Israel to showcase top musical talent at International Showcase Festival

• Author: BARRY DAVIS
• Date: 06 December 2020
• Published date: 06 December 2020
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

The forthcoming program, like all its forerunners, is designed to proffer the cream of our most artistically entrepreneurial and entertaining acts to festival artistic directors and other industry figures who work in jazz, jazz-oriented and world music spheres around the globe. The hope, as always, is that professionals abroad will be taken by what they see and hear at the festival (which is sponsored in part by the Foreign Ministry, the Culture Ministry, the Jerusalem Municipality and the Jerusalem Foundation) and will be moved to invite some of our gifted bunch to take part in their event.

That should also help to spread the word about the bands in question, and about what this little Middle Eastern country has to offer the world across a dizzyingly eclectic swath of styles, subgenres, cultural content and intent.

This year's roster, which for the first time is not being overseen by founder Barak Weiss, features a broad sweep of bands and artists, including blues-rock outfit Full Trunk, heavy rock threesome The Great Machine, internationally acclaimed jazz pianist Shai Maestro, 11-piece groove-Afrofunk ensemble Hoodna Orchestra, multicultural foursome El-Khat and highly successful indie-pop duo Lola Marsh.

The Showcase palette will take on a much groovier and bluesier complexion when the Addis Ken Project weighs in on December 10. The quartet's name comes from the Amharic expression meaning "a new day," and there is something surprisingly fresh and refreshing about the group's output. Considering that their mode of presentation covers ostensibly tried and tested ground that runs the gamut of straight-ahead jazz to the blues, liturgical vocals to rock & roll, and all frequently liberally laced with some sumptuous groove, on the face of it, there doesn't seem to be too much to shake up an audience.

Then again, if you caught the group's gig at the 2018 Jerusalem Jazz Festival, or at various junctures at the Levontin 7 basement joint in Tel Aviv in the year or so before everything went belly-up with the dreaded virus, you would surely have been gripped, grabbed, moved or even swept away by the compelling seamless mix of leader Ethiopian-born saxophonist-vocalist Abate Berihun's heart-on-sleeve delivery, complemented by the crisp, earnest and gleeful instrumental backing of pianist Roy Mor, bassist David Michaeli and drummer Nitzan Birnbaum. In short, they are a joy to behold and should draw the attention of many an artistic director watching in from foreign...