Yoni Rechter (; born 18 November 1951) is an Israeli musician, composer, pianist, arranger and singer.

Biography

Yonatan (Yoni) Rechter was born in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

, Israel. He is the son of Israeli architect Ya'akov Rechter and stepson of Israeli actress Hanna Meron. He attended Tichon Hadash high school. At sixteen, he composed the music for the hit song "Tears of Angels" (דמעות של מלאכים in Hebrew, "Dma'ot Shel Mal'achim"), written by his high school classmate Dan Minster. Rechter served in the Israeli Artillery Corps band. In 1972, after his release from the army, he joined the Israeli band Kaveret as a keyboardist, collaborating with Gidi Gov, Danny Sanderson, Alon Ole'archick and others.Flowing in our musical bloodstream

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...

When Kaveret represented Israel in the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, the rules only allowed for 6 on-stage performers (Kaveret had 7 members), so Rechter was asked to be the conductor of their entry. He stayed with the group until it disbanded in 1976.

Music career

Apart from playing the keyboard in Kaveret, he formed the

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

duo "14 Octaves" with Avner Kenner and arranged and wrote songs for leading Israeli singers, among them

Arik Einstein Arieh Lieb "Arik" Einstein ( ; (3 January 1939 – 26 November 2013) was an Israeli singer, songwriter, actor, comedian and screenwriter. He was a pioneer of Israeli rock music and was named "the voice of Israel." Through both high public and c ...

. One of the most famous songs he composed for Einstein was "Your Forehead is Ornamented" (עטור מצחך in Hebrew, "Atur Mitz'chech"). Its first version was arranged by Rechter, and was sung by Arik Einstein with Corinne Allal and Yehudit Ravitz. He later produced albums for Gidi Gov, Esther Ofarim, Yossi Banai and Yehudit Ravitz. One of his performances with Ravitz, which was titled "Once And Forever" (באופן קבוע וחד פעמי, in Hebrew, "Be'Ofen Kavu'ah Ve'Chad Pe'ami"), was also released as an album. In 1978, Rechter collaborated on "The Sixteenth Sheep" (הכבש השישה-עשר in Hebrew, "Ha'Keves Ha'Shishah Asar"), an album of poems by Yonatan Geffen set to music. Rechter's debut album "Intending" (התכוונות in Hebrew, "Hitkavnut") was released in 1979. It included quiet

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

s, some based on the lyrics of Israeli songwriter Eli Mohar. That year, he also wrote the music for a dance performance, "A Legend in the Sands," performed by the Inbal Dance Theater. He also composed the music for Inbal's show "Jaffa is Sleeping."Yoni Rechter, still profound after all these years
/ref> In 1981, Rechter collaborated with Matti Caspi and Yitzhak Klepter in the instrumental album "Lines" (קווים in Hebrew, "Kavim"). In 1982, he produced another Gidi Gov album, "40:06", and composed all of its melodies. In 1984, he produced Israeli singer Nurit Galron's album "One Soft Touch" (נגיעה אחת רכה in Hebrew, "Negi'aa Achat Rakah"). In 1986, he took part in shows alongside Israeli comedians and performers Gidi Gov, Moni Moshonov and Shlomo Bar-Aba in the comedy show "A One-Time Evening" (ערב חד-פעמי in Hebrew, "Erev Chad Pe'ami"), and in the

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in 1991, they did a follow-up show, "A Conventional One-Time Evening" (ערב חד פעמי קונבנציונאלי in Hebrew, "Erev Chad Pe'ami Conventionali"). In 1988, he composed and arranged the music for an album of songs based on the poems of Avraham Chalfi and Haya Shenhav. In the album "I Used To Be a Child" (הייתי פעם ילד in Hebrew, "Hayiti Pa'am Yeled"), he composed and arranged all songs, some of which became very popular in Israel. In the album "The Lion, The Dove and a Blue Hen" (האריה, היונה ותרנגולת כחולה in Hebrew, "Ha'Arie, Ha'Yonah Ve'Tarnegolet Kchulah") Rechter composed and arranged more children's songs. In 1991, the Israel Festival and the

