drew the attention of Hancock and drummer/band leader Al Foster, both of whom recruited the young reedman to join their bands. Degibri moved to New York and soon began touring the world with his mentors.

“I learned a lot from Al and Herbie,” Degibri said. “This is how jazz is taught, from ‘father to son.’ Herbie played with Miles Davis.”

His taste for jazz began much earlier, when as a 10-year-old he first heard Dixieland music. His first instrument was the mandolin, which he dropped once he discovered the saxophone.

Degibri says as a fledgling player he studied masters such as Charlie Parker and John Coltrane, going as far as reproducing their solos note for note, breath for breath.

“It’s like mimicking your parents when you’re a baby,” he said. “You don’t say as a baby, ‘I want my own sound.’ You just want to speak.”

Degibri never set out to find his own voice, but after years of practice, “I just realized one day that I had it. It’s not luck. I’m just influenced by so many great musicians who made me what I am.”

Despite the abundance of great jazz players coming out of Israel, Degibri thinks the country is too young to have yet developed its own characteristic jazz dialect, as have Brazil and France, for example.

That’s not to say some Israeli jazz artists eschew Middle Eastern or Jewish strains in their music. But Degibri has decided not to go there, at least so far.

“Honestly, my music is totally not influenced from that genre, but from more European or classical music. We have so many types of music in Israel, it’s hard to say what is our national music. It’s the same of food. What is Israeli cuisine? Is it hummus? Falafel?”

Still, having recorded some songs with Hebrew lyrics, moved home and recently taken over as co-director of the Red Sea Jazz Festival, Degibri wants to promote jazz in his native country as much as possible.

“Six months ago I moved back to Israel,” he said. “I’m so happy to be back because I missed Israel a lot. Finally after 15 years I can actually live here and still do music all over the world. This has been my goal.”

Eli Degibri performs with Kevin Hays as part of Israeli JazzFest at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 29 at the JCC of San Francisco, 3200 California St., S.F. $22-$35. jccsf.org/arts