Reva L'Sheva | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Israel |
| Genres | post-Carlebach |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Members | Yehudah Katz Brian Levine Danny Roth Chanan Elias Eliezer Blumen Yitzchak Attias |
| Past members | David "Harpo" Abramson |
| Website | www |
Reva L'Sheva is a post-Carlebach rock band formed in 1994. Yehuda Katz is the frontman.[1][2]
Members
editThe original line-up was Yehudah Katz, David "Harpo" Abramson, Adam Wexler, Zvi Yechezkeli & Avi Yishai.
- Yehudah Katz is from New York, but spent a lot of time in Los Angeles before moving to Israel. He is a self-decsribed "close student" of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, with whom he studied for 23 years. He plays guitar and sings.
- Adam Wexler grew up in Minneapolis and immigrated to Israel in 1990. He plays bass and guitar. Wexler was formerly a member of the Diaspora Yeshiva Band.[3]
- David "Harpo" Abramson immigrated to Israel in 1969. Following a stint in the army, he returned to the US, but came back to Israel in 1991. Abramson died in fall 2010. He played guitar, harmonica and sings.
- Zvi Yechezkeli was born in Jerusalem and studied in New York. He considers himself not religious. He is a percussionist.
- Avi Yishai is the drummer.[2]
Musical style
editThe band is heavily influenced by '70s rock 'n' roll groups such as the Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, and by Jewish artists such as Carlebach.[2]
Discography
edit- Ve’sham Nashir (There We Will Sing) - Noam Hafakot 2005
- 10: Live - Noam Hafakot 2003
- Ahavat Chinam: One Love - Mayim/Welcome Music 2001
- Etz Chaim: Secrets - Voices Along the Path 1999
- Kumu - Noam Hafakot 1998
- Higia HaZman - Voices Along the Path 1996
- Come Close - Voices Along the Path 1993
References
edit- ^ Reva L'Sheva's flavor still strong. Ben Jacobson. March 31, 2004 The Jerusalem Post
- ^ a b c Epstein, Efrem. "Reva L'Sheva: Band on a Mission". Retrieved 31 January 2011.
- ^ Harris, Ruby. "The Diaspora Yeshiva Band's impact on Jewish Music". Jewish Magazine. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
At dawn on the day the eve of Sukkot, the heart stopped beating David Abramson, "Harpo". Permanently ceased guitar - the heart of David Abramson, "Harpo". In the Judean Hills dropped the first rain. David was born in the U.S., in the family, in all respects, far removed from Judaism. However, the path of David in Judaism was, in his own words, the inevitable: not he, but higher forces put it this way and he rolled with it, despite all obstacles. Nicknamed "Harpo" (Harp - "harp" in English) he took no coincidence: his soul was singing, but his head was born the theme song for each of learned sections of the Torah, Mishnah and Talmud.
Within a few years away was one of the leaders of the Hasidic rock and blues band "Reva-le-Sheva" ("At a quarter to seven"), whose father was among the followers of creativity singing rabbi, Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach. Then David Harpo continued his solo career, and then began to work with talented youth, and the recording of their album "Harpo ve-Aneshamot (" Harpo and (bred by him) of the soul "). Ten years ago he moved from Jerusalem's Gilo quarter in the Tekoa settlement in Gush Etzion and became "the soul of the community." In the past five years, David Abramson, devoted himself entirely to Torah study in Yeshiva Chabad Chassidim, under the leadership of Rabbi Deutch and was assigned to them melamed for Jewish teens who have arrived in Israel from the U.S. to study Torah in a yeshiva. For his fifty years, David Abramson, "Harpo" managed to marry his adopted daughter, Ruhama (the son of his neighbor on Gilo, with whom he moved to Tekoa, and settled next to him, Rabbi David Dahan) and become a grandfather. Two of the three sons of David Abramson, "Harpo" studying in a yeshiva, and his adoptive son for several years headed one of the Lubavitcher Hasidic yeshiva for young people. However, in the memory and hearts of all who were acquainted with David Abramson, "Harpo", he will remain as the author of the song "Love of Israel in the soul" ("Ahavat Yisrael ba-Neshama).
http://jerusalemblueprint.com/events/eventdetail.aspx?id=50413
Reva L'Sheva's flavor still strong
by Ben Jacobson
March 31, 2004
The Jerusalem Post
Reva L'Sheva Ten Years
To celebrate 10 years as a band, Reva L'Sheva has released a double live album, almost all recorded in one night in December 2002 at Club Tzora near Beit Shemesh.
Reva L'Sheva is the obvious leading candidate for the title of godfather to the post-Carlebach rock bands, and having lasted 10 years is certainly cause for celebration.
Back in 1994, when Reva L'Sheva first started to gig, it was a tight outfit known for long guitar jams and fierce rhythms. As the years went by, however, the band's sound became significantly lighter and more digestible, but as Ten Years proves, Reva L'Sheva's original flavor is still strong.
Fronted by Shlomo Carlebach disciple Yehudah Katz, Reva L'Sheva has changed lineups a great deal over the years, but the 2002 incarnation is seasoned and tight. Adam Wexler remains one of the most skilled and creative bassists in the genre, and Danny Roth's drumming is as solid as ever. Chanan Elias is most noticeable on this recording in his role as backup vocalist, but the atmosphere and occasional solos we hear from his keyboard contribute as well.
"Mizmor L'David" is given the space-out-jam treatment, complete with atmospheric fiddle effects. Considered by many to be the cornerstone of any Reva L'Sheva show, "M'heirah" here is thumping as ever.
Overall, as with many two-CD sets, it's possible that a one-CD version would have made for a more consistent experience, but there are enough highlights here to keep us interested, and besides, Ten Years deserves to be the document of an entire concert.
