Yisrael Borochov
Encyclopedia
Yisrael Borochov is an Israeli musician
, composer, and arranger.
, the dulcimer
, jumbush, and percussion. He played in an IDF
army band, and recorded with musicians including David Broza
and Yehudit Ravitz
.
Borochov was one of the original founders of The Natural Gathering (HaBreira Hateeveet) with Shlomo Bar
, and played in and arranged the group's first two albums.
Borochov founded the East West Ensemble in 1985.
Over his 40 year long career Borochov has merged East and West concepts and rhythms with his group, the East West Ensemble. He has played with famous names including Laurie Anderson
, and L. Shankar
from Shakti
, and has collaborated with influential eastern musicians such as Omar Faruk Tekbilek
.
At the first Red Sea Jazz Festival
in 1987, his East West Ensemble won first place. When the State of Israel celebrated its 40th Anniversary, the East West Ensemble won an award for original art and culture in Israel. The labor union of Israel (The Histadrut
) gave Borochov an award for his unique combination of musical traditions.
In the late 1990s, Borochov founded the first alternative World Music non-profit venue in Jaffa, Israel, calling it the East West House. Supported by the City of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and the Ministry of Culture in Israel, about 30 bands a year, from Israel and abroad, vie for the chance to come to play at the house in Jaffa, known for its selection of highly unique and somewhat esoteric ethnic music derived from eastern traditions. Guest musicians to the house include those from Egypt, Iran, Jordan, India, Turkey, Europe and the United States.
Borochov has released five albums through the East West Ensemble cover, most recently Debka Fantasia an album which explores the early relationship between new Jewish pioneers to Israel in the 1920s onward, alongside the Bedouin people
they encountered in the land of Israel.
Borochov, originally set out to trace the historical roots of the pioneers of Israeli song - Nachum Nardi and Mordechai Zeira, Moshe Wilensky and Sasha Argov
, Emanuel Zamir, Emanuel Amiran and many others - and discovered them in the music of the native-born Arab shepherd. This insight may not be anything new, but Borochov did not stop there: Working with Bedouin musicologist Muhammad Abu Ajaj and jazz musician Omer Avital, he decided to link the pioneering songs to their sources while also infusing them with a new sound. The result, "Debka Fantasia," reflects tremendous research, knowledge, seriousness and cultural commitment, and is also noteworthy in terms of its near-symphonic sound and emotional impact.
, Oregon
, Night Ark
, Kardes Turkuler
, Peter Gabriel
, Ludwig Van, Mozart, David Darling
, Weather Report
, New York Rock & Roll Ensemble
, and Santana
.
Borochov is considered a musician's musician, his music never quite reaching the popularity of other artists in his genre.
Borochov has collaborated on a large number of theatre projects in Israel, and has taken his band to perform around the world, in the United States, Japan, Hong Kong, Berlin, Paris, Toronto and many more. He has developed projects for the highly coveted Israel Festival
, three times. At the festival, Yisrael Borochov became the first advisor for ethnic music from around the world. One of his Israel Festival
projects was The Hidden Spirituals, which investigated ancient Jewish musical traditions around the Diaspora which were influenced by Kabbalistic principles and prayers, and the Debka Fantasia project still being performed in Israel and around the world today.
Both his sons Avraham Borochov, a double bass player, and Itamar Borochov, a trumpet player, are accomplished musicians playing in the New York scene, Europe and in Israel. His ex-wife Daniella Michaeli is an established theatre actor, choreographer and artistic director in Israel.
Music of Israel
The music of Israel is a combination of Jewish and non-Jewish music traditions that have come together over the course of a century to create a distinctive musical culture. For more than 100 years, musicians have sought original stylistic elements that would define the emerging national spirit...
, composer, and arranger.
Biography
Borochov was born in Tel Aviv, and raised in Tiberias. He is a self-taught musician who plays the fretless bass guitar, double bassDouble bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
, the dulcimer
Hammered dulcimer
The hammered dulcimer is a stringed musical instrument with the strings stretched over a trapezoidal sounding board. Typically, the hammered dulcimer is set on a stand, at an angle, before the musician, who holds small mallet hammers in each hand to strike the strings...