Israeli Broadcasting Authority The Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA; ) was Israel's public broadcaster from 1948 to 2017, succeeded by the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation. History The Israel Broadcasting Authority was an outgrowth of the radio station ''Kol Yisr ...

produced an evening of Rechter songs titled "The Main Thing is the Romance" (העיקר זה הרומנטיקה in Hebrew, "Ha'Ikar Ze Ha'Romantika"), which aired on Israeli television and released as an album. In 1995, Rechter and Eli Mohar released an album titled "Thoughts and Options" (מחשבות ואפשרויות in Hebrew, "Machshavot Ve'Efsharuiot"). In 2002, Rechter released "Another Story" (עוד סיפור in Hebrew, "Od sipur"). The solo album, which was divided into three sections, consisted of mostly intimate songs. The album was well received by music critics, but was not a commercial success. Rechter also took part in composing and arranging music for many theatre plays and shows. In 2005, Rechter released a best of double CD entitled "Each time I play", filled with his own recordings, as well as pieces with other singers. Rechter judged auditions for the IDF's musical troupes.

Musical style

According to

music critic Ben Shalev, Rechter's major musical influences were "Bach, Beatles and Bill Evans." Other influences are

Chick Corea Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was an American jazz pianist, composer, bandleader and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain (instrumental), Spain", "500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba" ...

and the harmonies of Sasha Argov. He also cites progressive rock and jazz artists such as

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer. He started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. Hancock soon joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of ...

, Gentle Giant,

King Crimson King Crimson were an English progressive rock band formed in London in 1968 by Robert Fripp, Michael Giles, Greg Lake, Ian McDonald (musician), Ian McDonald and Peter Sinfield. Guitarist Fripp remained the only constant member throughout the ...

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Religion * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * Young Eisner Scholars, in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and Appalachia, US * Young Ep ...

and

Emerson, Lake & Palmer Emerson, Lake & Palmer (informally known as ELP) were an English progressive rock Supergroup (music), supergroup formed in London in 1970. The band consisted of Keith Emerson (keyboards) of The Nice, Greg Lake (vocals, bass, guitars, producer) ...

Personal life

Rechter is married to Dafna, a former art teacher, with whom he has two sons.haaretz.com
/ref>

Awards

In 2008, Rechter won the EMET Prize, awarded for extraordinary achievement in art, science and culture.

Albums

* The Sixteenth Lamb (הכבש השישה-עשר, Ha'Keves Ha'Shisha-Asar) * Intending (התכוונות, Hitkavnut) * Love Has Many Faces (האהבה, פנים רבות לה Ha'Ahava, Panim Rabot La) With Arik Einstein * Regularly And one-timely (באופן קבוע וחד פעמי, Be'Ofen Kavuah Ve'Chad Pe'ami) With Yehudith Ravitz * At Eye Level (בגובה העיניים, Be'Govah Ha'Einayim) With Eli Mohar * Romance Is What Counts (העיקר זה הרומנטיקה, Ha'Ikar Ze Ha'Romantica) * Lines (קווים, Kavim) * Thoughts and Options (מחשבות ואפשרויות, Machshavot Ve'Efsharuiot) With Eli Mohar * Another Story (עוד סיפור, Od Sipur) * Right Now (ממש עכשיו, Mamash Achshav) A live recording * The Lion, The Dove and a Blue Hen (האריה, היונה ותרנגולת כחולה, Ha'Arie, Ha'Yonah Ve'Tarnegolet Kchulah) * 14 Octavas (ארבע עשרה אוקטבות, arba esre octavot) With Avner Kenner * From The Songs of Avraham Chalfi (משירי אברהם חלפי, Mi'Shirei Avraham Chalfi) * I Used to be a Child (הייתי פעם ילד, Hayiti Pa'am Yeled) With Arik Einstein * A Legend in the Sands (אגדה בחולות, Agada Ba'Cholot)

References

External links

Official Website

Lyrics to the songs of Yoni Rechter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rechter, Yoni 1951 births Living people Jewish Israeli singers Israeli people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent 20th-century Israeli male singers 21st-century Israeli male singers Kaveret Singers from Tel Aviv Israeli music arrangers