If Streisand decides to come, it will be the most expensive gig in the history of the Jewish State; producers offered the diva between $2.5- 4.5 million for her a single performance.

‘Barb’ is planning to go on tour next year, and organizers are trying to get her to make a stop over in the Middle East.

The highest offer was submitted by manager Marcel Abraham, who arranged the performances of some high-profile artists, including Elton John, Metallica, and Leonard Cohen.

Among the other producers racing to sign the star is American millionaire and businessman Kobi Sidi. He said that if Streisand takes his offer, he will hold the concert at an open space near the ancient shore town of Caesarea.

Sources in the music industry said Streisand’s aides visited Israel recently to negotiate with the different production companies.

Attorney Haggai Stravis, who represents Abraham, said his client “has given Streisand an extremely worthy offer. We are hoping for a positive response.”

Barbra Streisand is considered one of the most successful female singers in the history of music, but doesn’t take the stage very often. Streisand held her last concert tour three years ago, after a long break, taking in over $100 million.

Producers who tried to get Streisand to perform in Israel during her last tour – but were unsuccessful – hope the generous offers will do the trick this time around.

[via Ynet]

As a refugee from the former Yugoslavia, Nesh Bruic knew how to build homes. He arrived here in this Bible-era port town, now a part of Tel Aviv, in the 1990s, descended from a long line of builders. “We always constructed our own homes back in Croatia,” said Mr. Bruic, 41, who has designed restaurants and bars both in Tel Aviv and Belgrade. “So when I first saw the place,” he said, referring to his 700-square-foot studio that he restored, “it felt like a pearl I had to rescue from destruction.”

Mr. Bruic, a self-trained carpenter, stumbled on the cluttered former storeroom in 2009. The property’s owner had intended to transform it into three tiny apartments, but Mr. Bruic told him that he could restore it. He signed a three-year lease at around 3,000 Israeli new shekels a month, or nearly $850 at 3.80 Israeli new shekels to the dollar.

Despite its neglect, Mr. Bruic saw in the space the type of residence-cum-studio he always imagined he would one day call home. “It was truly my dream to live and create in a single space,” he said. Particularly appealing was the home’s proximity to his favorite sources of materials — Jaffa’s nearby flea market and its sandy Mediterranean shores.

In late spring 2009, working without a formal architect, Mr. Bruic began the property’s head-to-toe renovation, building new walls, installing large-scale beams and configuring a layout. He planned to divide the space into a two-bedroom 500-square-foot duplex to share with his partner, Yosi Lavy, 37, a massage therapist, and a 200-square-foot workshop for his craft and carpentry business.

Delineating the two separate areas proved the hardest task. “Thirteen-foot walls had to be built, anchored by metal beams,” he said, “all of which needed to be installed by hand.” Mr. Bruic also installed all the plumbing and wiring, as well as a set of sky lights to compensate for the building’s lack of formal windows.

The work took around four months and cost 75,000 Israeli new shekels, or roughly $20,000. He finished by late summer and moved in with Mr. Lavy shortly thereafter.

Almost every element of the interior came from salvaged materials. The front door, for instance, came from a Tel Aviv bar that Mr. Bruic designed five years ago and later went out of business.

Once the work was completed, Mr. Bruic then filled the home with recycled pieces. A refinished canoe oar, for instance, found on the beach nearby, acts as a banister between the ground floor and second-floor loft bedrooms.

A sheet of glass, formerly the top of a pin-ball machine, was repurposed into an unlikely coffee-table for the living room. The kitchen’s dark wooden bar table was salvaged from a nearby luxury hotel, while a pair of tiny shoe closets were crafted from the property’s original metal gates, now resting upon mosaic floors inlaid with stones found on the beach.

Club chairs and sofas came from Jaffa’s flea market, or shuk. Mr. Bruic reupholstered them with Oriental-style fabrics. Even the tiny bathroom is a shrine to recyclability — an old-fashioned tin bucket was converted into a sink basin and anchored in place by a mound of colorful rocks.

