Israel’s Idan Raichel in Portland with America’s India.Arie

Saturday October 01, 2011

from Jewish Review

Israel’s Idan Raichel in Portland with America’s India.Arie

Performance Oct. 10 at Newmark Theatre
By Elizabeth Schwartz

He’s been dubbed “Israeli singer of the world” by the New York Times, performed onstage at the Nobel Peace Prize awards ceremony, and in less than 10 years has won worldwide acclaim from both critics and fans for his fusion of world music into the Israeli pop mainstream.

At 34, Idan Raichel is a bona fide superstar, but what really matters to this soft-spoken, introverted musician/singer/songwriter/arranger/producer is creating a new sound, what he calls “the Israeli melting pot.” Raichel will bring his unique blend of styles to Portland on Oct. 10 at the Newmark Theatre at the Portland Center for the Performing Arts, where he will perform with soul singer/songwriter India.Arie

Raichel was born in Kfar Sava, near Tel Aviv and picked up the accordion, his first instrument, at age 9. Even as a child, he was drawn not to the Ashkenazic music of his ethnic Russian/German family, but to the comparatively exotic sounds of Gypsy and tango music. Raichel claims he has no specific musical roots, and his eclectic style draws on Yemeni, Moroccan, Ethiopian and other musical cultures.

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