by yoni » Tue Jun 21, 2005 12:17 am
Hi all,
Hoping all of you are fine and drumming happily!
As for me, never been busier. Marathon gigs and recordings with Amin, the wild violinist-oud player I mentioned several times earlier. One gig in a cafe in South Tel Aviv, a very poor section where one can still buy groceries and used items from horse-drawn carts. Next night at a posh wedding reception on the top floor of the Azrielli towers - the "twin towers" of Tel Aviv...
Then straight onto a plane for the Czech Republic, where I write from now, where I am flown to play a benefit concert for Gypsy children, with some incredible Gypsy musicians.
Normally I can't sleep on anything that moves, but after two sleepless days of near-non-stop playing with Amin I conk-out on the long taxi of the plane. I wake in terror as it roars into takeoff, then calm down as it levels off, but still don't like being in these tin cans at thirty thousand feet. It's my first trip out of Israel since 2001.
No pay for the concert, but the flight and all expenses are paid lavishly. I met and performed a month earlier in Israel with some of these Gypsy players and we hit it off great. I'm offered to spend the entire time in Prague, but prefer to spend the first few days in Brno with Roman Horvath, an amazing Gypsy accordionist-pianist-multi-instrumental musician. The concert organizers know I usually prefer little or no rehearsal, and they warn me of Roman´s squalid living conditions, but staying with him enables me to practice with him and the band... these boys are baaad and I want to be on top of things musically.
First visit to Czech, but seems I've been here before, in a dreamscape or former life...
A large dilapidated courtyard, enclosed on three sides by an ancient, crumbling apartment bloc. The courtyard is of bare earth, packed hard by generations of barefoot Gypsy children. Long, sagging wooden balconies access flats at each level. A brass skeleton key accesses a communal toilet. No hot water. The balconies shudder under the footsteps of running children. Adults yell after them, sporting tattoos, some gold teeth...
Rehearsals are in a tiny, dark room. Roman and some of the other players look as if they came straight from India, the original homeland of the Gypsies.
This Gypsy ghetto of Brno looks rough, and Roman is nervous about me walking the streets alone, but I am given no notice at all... they may think I'm one of them...
On a trolley ride from practice Roman reminds me how Gypsies and Jews shared a similar fate here around World War 2 - most of both were sent to the ovens. Suddenly there's a strange burning smell. The trolley screeches to a halt, the doors fly open. A huge hippie Czech driver dashes to the back and chases off two small Gypsy boys for smoking crack cocaine...
The Gypsy musicians are having me solo all over the place. They are as in awe of my playing as I am of theirs. I am treated like a king and feel like one...
The music is some traditional Gypsy stuff, some Gypsy renditions of traditional Jewish stuff, and amazingly, much of the instrumental stuff is totally Latin-jazz in flavor! And these guys are great at it. Eddie Palmieri, Michel Camilo and others are their heroes and mine.
In a car packed like a circus act with players and equipment, we take a two hour ride to Prague. The drive normally takes three hours, but the bassman at the wheel drives as wild as he plays.
The concert is in the Saint Prokop church in Prague, a huge, ancient beautiful cathedral. We are joined by a 120 person choir!
The lead singer, Ida Kelarova, is a gigantic, wonderful woman with a huge voice that shakes the whole church. Never have I heard so much emotion and power in a voice. She insists I wear a traditional Mid Eastern headscarf she saw me perform in in Israel. I forget mine, so she gives me a beautiful scarf of her own. She has me show her how it is tied and is amazed at the simple trick... needless to say, I stick out in the crowd!
The rehearsals and concert are recorded for an upcoming CD for their benefit organization for Gypsy children. The church is packed, the concert goes beautifully, I am given big solos and ham it up, and at the close I'm given honorary introduction and a huge bouqet of flowers. I am overcome and cannot stop the tears.
I now have a day to walk in Prague, by far the most picturesque town I've seen, with gorgeous and varied architecture. They plan to bring me back for a festival of Gypsy music later in the summmer. All this came about very suddenly and I am still in shock. I feel truly blessed.
All the best to you all,
Yonatan
Edited By yoni on 1142328600