J-ARTS

Welcome to J-ARTS, the Jewish Artists Regional Touring Service. Our goal is to help arrange contemporary Jewish performances in your community. J-ARTS is a talent broker, not a talent agency; our clients are synagogues, Federations, Hillels, schools, camps and other organizations and institutions.   We have extensive relationships with artists that we can leverage to meet your organization’s needs, and that is our first priority.

As experienced Jewish music presenters, we’re here to serve you with our knowledge and experience. We know what its like to put on these events and can provide practical advice, not a sales pitch. To serve the needs of your organization and tastes of your community, we work with a broad array of artists across a number of genres. We don’t push a specific artist on you; we provide options that can fit your programmatic and budgetary parameters.

To peruse the artists we work with, click on the Musical Acts button to the right and browse our roster by genre. Our aim is to your community stage a great event, be it a concert program, fundraiser, melava malka, Israel celebration, Bar Mitzvah or family Simcha.

Born and raised in Detroit, Michael HarPaz, son of immigrant parents, emigrated to Israel in 1995 with only a few bucks in his pocket, his guitar on his back and high ambitions.

Within a year, he became a founding member of HiFive, the biggest band in Israeli history. As the lead singer in HiFive, Michael spent the next four years performing to sold out arena shows in front of hundreds of thousands of adoring fans. As a cultural icon, Michael was the pulse of everything pop in the country. Setting trends both musically and socially, Michael managed to change Israeli entertainment history forever.

He and his group set the bar against which all other success was measured. With four gold albums to his name and countless other awards and honors, Michaels fame rose to new heights. He could not walk the streets of Tel-Aviv without a steady entourage or bodyguards and security.

Michael’s music took him to New York and word traveled fast. He performed for Mayor Bloomberg at Gracie Mansion and singing on the stage of Town Hall. Michael became part of the songwriting team for producer John Eaton writing for such artists as P. Diddy, Usher, and The Roots. During this time, Michael also flew to LA to write and perform on the best selling CD, MAXAZRIA BCBG Live.

Soon Michael was in the studio with 7 Aurelius (Jennifer Lopez, Ashanti, Ja Rule) and renowned music mogul, Damon Dash, to work on some collaborative projects. While working on a song for Paris Hilton, Michael was asked to come to Israel to help write some songs for Israeli singer Maya Buskila.

In Israel, Michael’s music was overheard by Oscar nominated film maker Menahem Golan and asked if he would stay in Israel to write and produce an original score for his new motion picture, “A Dangerous Dance”. Humbled by this offer, Michael began writing the rough demos for the movie. The producers and director fell in love with the voice on the rough tracks and soon enough was singing more tracks on the album than not. Michaels knack for vocal impersonations and wide range allowed him to write, produce and sing every track for the film. Currently, Michael is in Tel Aviv finishing the score for Golan’s film, with the first single, “My Champion” about to hit the airwaves.

Michael participated in the “Voices for Israel” project, and though not a ‘religious’ performer, wrote a new Havdallah suite for the Conservative movement. He has participated in many concerts to support Israel Defense Forces and benefits for victims of terror, including those in Sderot and in the bomb shelters during the Second Lebanon War.

Havdallah
Kshe HaLev
So Clearly I Remember
Westport Boy

Stereo Sinai is the Good Book like you’ve never heard it before. Miriam Brosseau (songwriter/vocals/guitar) and Alan Jay Sufrin (producer/songwriter/vocals/guitar) had been dating and making their own music for several years before Stereo Sinai came along.

They’d recently moved to Chicago, and the rabbi who welcomed them into the community had just had a son. Wanting to do something special for the rabbi’s family and their new baby, Gideon, Alan and Miriam teamed up to write a lullaby in what would become their unique ancient/modern style.

Stereo Sinai’s “Biblegum Pop” is the flip side of Ray Charles’ pioneering move to put secular words to traditional gospel music. Taking original Hebrew verses from the book of Judges and mixing them with a synthesized pop arrangement, the band’s first single, “Gideon’s Song,” was born.

If Kelly Clarkson and Gnarls Barkley had been on the mountain with Moses, they would have come down sounding a lot like Stereo Sinai. Mixing conservation with innovation, the band is not only working to lend renewed relevance to ancient texts. Stereo Sinai is also committed to acting as a socially responsible and environmentally conscious outfit in every respect.

