Culture in Israel

Here is the part of Israel you may miss if all you catch is from the news!

Israelis love culture. There are hundreds of bands playing rock, jazz, classical, folk and everything else. Musicians from all over the world come to Israel - especially since the 1990's. Frank Sinatra, Jethro Tull, David Bowie, Eric Clapton have all performed in Israel. The 60's jazz-rock band Blood, Sweat & Tears did two shows in Israel in September 2008. In the same month, Paul McCartney spent a few days in Tel Aviv and treated Israelis to a 3 hour show. There are also lots of artists here. When we were on a Caribbean cruise in 2005, we were surprised to see the many Israeli artists represented at the art auction. In 1994, I made a small contribution to Israeli culture with a Hebrew language travel guide to Jordan.


Between 1998 and 2003, I saw lots of live music in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Most of it was rock and blues at bars and music venues. Many were free shows in Jerusalem's pubs, with the hat passed around during and after the performance. Jerusalem isn't known for having the nightlife that Tel Aviv has, but the bars and clubs always have live music.

In those days, a two set performance at a place like Syndrome (Jerusalem) or Camelot (Tel Aviv) would cost 35-60 shekels ($10-$20). Of all the bands I saw during those five years, Ronnie Peterson and Shlomo Mizrachi stand out. Both are among Israel's best blues guitarists. I have two Ronnie Peterson cd's. The first is an upbeat collection of blues and the second is a collection of songs he's done with Israel's top musicians.

Around that time, Herbie Hancock played in Tel Aviv. That was my first jazz show. The next would be in Buenos Aires in 2007 and now I'm a big fan of all sorts of jazz - Bossa Nova, Latin Jazz, and Dixie Jazz for starters.


My wife and I saw Nurit Galron perform on March 19, 2005. The show was at Kibbutz Eilot - a 5 minute drive from Eilat. She played 18 songs in the 75 minute show and I recognized about half of them at the time. Ilan Vertzberg, her guitarist, was very impressive. Nurit Galron and Yehudit Ravitz are my two favorite Israeli singers. Both have released dozens of cd's and have been creating music and performing since the 1970's. Above the ticket are three of the many Nurit Galron cd's I have.
We saw Blood, Sweat & Tears in Tel Aviv on September 22, 2008. Paul McCartney played three days later. It was either Blood, Sweat & Tears and the Harlem Globetrotters (in October) or the McCartney show. We saw Paul in Miami in 2005 so went for some jazz-rock and basketball!







I was first exposed to Blood, Sweat & Tears on the radio in the 70's and 80's. Then in my 20's, I started listening to more Woodstock Festival music and rediscovered their songs. I bought their greatest hits in 2005 - we listen to it a lot. Their September 2008 show was unforgettable. Steve Katz, a founding member, introduced the band and spoke a bit about their history in between the songs. He also played harmonica, guitar and sang one beautiful song. The band was as good as he promised.

The two hour show covered their hits, some older and lesser known songs and even a few really nice sounding instrumental jazz songs. We had good seats and the sound was incredible. At one point, the singer said he'd heard kids in the hotel singing a Beatles song and the band played Got To Get You Into My Life. With Paul McCartney playing three days later, Israeli radio was playing Beatles and McCartney songs nonstop. They played the encore and we went up closer to the stage. At the end, they bowed, smiled and thanked us for being such a good audience. The clapping and cheering at the end made it clear to the band that we loved their performance.

I really appreciate that Steve Katz and Blood, Sweat & Tears played yet again in Israel. They have lots of fans here and Katz reminded us during the show that it wasn't their first time here. I'd go again!

The first photo of the band is from their website. Under it are three photos that we took during the show.

On October 14, 2008, we saw The Harlem Globetrotters play The Washington Generals in Tel Aviv. What a game, what a show!







We had 5th row seats. Special K was the lead player. He was hilarious and even said some funny things in Hebrew. The rest of the team was full of personality and they made it look easy. Everything they do is magic. I first saw the Globetrotters in Miami in the 80's and I'm sure I'll see them again one day!

If you're interested in Israel, visit my other related pages...
 Israel Israeli Music Arad Eilat The Negev Kibbutz Ruhama The Israel Trail Jerusalem in the Snow Aliyah Tips

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