, jumbush, and percussion. He played in an IDF
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
army band, and recorded with musicians including David Broza
David Broza
David Broza is a multi-platinum Israeli singer-songwriter and guitarist.-Personal life:The son of an Israeli–British businessman and a folk singer, Broza was born in Haifa, Israel. He was raised and educated in England and Spain, where he was schooled at Runnymede College, in Madrid...
and Yehudit Ravitz
Yehudit Ravitz
Yehudit Ravitz is an Israeli singer-songwriter. She was born in Be'er Sheva, in southern Israel. As of 2010, she had released 20 albums and has been performing for nearly 20 years, also musically producing several albums for other musicians.-Music career:...
.
Borochov was one of the original founders of The Natural Gathering (HaBreira Hateeveet) with Shlomo Bar
Shlomo Bar
Shlomo Bar is an Israeli musician, composer, and social activist. He is a pioneer of ethnic music in Israel.- Biography :Born in Rabat, Morocco, in 1943, Bar emigrated to Israel a few years later. He learnt how to play the darbuka and other ethnic percussion instruments, performing in various small...
, and played in and arranged the group's first two albums.
Borochov founded the East West Ensemble in 1985.
Over his 40 year long career Borochov has merged East and West concepts and rhythms with his group, the East West Ensemble. He has played with famous names including Laurie Anderson
Laurie Anderson
Laura Phillips "Laurie" Anderson is an American experimental performance artist, composer and musician who plays violin and keyboards and sings in a variety of experimental music and art rock styles. Initially trained as a sculptor, Anderson did her first performance-art piece in the late 1960s...
, and L. Shankar
L. Shankar
Lakshminarayanan Shankar, also known as L. Shankar and Shenkar, is an Indian-born American violinist, singer and composer.-Early life:...
from Shakti
Shakti (band)
Shakti was a group which played a novel acoustic fusion music which combined Indian music with elements of jazz; it was perhaps the earliest practitioner of the musical genre world fusion....
, and has collaborated with influential eastern musicians such as Omar Faruk Tekbilek
Omar Faruk Tekbilek
Ömer Faruk Tekbilek , also known as Omar Faruk Tekbilek, is a Turkish flautist. He is known for his performances with the ney in a Sufi style...
.
At the first Red Sea Jazz Festival
Red Sea Jazz Festival
The Red Sea Jazz Festival is a jazz festival held annually in Eilat, Israel.The Red Sea Jazz Festival was first held in 1987. It is a four-day long event featuring 9-10 concerts per evening, 6 workshops with guest artists and nightly jam sessions. All performances are held outdoors at the Eilat port...
in 1987, his East West Ensemble won first place. When the State of Israel celebrated its 40th Anniversary, the East West Ensemble won an award for original art and culture in Israel. The labor union of Israel (The Histadrut
Histadrut
HaHistadrut HaKlalit shel HaOvdim B'Eretz Yisrael , known as the Histadrut, is Israel's organization of trade unions. Established in December 1920 during the British Mandate for Palestine, it became one of the most powerful institutions of the State of Israel.-History:The Histadrut was founded in...
) gave Borochov an award for his unique combination of musical traditions.
In the late 1990s, Borochov founded the first alternative World Music non-profit venue in Jaffa, Israel, calling it the East West House. Supported by the City of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and the Ministry of Culture in Israel, about 30 bands a year, from Israel and abroad, vie for the chance to come to play at the house in Jaffa, known for its selection of highly unique and somewhat esoteric ethnic music derived from eastern traditions. Guest musicians to the house include those from Egypt, Iran, Jordan, India, Turkey, Europe and the United States.
Borochov has released five albums through the East West Ensemble cover, most recently Debka Fantasia an album which explores the early relationship between new Jewish pioneers to Israel in the 1920s onward, alongside the Bedouin people
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
they encountered in the land of Israel.
Borochov, originally set out to trace the historical roots of the pioneers of Israeli song - Nachum Nardi and Mordechai Zeira, Moshe Wilensky and Sasha Argov
Sasha Argov
-Early life:Argov was born in Moscow. He immigrated to Palestine from Russia in 1934 with his parents.-Music career:He started composing at the age of five, began his formal music training one year later, and composed hundreds of popular songs. Among them were songs for the Israel Defense Forces,...
