Roni Ben Hur rolls in on chariots of fired-up guitar as he and his quartet take the stage at Chris' Jazz Cafe for two sets on Nov. 3.

Celebrating his silver anniversary in New York, after arriving from Jerusalem, there is no tarnish on the mettle he has achieved or on his sterling status as "father of Israeli jazz in America."

His sound is as fresh and alive as ever, making this so-called father figure more of a bro in the neighborhood. And as he gets set to deliver his two sets for the jazz-fest, Ben Hur enjoys being a spoke -- and spokesman -- in and for the Israeli jazz movement in this country, honed as it was at the barometer-of-music Barry Harris club and others.

It is, after all, he concedes his good "Fortuna" -- an album released last year, getting raves and replay globally -- to have fallen in with such outstanding artists over the years.

But then, the world has always been at his fete -- and in his music. "I'm more and more drawn to the music my parents listened to," he says of Arabic riffs from Egypt and Algeria.

And more and more he's tuning into the Tunisian influence of his ancestral home, a sound he hopes to hone in on: "I'm realizing more and more how I should be focusing on Sephardic music."

But then, Ben Hur has the horses and never turned a deaf ear to world music: "The world is so wide open, has so many sounds."

How about the cacophony of ... clink! That's the sound made by his first job in this country, as a "dishwasher, making $3.71 an hour, working 12 hours a day."

That "clink" still clings to him, making him grateful for the great living he earns today as both player and prominent teacher.

But then, his quartet may not be the most important band in his life when it comes to playing big musical numbers.

When it comes to that, he rolls a magnificent seven as his lucky number.

"Being one of seven in the family," he says, "made for a lot of support and allowed me to be where I am today," in a world of music of his own.