Shabtai has pulled out all the stops, putting together a high-class, wide-ranging lineup of acts that span numerous genres and styles, from jazz to indie, and from electronica to ethnic sounds.
By BARRY DAVISSHAI TZABARI is one of the artists slated to perform at the reopened Hansen House. (photo credit: ZOHAR RON)
Jerusalem’s Hansen House sits in a location to die for. The building, which dates back to the late 19th century, is an architectural gem that simply reeks of fetching yesteryear design aesthetics, and it is surrounded by sprawling verdant grounds, including a popular eatery.But, like many cultural facilities around the world, the place was largely desolate for around three months, with nothing in the way of exhibitions or live entertainment – let alone tasty food – on offer through the pandemic lockdown.As of this Wednesday, however, the place will once again be rocking or, possibly, grooving when world renowned jazz trumpeter Avishai Cohen takes the Patio stage, with popular cellist-vocalist Maya Belsitzman guesting. Cohen stars in the curtain raiser (doors open 7 p.m., show starts 9 p.m.) of the Unplugged in the Patio series of concerts that will take place at Hansen House, every few days, through the summer, ending with what will surely be a special experience with envelope pushing vocal artist Victoria Hannah on August 19.The program is already an unqualified success.“Quite a few of the shows are already sold out,” says Hansen House artistic director Karin Shabtai. “Because of the [Health Ministry] restrictions we have to limit audiences to 120, but people snapped up the tickets. People are hungry for live entertainment,” she says.Shabtai has pulled out all the stops, putting together a high-class, wide-ranging lineup of acts that span numerous genres and styles, from jazz to indie, and from electronica to ethnic sounds of various stripes.Unplugged in the Patio has been a while coming.“We were just about to start what we call our ‘events season,’” Shabtai notes. “There was Primavera [design fair] which was postponed, and there was the Play! Festival, of games and technology for children, and there is Design Week which has been postponed to an - as yet - unknown time.” All of which makes the forthcoming music series all the more appreciated.In addition to the Cohen-Belsitzman show, over the next couple of months, the program features the likes of ethnic groove music vocalist Shai Tzabari, multilingual singer-songwriter Riff Cohen, ethnic-electronica vocalist and keyboardist-synth team Neta Elkayam and Amit Hai Cohen, Ethiopian-Israeli singer Aveva and indie act Age is a Box together with vocalist Ori Alboher who goes by his given, stage, name.“The lineup that will happen over the next two months is the result of the realization I had, sitting here at work, that we need to socialize,” Shabtai reveals. “We’ve had enough of Facebook live events, Zoom sessions and all that.” Amen to that. Indeed, one of the toughest aspects of the lockdown was the inability simply to get together and to share an enriching cultural experience together.And the people that, in normal times, live off their fruits of their muse also need to get that out there and, of course, make a penny for their efforts.“We decided to user the Patio venue in order to generate an intimate session, which is also relatively open, and to support the artists. We call it a coming together between song performances and dialogue. The artists will also talk to the audiences.”
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