Winnipeg's Israeli Concert Series Puts Focus on Jazz

Founded seven years ago as a way to bring Israeli musicians to perform annually in Winnipeg, the Israeli Concert Series has featured some fantastic performances over the years.

There have been concerts featuring Middle Eastern music (Yair Dalal), classical (Brillaner Duo) and jazz/world fusion (Pharoah's Daughter), but this year the emphasis is on jazz.

The first concert of the series, which takes place on Sept. 20, features vocalist Michal Cohen and is entitled Yemenite Vibe.

Born in Israel to Yemenite parents, Cohen's music has been described as Yemenite jazz. With a strong Sephardic vibe, her range extends from ancient Yemenite songs through to contemporary jazz. During her military service, Cohen performed throughout Israel as the lead singer of an army band, and she has performed regularly in clubs and festivals in and around Tel Aviv.

Cohen's unique, powerful sound and versatility has also brought her to many stages around the world, including New York's Jazz Standard and a recent tour of Germany with one-time Winnipeg resident Stefan Bauer. Her recordings include collaborations with numerous great artists, and her vocals have appeared in two movies: Historias Minimas, by Carlos Sorin, and Pearl Gluck's Divan. She was just featured in a program of original electronic music in Berlin. Cohen is multilingual and in concert she has been known to sing in English, Hebrew, Arabic, Bulgarian, Spanish, Yiddish and Portuguese.

She was a finalist in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, as well as taking the Vocal Jazz Cleo Laine Award. Her recently launched Henna CD has enhanced her growing reputation as a unique talent on the world music scene.

For her Winnipeg appearance she will be joined on stage by New York drummer Ted Poor, Myron Schultz (clarinet), Steve Kirby (bass) and Will Bonness (piano).

Following Cohen on Nov. 15, is Seeds of the Sun, led by Mattan Klein on flute. Described as Israeli music ambassadors, Seeds of the Sun blends Israeli music with jazz, folk and sounds from around the world.

The Jerusalem-born Klein has performed with Billy Childs, Giovanni Hidalgo, Victor Mendoza, and has toured with Israeli stars Miki Gavrielov and Yoni Rechter. Since 2006, Mattan has been artist in residence at the Jewish Community Centers of North America (JCCs) Maccabi Artsfest for the jazz discipline, and is on the faculty of the School of Sacred Music at Hebrew Union College in New York.

Joining Mattan in Winnipeg will be Israeli-born singer Meytal Muallem and Swiss born pianist Manu Koch. Seeds of Sun have toured around the world and taken their funky, fun sound to places such as Vietnam, Hong Kong, the Philippines and the U.S. This will be their first performance in Winnipeg.

Closing out the series on Jan. 10 will be world-class percussionist Chen Zimbalista. Israeli-born percussionist Zimbalista is a force of nature.

Having mastered more than 40 exotic instruments from dozens of countries, Zimbalista has proven himself equally adept at performing complex classical compositions as he is at home with world music and jazz. The Los Angeles Times calls him “a young, muscular, intense dynamo with charisma to burn and a precise technique that knows no stylistic bounds."

On stage, Zimbalista is an explosive, riveting presence, and he uses his entire body to coax rhythmic sounds from his fascinating array of instruments.

He is currently the Music Director of the Tam Tam (percussion) Festival in Netanya, Israel.

For his Winnipeg performance, Zimbalista will be accompanied by Vancouver based Rena Sharon on piano. Sharon is professor of Collaborative Piano Studies at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and is heard regularly in performance on CBC Radio.

A sold-out success on his last visit to Winnipeg, Zimbalista has been brought back by popular demand. His performances are a visual, visceral experience that must be seen, not only heard.

This season is also the launch of the Richardson Partners Financial Israeli Concert Master Class Series at the University of Manitoba. Each visiting artist from the Israeli Concert Series will conduct a master class with students from the University of Manitoba Faculty of Music.

Tickets for the series are available online or by calling 477-7510. All concerts take place in the Berney Theatre, Asper Jewish Community Campus, 123 Doncaster Street.