Let the oud times roll
The 18th edition of the annual International Oud Festival will take place under the aegis of Confederation House, and CEO and artistic director Effie Benaya, in Jerusalem, November 2-9. The program takes in 14 concerts which will take place in various auditoria of the Jerusalem Theater, Beit Shmuel and the host facility.
There are a number of foreign acts on the roster, including Georgian ethno-jazz ensemble Egari that re-imagines traditional music, including Georgian polyphonic song, folk songs and traditional folk dances, with added jazz and blues improvisation. Long family musical heritage notwithstanding, renowned Indian sarod player Amjad Ali Khan has made a name for himself over the past five-plus decades as a faithful interpreter of classical Indian music. A sixth-generation musician, Ali Khan often performs with his sons and incorporates Western improvisational elements in his music.
Other imports include Greek diva trio Dimitra Galani, Eleni Tsaligopoulou and Giota Negka, with Armenian-American oud player Ara Dinkjian making yet another appearance at the festival, this time with his own trio.
The domestic side of the bill is varied too. Acts to look out for include veteran songstress Esti Keinan Ofri, who will be joined by multi-instrumentalist Yarden Erez, oud player Yaniv Meisel, saz player-vocalist Rebab Afghani and percussionist Zeev Yaniv, and an intriguing synergy between three female vocalists with contrasting styles and cultural baggage – Arabic music singer Violet Salameh, liturgical material performer Rakefet Amsalem and flamenco singer Yael Horowitz.
Elsewhere in the Oud Festival lineup you can find Iranian-born instrumentalist-vocalist Amir Shahasar, a tribute to legendary Egyptian singer and composer Muhammad Abdul Wahab, led by violinist-oud player Taiseer Elias, and the Men Cry at Night show which brings together Mizrahi singer Avner Gedassi and rock guitarist-vocalist Chemi Rudner in what is described as “a one-time Mediterranean rock ‘n’ roll performance.”
For tickets and more information: *6226, (02) 623-7000 and http://tickets.bimot.co.il and (02) 624-5206 ext. 4.