Ehud Banai ( he, אֵהוּד בַּנַּאי; born March 31, 1953) is an Israeli singer and songwriter.

Biography

Ehud Banai was born in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. His father was the actor Yaakov Banai, one of the Banai siblings. The family moved to

Givatayim Givatayim ( he, גִּבְעָתַיִים, lit. "two hills") is a city in Israel east of Tel Aviv. It is part of the metropolitan area known as Gush Dan. Givatayim was established in 1922 by pioneers of the Second Aliyah. In it had a population ...

when Banai was four. At the age of ten, he learned to play the

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...

. In 1971 he was drafted to the Israel Defense Forces, and served in the Nahal infantry brigade. After his discharge, he moved to London, where he played in the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The ...

for six months. Banai is married to Odeliah, with whom he has three daughters.

Music career

In 1982, Banai formed a band with singer Avi Matos. He made several other attempts at a breakthrough during the following years. He tried out for Shlomo Bar's band, Habrera Hativit, but wasn't accepted. In 1986, Ehud and his band ''"Haplitim"'' ("The Refugees") broke through, with the hit single ''"Ir Miklat"'' (City of Refuge) and the

rock opera A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...

Mami Mami may refer to: People *Cheb Mami, Algerian raï singer * Mami (given name), a Japanese feminine given name * Mami (goddess), a goddess in the Babylonian epic ''Atra-Hasis'' *Mami Wata, a pantheon of ancient water spirits or deities Entertainme ...

". In 1987, Banai and the Refugees released their self-titled debut, which is considered by many to be one of the best and the most important albums of Israeli rock, with original mix of new wave guitar rock with some oriental rhythms and sounds. Most of the album consisted of protest songs. The songs also included many Biblical subjects and allusions, such as the golden calf and

cities of refuge The cities of refuge ( ''‘ārê ha-miqlāṭ'') were six Levitical towns in the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah in which the perpetrators of accidental manslaughter could claim the right of asylum. Maimonides, invoking talmudic lite ...

. Their follow-up, "''Karov''" ("Close (near)"), released in 1989, had influences ranging from Banai's early childhood in Jerusalem, traveling in Europe,

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

, the Banai family's Afghan/

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

-Jewish background, to Jewish prayer and piyutim, among others. He also released ''Under the Jasmine Tree'', an album of Persian folk tales as told by his father. During the 1990s, Banai released 3 albums ("The Third" was released in 1992, "In a Little While" was released in 1996, and "''Tip Tipa''" in 1998). "''Ane' Li''" was released in 2004. The song "''Blues Knaani''" (Canaanite blues) was written in memory of Meir Ariel, and "''Hayom''" (today) was written for his wife. Banai sang a duet with

David D'Or David D'Or ( he, דוד ד'אור; born David Nehaisi on October 2, 1965) is an Israeli singer, composer, and songwriter. A countertenor with a vocal range of more than four octaves, he is a three-time winner of the Israeli "Singer of the Year" a ...

on D'Or's album ''Kmo HaRuach'' (''"Like the Wind"''), which was released on March 27, 2006. A triple live album, "''Mamshich Linso'a''" ("Keep Moving") was released in October 2006. Banai writes the lyrics and composes the music for almost all of his own songs. Banai, for the greater part of his musical career, observed

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

traditions, and even “returned” to Orthodox Jewish religious observance over the course of the early 2000s. Banai habitually scatters references to his connection to

subjects throughout many of his songs. Ehud Banai performing at Zappa

In 2008, " On the Move", a

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

directed by Avida Livny and produced by

Gidi Avivi Gidi Avivi (born 1961) is an Israeli film producer, the founder of Vice Versa Films. Education and early career Avivi holds a Master's degree in Cinema Studies from New York University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Film and Television fr ...

, Yael Biron and Dror Nahum, about Banai and the Refugees, participated in the official competition of the

Jerusalem Film Festival The Jerusalem Film Festival ( he, פסטיבל הקולנוע ירושלים, ar, مهرجان القدس السينمائي) is an international film festival held annually in Jerusalem, It was established in 1984 by the Director of the Jerusal ...

, in EPOS -the international art & culture film festival in Israel and has been screened in cinemateques around

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. The film traces Banai's early years on the music scene, through the struggle, musical passion, and deeply rooted friendship he shared with members of his first band, "The Refugees" – Yossi Elephant, Jean Jacques Goldeberg, Noam Halevi, and Gil Smetana. In September 2008, Banai released ''Shir Chadash'', an album of traditional Jewish songs ( zemirot), including several melodies composed by

Shlomo Carlebach Shlomo Carlebach ( he, שלמה קרליבך; 14 January 1925 – 20 October 1994), known as Reb Shlomo to his followers, was a rabbi, religious teacher, spiritual leader, composer, and singer dubbed "the singing rabbi" during his lifetime. ...

. Banai's album ''Resisei Laila'' ("Drops of the Night") was released in 2011.

Discography

*''Ehud Banai and the Refugees'' (1987) *''Karov'' ("Close") (1989) *''Mitachat Siach HaYasmin'' (''Under the Jasmine Tree''), with Yaakov Banai (1989) *''Hashlishi'' ("The Third) (1992) *''Od Me'at'' ("Soon") (1996) *''Tip Tipa'' (1998) *''Ane Li'' ("Answer Me") (2004) *''Mamshich Linsoa'' (''Keeps on Driving'') (2006) *''Shir Chadash'' (''New Song'') (2008) *''Resisei Laila'' (Shards of Night) (2011) *''Beofek Acher'' (2012)

Published works

* ''Remembering Almost Everything'' (Keter 2001) A genre unto himself
Haaretz * ''Ze HaMakom''

References

External links