Have you ever been to a magic show without a magician and without rabbits?
Chava Alberstein's new concert tour is like that, but apparently when you are the Dumbledore of Israeli music - you will be distinguished for a long life - you have the ability to hypnotize without a wand, and you will hold on tight - even without a guitar.
There were two glasses in front of her, one red and one blue, and we couldn't help but wonder what the difference was and what mix Elberstein particularly liked.
But there was no guitar there.
Israel's First Lady Anna Pollak stands on stage without her mythical wooden body protection and still comes out victorious.
She didn't do it alone, which only added to the magic.
Elberstein may not have gone into detail this time, but as in the past she has teamed up with amazing young musicians, this time too she is surrounded by three reinforcements in the form of great musicians: Eran Weitz on guitar (and the music producer of the show), Matan Efrat on drums and on the computer, and Maya Bazelzman on cello.
Weitz has been accompanying Alberstein for quite some time (more than 15 years) and was defined by her at the beginning of the show as the "entrepreneur" of the evening.
Elberstein and Weitz.
Trust him with your eyes closed, photo: Hela Emanuel
Wietz, ladies and gentlemen, is an entrepreneur that I would trust with my eyes closed, even though some of the arrangements he created - mainly for songs that are the cornerstones of her never-ending discography - were complex and included changes of scales, rhythm and presentation that made it difficult for poetry lovers in the public.
Very good, for that they will go to cover concerts.
No one asks Bob Dylan why he sings "a heavy rain is about to fall" and no one can join him.
Cope and learn.
Elberstein, even at her age and position, was able to understand the jazz subtleties and the complex interpretations that Weitz had built and presented "The Lilac Flower", "Three Loves" and "I will talk to you" in a new, slightly different cover - and one that embraced all the people of Beit Lisin Hall in Tel Aviv .
Like quite a few artists who took advantage of the period of closures due to Covid, Elberstein also didn't just sit at home and deliver another personal album, sad jazz with a few sighs of optimism and one that shows how relevant she is even in 2023. Just listen.
About a year ago, Elberstein together with Weitz released the album "Another Evening", the spirit of which is indeed a line on the show, but does not mix into it.
Even without him, the post-Covid atmosphere hovered slightly over the performance without disturbing, and reached its peak in the song "Passport Control" which we received as an encore in a duet with Efrat combining drums, percussion and a computer.
"He is relevant again," she concluded before pulling out her passport and waiting for it to be stamped on the way to enter a country that is, well, not Israel.
Alberstein with Belzitzman, Efrat and Weitz,
Elberstein reserved the encore for three personal gestures: one for each player who "spoke" to her individually.
Weitz opened with "The Wheat Grows Again", and for a few moments he was able to produce from his Fender guitar nostalgic and nostalgic organ sounds.
Vitz, despite the vibrations, only prepared the ground for a duet that probably even just for him is worth putting your butt in one of the halls that will host the show in the future.
When Balzazman returned from a quick refresher and performed "Et Haruti" by George Mustaki (translated by Yoram Teharlev), time stood still.
A ripping cello, full in the middle and a perfect sound - let me hear it every day, all day long. The chorus of love between a man and the freedom of his choices - in the face of giving up everything for a beautiful jailer who in a wide movement will open the gate - was performed perfectly by Belzmann with the addition of the precise voice range And kept like Alberstein's magic, they made me understand everything: you can do magic without even without magicians.
It turns out that all you need is Eve.
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