Both Alan and Miriam are also both Jewish educators and advocates for Israel who can speak to audiences of all ages on a variety of topics in addition to their performances.
Stereo Sinai is already making its mark on the local music scene, being featured at Chicago landmarks the Chicago Cultural Center and the Cubby Bear. The group is looking forward to playing several benefit concerts and other exciting shows in the near future as their album debuts and tour schedule begins to take shape.

Gideon’s Song
Dance
Hitn’aari

Veteran subway-performing Blues singer Jeremiah Lockwood teams up with an all-star cast of NY underground greats (musicians who have graced the records of Tom Waits, Arcade Fire and Antibalas, to name a few) to summon voices from beneath the concrete streets. Calling upon the sounds of Malian guitars, Saharan beats, Afro-pop horns and the B-L-U-E-S, The Sway Machinery goes knocking at the gates of prayer with muscles swollen and eyes clenched.

Son of composer Larry Lockwood and the grandson of the legendary Cantor Jacob Konigsberg, Jeremiah Lockwood began his musical career playing on the streets of Manhattan. He soon struck up a relationship with Piedmont Blues master Carolina Slim, with whom he still performs. Jeremiah and Carolina Slim have appeared together in Avery Fisher Hall, the New School Blues Festival, and have been profiled in The New York Times Magazine and TimeOut NY. Jeremiah has worked for years as the front man for The Sway Machinery, a blues/world beat/Chazzanus ensemble that taking New York by storm

In recent years, Jeremiah has also been appearing with J-Dub recording artists Balkan Beat Box. He is joined by drummer Brian Chase (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and the horn section of the Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra to break down all barriers between mythic past and a future rich in the senses. Rejoicing in the season of the lunar New Year and taking the spiritual language of Ashkenazic Jewish cantorial traditions as its point of departure, a new creation will be embarked upon. Hidden Melodies Revealed will combine music, animated film, storytelling and the historically charged space of the Angel Orensanz Foundation towards the goal of shaping a context in which the musical traditions of the season can be absorbed by a modern audience. On this night, rich in feeling and sanctified by memory, ancient lore will blossom forth into an all-out party!

Ahavas Olam
Ivdu et HaShem
I Shall Chant Praises
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Shlomit Levi is a gifted & powerfully voiced singer, blessed with a joyful spirit and dynamic personality. Born in the small town of Keryat Ekron in Israel, Shlomit grew up listening to the traditional folk music of Yemen which is one of her main influences. After touring in Europe with the band Orphaned-Land, Shlomit began to focus on learning the classical Yemenite musical repertoire of her ancestry.

In addition to specific meloldies, Temanim (Yemeni Jews) have a distinct pronunciation of the Hebrew language and a musical trope all their own. To these classic techniques, Shlomit has also added a contemporary twist and western influences. She most recently performed as a featured guest alongside the legendary Boaz Sharabi

At present, Shlomit is working on her debut album and performing across Israel, delivering her intimate songs with powerful melodies & soaring voice. She grew up listening to traditional folk music of Yemen as well as western-modern music. As a result, Shlomit has an eclectic palette, from which she draws inspiration.

Her performance combines ancient Yemenite rhythms & music; original songs influenced by her unique family story, known Israeli music and soul music in English. At present, Shlomit is working on her debut album and performing across Israel, delivering her intimate songs with powerful melodies & soaring voice. Not since the days of Ofra Haza has there been such an enigmatic singer to come out of Israel

Joining Shlomit is Tomer Koren , a talented arranger, guitar, keyboard and bass player who has performed with Simanim, Melechet, Fusion ensemble, Brit Olam, Adama festival, Haifa symphony, Universities and for the Prime Minister’s office. Shlomit is also backed by percussion artist Yatziv Caspi, specializing in Indian Tabla. Yatziv has performed in many ensembles, including Orphaned Land, Amit Varshetzki, Eliel Abecassis, Yuval Ron and Residents of the Future.

Shir HaShirim
Asalk

Since helping to create the Israeli hip-hop scene with his 2000 debut album, Jerusalem’s Sagol 59 has earned a considerable reputation as an honest, clever, articulate and highly original MC.

His pseudonym goes back to the days of his youth, spent on a Kibbutz. All the kids were assigned a color and number combination; his was purple (sagol) #59. It stuck. Considered an Israeli hip-hop pioneer, Sagol also hosts the monthly Corner Prophets/Old Jeruz Cipher Hip Hop events in Jerusalem, showcasing both established and up-and-coming artists.

Big Ben
Current Affairs
Shoah Business
Silver and Gold
Lech Kadima

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