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Ofra Haza
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Israel's first international pop star, Haza was one of the first divas of Worldbeat to emerge in the 1980s. Born to Yemenite refugees in Israel, a background in theatre led her to singing. Haza's gorgeous voice and mix of material made her popular in Europe, but more uniquely, also popular in the Arab world. Impassioned vocals and heavy percussion similar to that found in bellydance music distinguished her songs from their traditional Yemenite roots. Her deep vocal presence and smooth phrasing, notable for its sustained trills and soaring flights into higher registers, have been sampled by rappers and landed her in collaborations with western acts such as Sisters of Mercy, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, and producer Don Was. Later in her career, Haza began to sing in English more; and while some of that music is dated by its production values (e.g., lightweight synthesizer tones), most of her work remains solid. - Robert Leaver


01/18/2007 03:42 AM

Idan Raichel Project
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- Rachel Devitt


04/09/2007 04:44 AM

Uri Caine
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Much like frequent collaborator Don Byron, pianist Uri Caine is a masterful jazz improviser who knows his way through and around the supposed straight-ahead/Avant Garde Jazz fence. Also like Byron, he has a bold conceptual streak that often leads him outside the strict confines of jazz. Urlicht/Primal Light, a genre-hopping reinterpretation of Gustav Mahler's music, is the most celebrated (and controversial) example of this. Recorded with an all-star cast including Byron, trumpeter Dave Douglas, drummer Joey Baron and DJ Olive, the album weaves together Hard Bop, Jewish cantorial singing, samples/turntables, tumult-raising improv and stirring ensemble arrangements. Depending on whom you ask, it's either blasphemy, shallow postmodernism or a stroke of genius. In any case, this work paved the way for similar projects, including a double-disc take on J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations. His straight jazz work is lower profile, but is nevertheless worthy of equal attention. Blue Wail, a trio recording with heavy hitter Ralph Peterson, Jr. on drums, is one strong example of his brand of dissonance-spiked progressive Post Bop. - Will York


12/03/2006 03:22 AM

David & The High Spirit
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Here is the quintessential wedding/bar mitzvah band! They can play Disco, Swing or rock and they perform stirring medleys of work by such artists as Eric Clapton, Neil Diamond, Frank Sinatra and Kenny Rogers. The only thing they don't play is original music. - Robert Leaver


01/31/2007 04:32 AM

Andy Statman
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Statman is a versatile musician who's made his mark pursuing a range of seemingly non-related directions over his twenty-plus year career. He began playing Bluegrass mandolin in the 1970s and soon turned his attention to Klezmer, investigating his Jewish roots and studying with legendary clarinetist Dave Tarras. He has also cited the influence of jazz musicians John Coltrane and Albert Ayler, most evident in the spiritual nature of records including the exploratory Between Heaven and Earth as well as more meditative, polished fare such as The Hidden Light. His Bluegrass output is similarly varied, ranging from the spirited hoedowns of Andy's Ramble to the more experimental Mandolin Abstractions, recorded with frequent partner David Grisman.


04/10/2007 05:32 AM

Craig Taubman
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12/19/2006 04:15 AM

Theodore Bikel
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Self-described as "a general practitioner in the world of arts," Theodore Bikel is indeed a Renaissance man. A star of the stage and screen -- at least back when The Sound of Music and Fiddler on the Roof were big attractions -- he has also played an important role as a folk music archivist. He has made numerous recordings of folk songs from Israel and Russia, in addition to albums focusing on Yiddish theater music. Recent albums such as A Taste of Passover and A Taste of Chanukah find the friendly baritone singer continuing in his dual role as a proud keeper of Jewish traditions and as an old-fashioned entertainer working in a realm that otherwise doesn't exist so widely anymore. - Will York


03/29/2007 05:05 AM

Shlomo Artzi
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02/09/2007 05:04 AM

Chava Alberstein
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- Rachel Devitt


04/09/2007 04:44 AM

Pharaoh's Daughter
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Pharoah's Daughter are a Jewish folk ensemble heavily influenced by Eastern European Klezmer, Middle Eastern Jewish music, and jazz (Pharoah is a nod to jazz saxophonist Pharoah Saunders). The project is largely a byproduct of singer Baysa Schechter's multicultural upbringing, which is acknowledged in instruments such as oud, tabla and dumbek, as well in her graceful, haunting vocals, which are sung in Yiddish and Hebrew. - Linda Ryan


04/09/2007 04:44 AM