Ben Shalev
By Ben Shalev
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The Schmooze Musical Fast Food From Sweden
Crossposted From Haaretz Wow, so many people. It’s been years since there were so many, streaming into the Tel Aviv Fairgrounds. The parking lot was packed; the line for the bathrooms was endless. The Roxette concert last Saturday night was moved from the pavilion, with a capacity of 5,000, to the adjacent lawn, which can…
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The Schmooze Setting Yehuda Amichai to Music
Crossposted from Haaretz Israel Bright is an excellent composer of music for songs based on poetry, as everyone who has listened to his wonderful 2004 recording, “Otsar Samui” (“Hidden Treasure”), will know. But despite the preceding statement, and despite the fact that Bright took obvious and joyous liberties with the earlier recording (a poem by…
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The Schmooze Drought Year for Israeli Music?
Crossposted from Haaretz If there are no thunderbolts in the three weeks remaining until the end of the Hebrew calendar year, this year will be remembered as pretty much a drought year in the history of Israeli music. No new and interesting message has come from the major and semi-major vocalists of what in better…
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The Schmooze Belgian Guitar Hero to Take on Tel Aviv, For One Show Only
Crossposted from Haaretz Before the Zappa nightclubs were turned into an empire, they had one spot in Tel Aviv called Camelot. The Camelot’s basement was the perfect place to hear live jazz, and one of the best performances came from the Belgian guitarist Philip Catherine. It was about 10 years ago. Those who were not…
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The Schmooze Spirit of Tent Protests in Two New Music Ventures
Crossposted from Haaretz Anger, frustration, and a desire to change set ways of thinking are not usually the driving force behind Israeli music. The social protest movement may eventually change that, but until now our musicians have not traditionally challenged authority. When a scream is released, it’s usually by punk or hip-hop bands. Nevertheless, frustration…
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The Schmooze No Sting in the Tail From Cale
Crossposted from Haaretz I wish the opposite had been the case. I wish John Cale’s show Tuesday had been lukewarm at the start, and then picked up momentum until the fabulous end. But in fact, exactly the opposite occurred. The performance started out fabulously, became less exciting and ended just okay. While leaving the club,…
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The Schmooze Gilberto Gil’s Party in the Park
Crossposted from Haaretz One of Gilberto Gil’s first hits is called “Domingo no Parque” — Sunday in the park. Gil sang it in 1967 during a televised music festival with the fabulous Os Mutantes, and although another song won first place, “Domingo no Parque” launched the Brazilian’s career and became the signature tune of Tropicalia,…
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The Schmooze Jazz for Thinking People
Crossposted from Haaretz Jonathan Greenstein is a young saxophone player who lives and performs in Tel Aviv. His debut album “Thinking,” on the Spanish label Fresh Sound, takes him elegantly from the category of promising jazz musician to that of jazz musician who is keeping his promise, and it’s a pleasure to be an ear…
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