Yeshaya’s ‘funny valentine’
The Jaffa Jazz Festival offers yet another encouraging sign that things, at least on the cultural level, are getting back to normal. The sixth edition is scheduled for June 24-26, with founder-artistic director Amikam Kimmelman sticking to his tried-and-trusted format of having his performers doff their interpretive derby to some of the iconic figures of 20th century music. This time round he has gone for a salute to some of the great musicals, including West Side Story, Cabaret and The Sound of Music.
All told, the three-dayer will take in 14 shows, opening with Kimmelman – a veteran saxophone playing member of the local jazz scene, and educator – fronting a tribute to Israeli early 1970s musical Kazablan, which starred Yehoram Gaon.
Understandably, the lineup for this year’s program is an all-Israeli affair, although Adi Yeshaya brings a whiff or two of the homeland of jazz, as he is largely US-based. His berth in the festival agenda is set for June 25 (3:30 p.m.) when he leads a quintet for readings of a slew of gems composed by Richard Rodgers, a bona fide member of the musicals pantheon. The Yeshaya program includes such timeless nuggets as “The Lady Is a Tramp,” “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered,” “It Might as Well Be Spring,” “I Could Write a Book” and “My Funny Valentine.”
The latter number gives its name to the show. It is also one the most frequently executed standards in jazz history. So, how does one go about giving such a well-known chart fresh and surprising legs? Yeshaya was awake to that conundrum from the start, and picked up some good advice from close to home.
“‘My Funny Valentine’ is one of the most performed and recorded jazz ballads,” he notes. “I must have played or arranged it in every way one can imagine. That, by itself, was a good reason to go with a suggestion made by our wonderful featured vocalist Hagit Goldberg, and perform it as a duet of vocal and piano.”
The lineup for the festival gig also includes Dror Ben-Gur on saxophone and seasoned jazz campaigners bassist Eli Magen and drummer Roni Holan.
The pianist says he is always delighted to get down and dirty with Rodgers’s material.
“Richard Rodgers is one of the most prolific writers of the so-called American Songbook. Some of my favorite songs to play in a jazz setting were written by him.”
ULTIMATELY HE opted for the tribute repertoire in the wake of a sad occurrence in his life.
“My reason for choosing his music for the show [is
that] six months ago I lost a close friend – a jazz vocalist by the name of Debbie Duncan, with whom I had collaborated for 30 years. When Amikam Kimelman contacted me to participate in Yaffo Jazz 2021, he offered a few themes to choose from with suggested song lists. When I saw the Richard Rogers list it occurred to me that I performed every single one of the songs on that list with Debbie. Clearly, it will be my personal tribute to her.”
And despite enjoying the work of Rodgers and the rest of the gang who, over the years, produced chart-topping evocative and compelling songs, Yeshaya said it still took him a while to get fully on board and hands on.
“Until two years ago, my love for musicals was either as a spectator or as a fan of the orchestrators who were involved in writing those beautiful scores. Two years ago I got my first opportunity to arrange, orchestrate and musically direct an original show about the life and music of Cole Porter. The show, titled Night & Day, was written and will be performed by Don Powell. The music was recorded recently and will be released early next year.”
Yeshaya brings very varied musical baggage to his work today, and fed off a broad palette of sounds and styles in his formative years.
“The music I heard in my childhood was very eclectic: classical and opera records combined with Israeli folk, and lots of IDF army bands.”
There were familial, as well as outside, influences.
“I had two older brothers who played accordion and when I was nine I was pulled in that direction too. The radio at that time was playing everything all the time. The foreign Top 40 included anything from Beatles to Sinatra, from San Remo to The Stones or from Deep Purple to Aretha Franklin.”
The youngster soon got in on the act himself, across a range of professional areas.
“I wanted to play in a band and in 1970 I moved to playing organ. Shortly after that I became aware, for the first time, of what arranging was and was fully taken. That led me into discovering jazz music and to the piano. I studied with [Israeli jazz titans] Zvi Keren, PC Osherovich and Alex Weiss. Alex had taught me for about five years and I can say with all my heart that his approach, his depth and his ability to write from ‘the gut’ influenced me deeply. Alex was a sort of a musical father to me.”
THERE WAS more help on hand from the Israeli jazz community.
“I met [versatile saxophonist] Peter Wertheimer in 1979. Peter and I became friends early on and he opened my mind and ears to many names that I wasn’t aware of yet. He taught me most of what I know about the essence of improvisation and the art of storytelling in music. We played and listened to a lot of music together. I also loved and admired [vocalist] Edna Goren ever since I was a kid. We also became friends more than 40 years ago and she, too, introduced me to many artists and records that expanded my musical horizon.”
Yeshaya eventually moved Stateside to further his jazz education at Berklee College of Music in Boston. After graduating, he got a lucky break and began mixing in with some of American music industry’s aristocracy.
“After getting some exposure as an arranger in Minneapolis, I was recommended for a one-time ‘emergency’ job for Whitney Houston,” he recalls. Things went well. “That led to a long-time working relationship with her musical director and drummer, Michael Baker. In addition to arranging music for Houston, the collaborations with Michael also led to working with some household names like Aretha Franklin and Burt Bacharach.”
Now, after making the big league in the States, Yeshaya says he is delighted to have the opportunity to be in the business back here too.
“It’s very meaningful for me to make music in Israel. I missed doing that for nearly three decades and I am honored to be involved in Jaffa Jazz now for the third time.”
And we may very well get some more opportunities to catch him in action before long.
“I am also in the midst of developing other musical endeavors in Israel and plan to come here more often and for longer periods.”
That all bodes well for the Israeli entertainment sector.