World Beat Wonder
Hailing from Israel, world music star Ishtar makes her
Michigan premiere at the Royal Oak Music Theatre.
SUZANNE CHESSLER
Special to the Jewish News
T
he home state of Madonna
is about to welcome anoth-
er sultry singer who goes by
one name only — Ishtar.
But unlike Madonna, who's gained
some press attention for exploring
Judaism, Ishtar is Jewish. Ishtar, in
fact, is Israeli, so much so that she has
served with the military, an experience
that strengthened her belief in peace.
When Ishtar appears July 16 at the
Royal Oak Music Theatre, she will
sing about peace, love and joy. Some
songs are original with her group,
Alabina, which includes her backup
band and a Gypsy quartet, Los Ninos
De Sara.
Their show covers world music —
different cultural combinations that
strike a Spanish chord here, an Arabic
chord there, a lot of flamenco and
dance beats of diverse origins through-
out. Selections from the group's two
albums — Alabina and The Album II,
both on the Astor Place label — are
the centerpieces of the performance.
World music seems a natural for
Ishtar, whose family background
builds on more than one culture. Her
mother is from Egypt, and her father
is from Morocco.
"I like the mix of cultures and
rhythms in world music, and I think
the percussions have a communica-
tion directly with the earth," says
Ishtar, just turning 30 and living in
Paris because she believes it's the
best place to advance her career. "I
like all kinds of music if there are
great melodies."
Alabina, together for three years,
will perform two Hebrew songs in
Royal Oak. Although this concert will
be the group's Michigan debut, the
troupe has performed in other
American cities, always promoting the
recordings. The second includes an
Arabic remake of the Animals' hit
"Please Don't Let Me Be
Misunderstood" and the pop anthem
"Salama Ya Salama," as well as selec-
tions in Spanish and English.
The group's name, which means
"God is between us," was the result of
a typo; they intended to call them-
7/9
1999
82 Detroit Jewish News
Ishtar: "I like the mix of cultures and
rhythms in world music."
selves Yalabina, which means "let's
have a good time" and which is an
accurate way of describing their energy.
"I sang in English, French and
Hebrew before I was invited to per-
form in Egypt with a piano player,"
says Ishtar, who speaks seven lan-
guages and shunned any formal vocal
training. "That was the first time I
sang in Arabic."
Ishtar grew up with a commitment
to music. At home, her family listened
to pop, and she became a Streisand
fan. At her grandmother's home, she
heard only Arabic and Egyptian
music.
"At school I sang and acted," Ishtar
recalls. "I sang before and after the
army. I never did anything else."
Ishtar started her formal singing
career by performing at bar mitzvahs
and weddings. She moved on to Israeli
hotels as a soloist and later performed
with a group. When she turned 23,
she moved to Paris, where she also
sang in hotels and then joined the
French/African group Kaoma, who
performed "The Lambada," a cross-
country hit.
Early on, she decided to use her
childhood nickname as her stage
name. The moniker "Ishtar" was con-
ferred by her grandmother. Ishtar was
the goddess of fertility in Mideastern
mythology.
A producer who caught one of her
shows connected her with Los Ninos
De Sara, a group of cousins originally
from Spain, who had been playing
together since childhood. Tonio does
lead vocals and plays guitar. Coco is a
singer and percussionist. Sanfi and
Ramon are singers and guitarists.
"At first, it was a little difficult per-
forming together," Ishtar says. They
had never sung with a woman on stage
before. The communication was slow,
but now they're like my brothers."
For six years, Ishtar has been linked
romantically with the drummer in her
backup band; he is French and Jewish.
She enjoys cooking and serves up her
own versions of international foods —
Oriental favorites and French sauces.
Ishtar did not plan to take up resi-
dence in France when she went there
seven years ago at the invitation of a
friend she met in Australia. Even
though the music environment
enticed her to stay, Ishtar has a contin-
uing allegiance to Israel, where her
family lives and where her professional
roots hold strong.
"I don't have a lot of time to visit
Israel, but I go back every Rosh
Hashanah and Yom Kippur," says the
singer, whose two sisters also are aspir-
ing vocalists. "The best time I had in
life was in the army, where I was a
mechanic. It wasn't a holiday, but I
learned about respect and equality.
"I learned about living without
Mom and Dad to help, and I found
out about creating and building rela-
tionships. I'll never forget those two
years.
Alabina will perform at 8 p.m.
Friday, July 16, at the Royal Oak
Music Theatre, 318 W. Fourth.
$55 performance/$100 perfor-
mance plus VIP reception
(including refreshments) with
Alabina. For tickets to VIP
reception, call (248) 396-0274.
For tickets for performance
only, call Ticketmaster, (248)
645-6666, or the Royal Oak
Music Theatre, (248) 645-6410.