Miri Ben-Ari — hip-hop violinist and possibly the only Israeli aside from Mordechai Ben David to get a standing ovation at the Apollo — is famous for dueting with Kanye West and being “that hot Israeli chick” in the Twista video, not to mention several other power positions on the hip-hop label.
But, if you listen to this radio show— go about halfway in, a little more — you’ll hear a Miri Ben-Ari of a different color. Call it her glory days, call it a preview of things to come. Or just call it what it is, which is some bouncy orthodox chazzan singing Psalms in Hebrew, with a familiar violin in the background. Don’t worry, she still sounds insane and brilliant. But to hear her backing up some octave-busting dude with a big black hat and a microphone….well, some things, you just can’t shed enough tears of joy over.
(Oh, and — if you’re in New York and looking for more Kanye West-related Yiddishkeit, the band Frantic Turtle, co-starring Kanye’s cellist, is playing a benefit tomorrow, on Tue
09/19/06, for a soup kitchen in Haifa. Writes Jake Marmer, frontsman for the band (and the man who put Russia on the map):
“We’ll be partially unplugged and about half-band strong (but strong STRONG!) Very different vibe from the last show – this will be a slam-poetry session with lots of improv and guest appearances of the “Jonny Cuba and the Wise Men” band who are also playing at the fundraiser. The Wise Men are hitting the stage a bit after 8 pm, and we’ll be on at 10.
“The show is going down at B’nai Avraham in Brooklyn Heights, and all proceeds go to a soup kitchen near Haifa that feeds 300 people a day.”