A dream concert to any Israeli music lover: Caspi, Sanderson, Banai take Jerusalem's stage - review

East & West Jerusalem FestivalSultan’s Pool,Jerusalem July 4

The performance was part of the second East & West Jerusalem Festival, which opened Wednesday with a performance by Greek singer Glykeria, along with Israelis Nasrin Kadri and Shlomi Shabat, accompanied by the orchestra. It was sponsored by the Jerusalem Municipality and the Ariel Company.

The Jerusalem Orchestra East West is a multicultural orchestra, conducted by maestro Tom Cohen, comprising musicians from three religions and from all over the country. In 2022, it was named Israel’s leading orchestra by the Culture and Sport Ministry. The orchestra blends sounds and styles from East and West into a way that ties together maqams and rhythms from Arab Islamic countries with Western compositions and harmonies. 

At the concert last Thursday, the musicians faced the problem that all artists have been grappling with since October 7: how to create musical escapism while remaining mindful of the hostages, fallen soldiers, losses, and human suffering all over the region since the war broke out. Cohen and the musical guests referred to it in their remarks throughout.

“It’s impossible to forget,” said Cohen, as an image of a yellow ribbon was projected on the three screens above the stage, part of a parade of striking, groovy visual effects that accompanied the concert. Still, he said, he felt the audience could enjoy the music of these three artists – Caspi, Sanderson, and Banai – who represent “the body, mind, and soul of Israeli music” along with the orchestra. 

THE FIRST guest artist was Caspi, and his melodious crooning was not ideally suited to this forum.

The orchestra drowned out much of his vocalizing and piano on “Yemei Binyamina” (Days of Binyamina), and although a technician adjusted the microphone on the piano, it did not make much of a difference. Even if you knew his songs well, it was a struggle to make them out alongside the orchestra, especially his lilting “Nahlieli” (“Wagtail,” a song about a bird).

By the time he sang “Brit Olam” (“Eternal Covenant”), there was a little more give-and-take between his performance and that of the orchestra, but it was still not a perfect balance. 

Danny Sanderson’s more rock-oriented set was a better fit, and as he bounded onstage, the self-deprecating performer, who often makes fun of his small stature, filled the venue with his outsize musical talent, energy, and personality.

Eastern music

As soon as he and the orchestra launched into the first bars of “Hatamun Ha’iter,” aka “The Left-Handed Octopus,” about a third of the audience was on its feet, dancing. This Arabic music-influenced song is well known from its performance by the Broadcasting Authority Orchestra over 50 years ago, as well as a version by the super group Sanderson was part of, Kaveret. The instrumental tune was especially effective when performed by Sanderson and the East West Orchestra. 

Sanderson handpicked his most Eastern-influenced songs, some from his days in Kaveret, and others from his solo career, such as “Ma Hadawin Shelach?” or “What’s this Snobbish Behavior of Yours?” and the concert became a big sing-along.

Other highlights of his set were “Natati La Hayai,” (“I Gave Her My Life”), where the audience joined in with great enthusiasm on the vocalizing, as they did on “Yo Ya.”

Some Sanderson fans may have felt, as I did, that his set was too short, but there was a lot of music to fit into a single concert. 

Banai, who has collaborated with the orchestra many times in the past, took the stage with ease and sang some of his most soulful songs, all of which fit naturally into the ensemble’s vibe.

Like Sanderson, he chose songs from different parts of his career, some of which he made famous as a solo artist, others of which created which his band, Ehud Banai and the Refugees.

Banai, who is part of a large family of legendary musicians, is of Iranian descent, and an Eastern sound is part of his heritage.

Among the highlights of his set were his ode to his cousin, musician Meir Banai, who died much too young in 2017, “Canaanite Blues,” which seemed more meaningful than ever when it was performed under the Jerusalem night sky, just outside the Old City walls, by Banai and the orchestra.

“City of Refuge” was a high-energy song that was especially resonant in collaboration with the orchestra, and the audience sang along to it, as they did throughout his set. 

“Today,” one of his best-loved songs, an ode to the love between a long-married couple, was especially poignant at a moment when 120 families are longing for their missing loved ones, and thousands more mourning those they have recently lost.

While it is a sweet, soft song, the orchestra emphasized the intensity of the beat.

As the audience sang along to lyrics such as, “Today, finally, I’ll make you smile/Today, I’ll banish the sadness from your eyes,” it was the perfect blending of the joyful sound and sorrowful present reality.