Yafa Yarkoni grew up and sang
through the whole fifty years of the state of Israel. Yafa Yarkoni sang (and created) an
indescriptible number of songs that were to become Israeli standards (I am sure that you
already know many of Yafa's songs without actually knowing that she sang them first!). The
Israeli world of music owes her a lot! Her voice and her way of singing is stunning
because even her oldest recordings still sound fresh. For instance, in the 50's or 60's,
many artists (worldwide) had a particular way of singing, a sort of musical code; well,
Yafa Yarkoni only followed her own code, which was an excellent move!!! When you listen to
Yafa Yarkoni, you can feel her joy, happiness and passion for the songs that she sings.
And naturally, when the singer enjoys what he or she is doing, the listener has a ball
too! Two years ago, for her seventieth birthday, the biggest Israeli singers recorded
duets with Yafa, and it is amazing that at seventy, she can still be so great! The album
is fabulous. This year, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Israel, they released a five
CD set of Yafa Yarkoni. If you really want to get to the heart of Israeli music, at least
one CD of Yafa Yarkoni is essential! Trust me on that one... |