It’s an antique-rich aesthetic, Mr. Bruic said, that leads “people to think we’ve lived her forever.”

Although the home’s design is resolutely rooted in the Middle East, Mr. Bruic has not forgotten his Southern European roots. A sofa on the tiny top-level loft, for instance, provides a view of the living and dining area below, reminiscent, Mr. Bruic said, of the airy balconies found perched atop most Balkan homes. “You’d sit up there and watch village life transpire down below,” Mr. Bruic said. “Here we do the same thing only on a much more intimate scale.”

More than 20 years after first arriving in Israel, Mr. Bruic has literally made a home for himself in the country that gave him a home. Visitors to the house — including several of the nearly 1,500 people who toured the studio last month for an Houses from Within event — are asking Mr. Bruic to create a similar design aesthetic for themselves. With Jaffa’s flea market barely moments away and his studio literally now attached to his home, Mr. Bruic is eager for his next construction challenge.

“I was so happy with the building process that I was sad when was finally over,” said Mr. Bruic, who planned most of the home before meeting Mr. Lavy. “But one day I’ll start on our next house, a bigger house, much like this place but with room for a watsu pool for Yosi and a garden for myself.”

[via NY Times. Follow the link to see further images]

Here is a selection of the hottest events put together by Israel’s largest newspaper Yedioth Ahranot to be held in 2010′s White Night on July 1 including the best the city has to offer in music, food, arts and fashion. Most of the events are free of charge and open for the general public and the rest offer special discounts.

Jazz at the Station
Enjoy Jazz concerts in the newly restored Manshia Train Station, adjacent to the Neve Tzedek neighborhood and explore the many shops and special ambiance the area is becoming known for. Free admission

Manshia Train Station, near Neve Tzedek, 10 pm

For more information on the Neve Tzedek Neighborhood please read our article about it.

Tour of Rothschild Boulevard
Walk through the beautiful boulevard as 50 of its buildings will be specially lit and enjoy various musical and theatre street shows. The boulevard has been one of the White Night’s main attractions over the years.

Rothschild Boulevard, Bialik street. All night long

For more information on the Rothschild Boulevard please read our article about it.

Gidi Gov sunrise concert
Gidi Gov, one of Israel’s most recognizable and prominent artists, will be holding a special open-air nocturnal concert offering authentic Israeli music. Free admission

Northern Tzuk Beach, 1 am

Parties around the clock
Some of the best DJ’s will be mixing sounds starting 10 pm in the Charles Clor Park, adjacent to the Dolfinarium Beach.
If you’re into R&B and Hip Hop go to Bialik street where ska, afrobeat, funk and hip hop artists will perform, starting 10 pm.
Tel Aviv’s famous Dizengoff Center will host a Pop-Shop party where Dizengoff street meets King George street. The mall’s stores will be open through the night.

All parties free of charge

A night at the opera
If you’re an opera fan, you can get a chance to enjoy an evening of the best of the Israeli Opera’s repertoire. The three-hour concert will include operas, operettas, musical numbers and Israeli songs in special arrangements. Paid admission

The Israeli Opera, Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center, 12:30 am

De La Guarda performance
The Israeli multicultural troupe Mayumana will hold a special De La Guarda-style show in the Tel Aviv Port. The show incorporates acrobatics, wall-climbing and breathtaking special effects. Free admission

Tel Aviv Port, 8 pm

Night Market
The White Night is a great chance to visit a real Israeli market. Jaffa’s flee market offers special stores, arts and crafts stalls, street theatre performances, music, exhibitions, galleries and more. Free admission

Flee market, Jaffa

For more information on the Jaffa and its Flee Market please read our article about it.

Fire at Azrieli Towers
Israeli magician Hezi Din will suspend himself between the three Azrieli Towers using ropes at 330 feet high. The ropes will be set on fire and Din will try to unleash the ties and reach the security rope from which he will perform a bungee jump. Free admission

Azrieli Towers, 10 pm

Cult film in Cinematheque
If you’re in a mood for a film, you’re invited to watch the rock cult classic Spinal Tap. Rob Reiner’s mockumentary film follows a ridiculous British rock band during its tour of the United States. Free admission

Tel Aviv Cinematheque, midnight

Food events
The city’s variety of excellent restaurants will offer special deals during the White Night. The following restaurants offer single meals at NIS 88 (roughly $23) and meals for two at NIS 158 (roughly $41): Avantgarde, River Noodle Bar, Frida Kalo, Super Sushi, Vitosha, Mike’s Place, Betty Ford, Max Brenner, Yaffa Cafe, Olive Leaf, Gueta, Ilan’s Cafe, Primavera Tel Aviv, Honey Beach.

[via Ynet]

The two big draws from abroad are veteran blues master John Mayall and New Orleans-born jazz trumpeter Nicholas Payton. “Legend” is an epithet that is often thrown into marketing mixes just to draw the consumers’ eye and purse, however Mayall certainly warrants that description. Now in his seventies, the British-born, singer-guitarist-harpist, was among those responsible for reviving the flagging fortunes of the blues back in the ’60s, following in the able footsteps of other British pioneers such as Cyril Davies and the redoubtable Alexis Korner. The blues had been marginalized in its original homeland of the United States until the likes of Mayall, and later fellow Brits Peter Green and Eric Clapton, helped remind Americans of their own roots music.

Although he belongs to a different generation, it may be argued that the 37-year-old Payton is also a beneficiary of Mayall and his ilk’s sterling revivalist work. With his New Orleans background, one presumes the blues – the substructure of jazz – heavily informs Payton’s approach to music.

“I actually consider myself a blues musician,” says the trumpeter.

Although the average jazz fan readily identifies with the genre’s accepted title, many purveyors of the music frown on its use. “Actually, I’m not too sure what jazz is,” he says, adding a seemingly enigmatic line that is proffered by many of his professional counterparts. “I don’t look at it as styles, genres and categories. That is something the human mind does to make things more easily digestible. I’m a lover of great music.”

PAYTON COMES from a musical family and, from very early childhood, was enraptured by his father’s exploits on bass and once even on a gargantuan sousaphone. Despite the fact that New Orleans and its environs are generally considered the birthplace of blues and jazz, Payton says he did not specifically home in on the two styles. “I was drawn to music, period,” he states emphatically.

Caesarea Amphitheater in the site of the Jazz Festival by Flickr user heatkernel

Mentored by two New Orleans jazz masters (Clyde Kerr Jr. at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts and Ellis Marsalis at the University of New Orleans), Payton starting playing music at the tender age of 4 and emerged on the New York scene in the early ’90s when he was still in his teens. He soon hooked up with fellow New Orleans native – and Jazz at Lincoln Center artistic director – Wynton Marsalis, and for some years was a regular fixture feature at the institution.

Payton embarked on a speedy learning curve, sharing bandstands with senior, established stars of the jazz firmament, including drummer Elvin Jones. That, says Payton, was a formative experience. He especially benefited from “the level of consistency that separates someone of Elvin’s masterful skill from everyone else. Getting to witness him play every night under different circumstances, every performance was at least masterful. And then, on some nights, it went beyond that. As much as a powerful force that he was, he was as sensitive as well, and a great listener and a great follower, which is a common attribute among great leaders.”

Over the years, Payton has alternated between purely acoustic settings and electrically embellished ones. The trumpeter says that this is not the result of any calculated approach – rather a matter of just going with the flow. “I don’t really consider it. It is the musician that creates the music. An instrument is just an instrument. It’s the person behind the instrument that creates the music. It doesn’t matter what it is.”

Payton is similarly laissez faire about what he will be offering us at his Caesarea show, although he did give some pointers. “I don’t know what we’ll be playing. I’ll see how I feel. That will be dictated by the energy in the space I will be playing. The people are guaranteed to hear some music from my [last] album Into The Blue and perhaps some previews from my upcoming release, Bitches.”

Mayall plays in Caesarea on June 3 at 10 p.m. Payton’s gig is on the following day at 10:30 p.m.

Elsewhere in the three-day festival lineup, local slots will be filled by celebrated vocalist Noa with jazz-world music pianist David Dorantes (June 5, 7:30 p.m.). At 10 p.m. they will be followed by French-Israeli singer-songwriter Keren Ann, pianist-vocalist Shlomi Shaban and jazz trumpeter Avishai Cohen.

[via JPost]

Breaking barriers for women in rap, the one-woman hip-hop machine maintained a string of hit albums and singles throughout the next decade, including collaborations with Pink, Busta Rhymes and Lil Kim.

Her albums include Da Real World (1999), Miss E…So Addictive (2001), Under Construction (2002), This Is Not A Test (2003) and The Cookbook (2005).

[via JPost]

Legendary British heavy metal rocker and former Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne is to perform in Israel in September, his official website has announced.

The performance will apparently take place on September 28, at Park Hayarkon in Tel Aviv, as part of a tour which begins in Folkstone, Britain on June 29.

Other destinations on the international tour include Moscow, Athens and Istanbul, as well as numerous stops in the United States.

Osbourne joins a rapidly expanding list of global music stars who will be performing in Israel this summer. Those set to appear include Elton John, The Pixies and Rod Stewart.

Last year, Israel hosted an array of world famous performers, including The Pet Shop Boys, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Leonard Cohen, Depeche Mode and Morrissey.

[via Haaretz]

Representatives from the network are slated to sign a media agreement in the coming days with Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz, Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov, and Tel Aviv-Jaffa Mayor Ron Huldai.

In the event, which will be held at the Yarkon Park, international artists will perform alongside Israeli artists.

MTV producers are in negotiations with music artist Pink and rapper Jay-Z regarding the event. Talks are also being held with Jay-Z’s wife, Beyonce, but as of now, the chances that she will be coming to Israel this summer are not particularly high.

Steinitz already set his targets on MTV a few months ago when he asked that the MTV Europe Music Awards be hosted in Israel, but Spain was ultimately chosen as the destination of choice.

However, MTV management apparently took Steinitz’s determination seriously and agreed to hold its summer party in Israel. The party will be broadcast live to dozens of countries throughout the world.

Assessments in Israel are that the party will serve as a significant springboard for Israel’s tourism sector.

[via MTV]

Detailed proposals have already been handed to the three aging artists, and Israel is impatiently awaiting their responses.

Add to this list Paul Anka, Elton John, and Rod Stewart – who have or will perform in Israel as well – and a certain golden oldies trend may be perceived.

Paul McCartney and Leonard Cohen, who also stood on Israeli stages this year, are other examples of artists who peaked long ago. Their shows drew large crowds, however, and were largely praised.

Of the artists being asked to perform Sir Cliff Richards, who will hit 70 soon, is perhaps the most prestigious. The British knight had a dazzling music career that began in the late fifties and lasted around 20 years, and he put on a show in Israel in the early seventies.

The man who invited him this year is the same who secured his appearance way back then, Shmuel Tzemach. He has already booked the Nokia hall in Tel Aviv for two September shows and awaits the star’s arrival.

But Richard is also being courted by another music-savvy Israeli, businessman Kobi Sidi, who is simultaneously propositioning Diana Ross.

[via Ynet]

No confirmation has yet been received from Israeli producers.

The singer will arrive in the Jewish state after visiting Turkey as part of his July European Tour. It has not yet been reported whether he will be accompanied in Israel by his wife, German supermodel and TV presenter Heidi Klum.

Seal, 47, is best known for two chart-topping hits from the 1990s: “Crazy” and “Kiss from a Rose”. He has won multiple Grammy awards over the years for his achievements in music.

The singer has three children with Klum and has also adopted her daughter from a previous marriage.

His latest album, “Soul,” a collection of renditions of famous soul classics, was released two years ago. Last year he released a hits compilation as well as a DVD documenting one of his live shows in New York.