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CONCERT REVIEW: EHUD BANAI
by David Brinn
Jerusalem Post, Sept. 8, 2004
At first glance, it was an unlikely venue for one of Israel's most accomplished contemporary singer/songwriters.
But a few minutes into Ehud Banai's performance at Kehilat Moreshet Avraham - the Masorti Movement's flagship synagogue in Jerusalem - it all made perfect sense.
Invited by the congregation's rabbi Barry Schlesinger as a special Elul event in preparation for the soul-searching of Rosh Hashana under the title "An Evening of Appeasement and Brotherhood," Banai rose to the occasion with a reflective yet toe-tapping show that managed to synthesize the worlds of folk and pop, Judaism and the Middle East.
Opening the sold-out show with an elongated meditative tune based on a traditional piyut (Jewish hymn), Banai demonstrated that he had given considerable thought to the theme of the evening. By the time he launched into the bluesy "Brooklyn," with its theme of old world meets new world, he had the crowd in captive rapture. And with old favorites such as "Hayom," the show became a participatory experience, with fans providing the percussion and the background vocals.
Accompanied on violin and vocal harmony by the accomplished Nitzan-Hen Razael, Banai used his acoustic guitar and harmonica to create textures and moods that changed with each song. His playing - which combines Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and old European elements with more conventional pop/rock fare - intertwined effortlessly with Razael's moving violin work.
The magic of the evening, though, was experiencing Banai performing to a crowd of 350 people, which ranged in age from 8 to 80 - scruffy, pony-tailed teens, knitted kippot, black kippot and no kippot at all putting aside their differences under the spell of this masterful social commentator's talent and message.
"It felt like I was in the right place," Banai commented after the performance. And whether you were there just for the entertainment, or in an attempt to use the music to make sense of your life and your place in the dizzying mosaic of this place we call home, it certainly was.
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