Arts in Brief: March 3

On the fringe; Britpop’s Hurts to debut in Tel Aviv; Wooten and Blair combine grooves; Yael Naim named singer of the year.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
AbuAli 311 (photo credit: Courtesy)
AbuAli 311
(photo credit: Courtesy)
On the fringe
AbuAli by the Arab Hebrew Theater in Jaffa is an impudent sociopolitical satire on life in Israel. It’s one of 16 productions from around the country to be presented at Fringe Nights until Friday at the various fringe theaters. The Golden Hedgehog awards for fringe theater will be presented on Friday morning at Tzavta Tel Aviv with 25 productions competing in 15 categories. – Helen Kaye
Britpop’s Hurts to debut in Tel Aviv
Hurts, an up-and-coming synthpop duo from Manchester, England, will be making their Israel debut on May 17 at Reading 3 in Tel Aviv. The duo, consisting of singer Theo Hutchcraft and synth player Adam Anderson have been favorably compared to Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode and Erasure. Following the success of two 2010 singles – “Wonderful Life” and “Better Than Love,” the group’s debut album Happiness was released late last year, featuring a duet with Kylie Minogue. – David Brinn
Wooten and Blair combine grooves
One of the world’s greatest bass players, Victor Wooten, is teaming up with one of the world’s greatest drummer, J. D. Blair, for a musical evening called “2 Minds: 1 Groove” on May 16 at Reading 3 in Tel Aviv.
Wooten, the winner of five Grammy Awards, has been the steady bass player for Béla Fleck and the Flecktones since 1988 but has also forged a solo career and in 2008 joined fellow bassists Stanley Clarke and Marcus Miller to record an album under the band moniker SMV. Blair has cut his teeth playing with Shania Twain and, together, the duo create a full band sound with two instruments, some well-placed beat boxes, vocals and a whole lot of virtuosity.
– David Brinn
Yael Naim named singer of the year
Israeli singer Yael Naim was voted performer of the year on Tuesday at the 26th French Music Awards in Paris. Naim’s third album, She Was a Boy, sung in English, was released late in 2010. She rose to fame in 2008 after her hit single, “New Soul,” was used by Apple in an advertising campaign for its MacBook Air.
Born in Paris in 1978 to Jewish parents from Tunisia, Naim grew up in Ramat Hasharon and served in the Israel Air Force Orchestra. She sings in English, French and Hebrew, her voice is husky, and her style has been described as a combination of folk, pop and jazz.

– Jerusalem Post staff