--
Captivating the Jewish soul by Yehuda Poch September 24, 1999 The Jerusalem Post Magazine
As I pulled up to the converted barn in Moshav Beit Meir - overlooking the Jerusalem corridor and the coastal plain - which serves as the practice studio for Reva L'Sheva, lead guitarist David "Harpo" Abramson called out, "You just missed a beautiful sunset." I glanced westward over my shoulder and could see the pink remnants of the day draining from the sky, and agreed that I probably had.
We entered the cozy studio and sat down to talk, and I began to grapple with the definition of the band's sound. Is it rock, soul, or something else? Band leader Yehuda Katz solved the question. "People listen to music's attitude. That is what turns them on. Our attitude is Jewish. That's what we are. That's our music."
But Jewish music has a lot of different elements. There's klezmer, hassidic, cantorial, and others.
"Our music is happy," says Abramson. "That's what we learn, that's what we do."
Reva L'Sheva is made up of five individuals with music as their unifying factor. Band leader Katz is from New York, but spent a lot of time in Los Angeles before coming to Israel six years ago. He describes himself as a "close student" of the late Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, with whom he studied for 23 years. Carlebach "influenced my life in a lot of ways," says Katz.
Bass and guitar player Adam Wexler grew up in Minneapolis and started playing at age five. He immigrated to Israel in 1990, just prior to the Gulf War, and lives in Gush Etzion.
Abramson is a Habadnik who first immigrated to Israel in 1969. Following a stint in the army, he returned to the US for a while, but came back to Israel in 1991 after the Gulf War. "For me that war was a wake-up call. It was like 'What am I doing here?'"
Percussionist Zvi Yechezkeli was born in Jerusalem of Kurdistani immigrant parents. He studied for a while in New York before returning here. He considers himself not religious, but "he is more spiritual than many religious Jews I know," says Katz.
Avi Yishai is the drummer of the band. In June he was hospitalized for brain surgery and is not yet back with the band. The band managed to record its newest album, Etz Haim, beforehand. Yishai believes that "everyone who listens to this album will become happier," according to Katz. He said he "felt honored to be able to do the album."
Danny Roth, who has replaced Yishai on drums for a while, is originally from Los Angeles, and has been in Israel since 1989.
The band comprises people who are religious and some who are not, immigrants and native-born Israelis. The idea is unity.
"This is a society that insists on separation," says Katz. "There is no harmony in separation."
"People separate between Jewish music and Israeli music," says Abramson, "but a lot of Israeli music is Jewish music. Look at the lyrics. Look at the songs."
And indeed, a lot of the more popular songs from the past 30 years or so include references to Psalms or other Jewish texts.
THE band's third album, Etz Haim, was released two weeks before Rosh Hashana. The English title of the album is Secrets.
"The real secrets about life," says Katz, "are in the Etz Haim - the Tree of Life - as opposed to the Tree of Knowledge. In the Jewish schools we've been to, a lot of students are looking for inner meaning as opposed to just the dry knowledge. Kids are turning away from the mainstream, but they want to get high on Judaism.
"If more kids got turned on to who they are, living in the center of the world, there would be no more violence."
Violence is a common topic in Israel today, and it also affects students. Abramson remarked that "today everyone is talking about 'combating violence.' It kinda sounds like 'fighting for peace.' It all sounds so violent. But it's an option to fight violence with something other than violence."
As if to further clarify, Katz added, "Carlos Santana said that he wants to create music with more spirituality. People are ready for music with real meaning. That's what we do."
Katz said that he "would love to play with Santana in Israel. This is where the meaning is."
Katz told the story of his trip to Belgrade this past summer. "I stayed in the house of the rabbi. On Shabbat all the Jews of Belgrade, about 100, came to dance in the shul. They couldn't believe that someone came to visit them. After Shabbat there was a concert for the whole community. One old woman came to me with tears in her eyes to say 'Thank you. You should continue to write and play great music.' It's people like that that keep me going."
THE NEW album is a refreshing production. Much of Jewish music is either cantorial, choral, or in the Mordechai Ben-David mold of single-person acts. Reva L'Sheva combines a number of influences and the result is truly unique. The band members will admit to being heavily influenced by '70s rock 'n' roll groups such as the Grateful Dead, and by Jewish artists such as Carlebach. These influences are very noticeable on Etz Haim in selections such as "Oz Vehadar" and "Hinei Ma Tov," which include some lively and tuneful guitar riffs along the Dead model. In addition, the band covers two well-known Carlebach tunes in "Yah Ribon" and "Simha Le'artzecha."
What they are less prepared to admit to are other influences that are noticeable in their music. The vocals on "Al Naharot Bavel" and "Omdot", both done by Wexler, sound very much like Bob Dylan in some ways, and the bold- voiced "having fun" style of "Horeini" is reminiscent of the Barenaked Ladies, whom most in the band profess never to have heard of.
A standout on the album is "Kol Haneshama," written by Wexler. "I wrote it one way," says Wexler, "then everyone in the band saw it, tore it apart, and put it back together. It's better when everyone has a part in it. Like a community effort."
The song is very upbeat, and very much in the style of good '80s rock 'n' roll. And that's the way the band likes it. "Our music is meant to make people happy," says Katz. "We like to have a feel-good kind of sound."
In this album, Reva L'Sheva hits the mark.
AS I left the studio after our 90-minute interview, I stopped again to gaze westward from the hilltop vantage point of the studio's front steps. By now it had grown dark, and the traffic on the highway was a stream of light as it wound its way up to Jerusalem. Below my feet, the entire coastal plain from Hadera to Ashkelon was laid out before me like a carpet of lights. One cannot help but feel that the entire nation sparkles as the music is written in the heights above them. This is unity. This is harmony. This is Reva L'Sheva.