The Eilat jazz festival 2010 (23-26 August) was a one of a kind experience for me. I went there with a friend for 3 days but stayed 4. Overall I went to 6 shows:
Abate Berihun Quintet – Mr. Abate is an Israeli sax player and a great lead vocalist, who gave a great show of Jazz with African and Mediterranean touches.
Gary Burton Quartet - it took me a while to digest the music and the Vibraphone, which is an unusual instrument in a way it has a very unique sound, and unlike many other instruments, there’s only one method to play it. But as I heard more, concentrated and let the band take me with them, I heard the magic and wanted more.
The Danilo Perez Trio – Danilo’s music is mostly soft and it was the right thing to hear at that evening, It was one of my favorite choices and I enjoyed the artist class he did, earlier that day in Agamim Hotel.
Dave Douglas & Brass Ecstasy – I got to say that this show blew my hat off! it was the most enjoyable and the most live and vibrant. The musicians were excellent and it was obvious they had 100% chemistry with each other. The tuba player was unusual producing jazz to psychedelic sounds. The drummer was one of the best I heard lately and Dave’s playing is extra ordinary.
Shem-Tov Levi ensemble – Shem-Tov Levi is an Israeli musician I havent hear in a long time. He came up with a 6 member band, and the music was Jazz influenced by Arabic music, Balkan, Gypsy and classical. it was a magical show which In retrospective was my second favorite that festival.
Manu Katché Third Round – It’s clear that these guys are great technical players, but I didn’t really connect with their music.
This is probably one of the coolest exhibitions I saw. It is six art works, which all have some sort of MOVEMENT and maybe TIME in common. Some works can remind you of DADA, if only by the use of common materials: chains, bearings, wires, batteries, tools which all form very unique art work. A clock made from 10 bicycles (“Waste of Time” it’s called), or a mechanism made from a motor, bicycle chain sprockets etc, that create movement, with sparks sound (therefore called “Crickets” ).
The exhibition is in “The Israeli center for digital art”, Holon and will be open from 31.JULY.2010 to 28.AUGUST.2010
Some 1.6 million people visited Israel between January and July, according to figures released by the Tourism Ministry – an increase of 39 % over the same period in 2009, and 10% more than in 2008, the country’s previous record year.
Israel’s two biggest cities, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, received accolades earlier this month as they topped tourism magazine Travel and Leisure’s list of 10 best cities in Africa and the Middle East.
The ranking compiled by Travel and Leisure readers placed Jerusalem as the best city and put Tel Aviv in third place, with only the coastal South African city of Cape Town in between them.
Jerusalem, scoring 87.55, and Tel Aviv, scoring 83.38, beat out Marrakesh, Cairo, Petra, Dubai, Alexandria, Nairobi and Amman as the top cities in the region.
Land of Genesis is a new movie by Moshe Alpert, a photographer and wildlife movie maker, which introduces a completely different Israel – an Israel of amazing landscapes and multitudes of plants and wildlife.
The Eilat jazz festival 2010 (23-26 August) was a one of a kind experience for me. I went there with a friend for 3 days but stayed 4. Overall I went to 6 shows:
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Temperature in Lod/Ben Gurion Airport, ISRAEL is: