Radio Baghdad hosting Israel Bright

Radio Baghdad hosting Israel Bright

Additional guests: Ariel Qassis – Qanun 

On the plaza overlooking the garden, we will return for a moment to the town square, the beating heart, the place where the community once used to gather at sunset, filling the concrete with laughter and conversation, with music and life. There, in this meeting place, in dialogue with and without words, art bubbled and creativity burst forth.

On Wednesday and Thursday, the Crown Plaza will turn into a colorful piazza that will host a different street culture each day—we will wander through the Hammaras of Baghdad and Morocco and taste the African BARABARA—a street celebration full of rhythm and rootedness.

Radio Baghdad are coming to the Jazz Festival to perform, in a special format, pieces from the vast repertoire of the Iraqi Maqam, the musical tradition that arrived in Israel with the Aliyah from Iraq in the 1950s. Aviv, the band’s lead singer, was exposed to this music in his childhood home, and has since been fulfilling his vision of making the depth and beauty of this music accessible to Israeli and global audiences, while preserving a unique culture that is gradually being forgotten.

The three original members of Radio Baghdad, Aviv Ezra on vocals and percussion, Yaniv Maisel on oud and vocals, and Johanna Riethmueller on violin and vocals; united through a deep friendship and a shared passion for Iraqi music. Since then, they have performed on numerous stages, festivals, and events in Israel and abroad, and have recorded three albums. Recently, the trio was joined by percussionist Louai Khoury, who grew up as a musician at the feet of the “old guard” of Iraqi players in Or Yehuda.

Radio Baghdad takes us on a journey through the realms of Iraqi Maqam poetry and the haflas of yesteryear, making them accessible and connecting them to the present-day Middle East. Over the years, a wide audience has gathered around the band, consisting of young people as well as the older generation of Iraqi descendants, and beyond, who connect with deep emotion to the music and the memories. Now, they come to us to evoke images and scents from the distant Baghdad Square.