, Emanuel Zamir, Emanuel Amiran and many others - and discovered them in the music of the native-born Arab shepherd. This insight may not be anything new, but Borochov did not stop there: Working with Bedouin musicologist Muhammad Abu Ajaj and jazz musician Omer Avital, he decided to link the pioneering songs to their sources while also infusing them with a new sound. The result, "Debka Fantasia," reflects tremendous research, knowledge, seriousness and cultural commitment, and is also noteworthy in terms of its near-symphonic sound and emotional impact.
Musical influences
Borochov claims his musical influences to be ShaktiShakti
Shakti from Sanskrit shak - "to be able," meaning sacred force or empowerment, is the primordial cosmic energy and represents the dynamic forces that are thought to move through the entire universe in Hinduism. Shakti is the concept, or personification, of divine feminine creative power, sometimes...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, Night Ark
Night Ark
Night Ark is an instrumental jazz quartet formed in 1986. The members are Ara Dinkjian, an American with Armenian descent, a Turkish-Armenian Arto Tunçboyacıyan, and Americans Armen Donelian and Marc Johnson. The quartet's most famous piece is a creation called: "Homecoming"...
, Kardes Turkuler
Kardes Türküler
Kardeş Türküler was conceived in 1993 as a series of concerts given by the music branch of the Folklore Club at Boğaziçi University in Istanbul, Turkey....
, Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
, Ludwig Van, Mozart, David Darling
David Darling (musician)
David Darling is an American cellist and composer. He won the Grammy award for Best New Age Album in 2010. He has performed and recorded with artists such as Bobby McFerrin and Spyro Gyra in addition to putting out several solo and small ensemble albums as well as albums of his...
, Weather Report
Weather Report
Weather Report was an American jazz-rock band of the 1970s and early 1980s. The band was co-led by the Austrian-born keyboard player Joe Zawinul and the American saxophonist Wayne Shorter...
, New York Rock & Roll Ensemble
New York Rock & Roll Ensemble
The New York Rock & Roll Ensemble was a rock band of the late 1960s and early 1970s described as playing "classical baroque rock".Years Active: 1967 - 1973- History/Biography :...
, and Santana
Santana (band)
Santana is a rock band based around guitarist Carlos Santana and founded in the late 1960s. It first came to public attention after their performing the song "Soul Sacrifice" at the Woodstock Festival in 1969, when their Latin rock provided a contrast to other acts on the bill...
.
Borochov is considered a musician's musician, his music never quite reaching the popularity of other artists in his genre.
Released albums
- Imaginary Ritual (1988)
- Zurna (1992)
- Sinai Memories (1998),
- The Hidden Spirituals (2006),
- Debka Fantasia (2009)
Borochov has collaborated on a large number of theatre projects in Israel, and has taken his band to perform around the world, in the United States, Japan, Hong Kong, Berlin, Paris, Toronto and many more. He has developed projects for the highly coveted Israel Festival
Israel Festival
The Israel Festival is a multidisciplinary arts festival held every spring in Israel. Its center is Jerusalem.The Israel Festival started in 1961 as a summer festival for classical music in the ancient Roman theater in Caesarea...
, three times. At the festival, Yisrael Borochov became the first advisor for ethnic music from around the world. One of his Israel Festival
Israel Festival
The Israel Festival is a multidisciplinary arts festival held every spring in Israel. Its center is Jerusalem.The Israel Festival started in 1961 as a summer festival for classical music in the ancient Roman theater in Caesarea...
projects was The Hidden Spirituals, which investigated ancient Jewish musical traditions around the Diaspora which were influenced by Kabbalistic principles and prayers, and the Debka Fantasia project still being performed in Israel and around the world today.
Both his sons Avraham Borochov, a double bass player, and Itamar Borochov, a trumpet player, are accomplished musicians playing in the New York scene, Europe and in Israel. His ex-wife Daniella Michaeli is an established theatre actor, choreographer and artistic director in Israel.