Yemen Blues with Ravid Kahalani (Israel)

Yemen Blues is an astonishing musical concept that resides at the crossroads of traditional Yemenite melodies and the world of funk, blues, and jazz. It coexists in both the past and present, at once both timeless and modern.

The group was founded by singer Ravid Kahalani, who grew up in a traditional Yemenite family, learned the language and the traditional chants of his people, and then extended his influences to West African soul, from the Sahara desert thru classical opera to Afro-American blues. Ravid joined forces with bass player and composer Omer Avital, and together they gathered the band, a supergroup of diverse top musicians from New York, Israel and Uruguay on oud, world percussion, brass, and strings.

Live, the ensemble’s myriad influences carry over on stage, where they navigate the territory from the boisterous to the romantic, from joyous celebration to anguished balladry. Horns fire off emphatically, percussion adds deep rhythmic textures, vocals soar and quaver, and the enchanting oud strums out subtle melodies. Yemen Blues has toured extensively over the past several years, performing for enraptured audiences across the globe. Get ready for one of the most gripping and fun live bands in contemporary global music today.