Her performance at the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz Festival will be Rada's first time visiting the continent. Although she has never been here before, she sees herself as part of the African Diaspora. “Living in Israel you stand out, especially when the colour of your skin is different and your culture too,” she says. She describes her upbringing as very confusing. "At the age of six I told my mom not to speak to me in Amharic because I wanted to be like everyone else. It took me time to really accept the mix of the two. I love the both cultures and I do not need to choose."
For her Standard Bank Joy of Jazz performance in Johannesburg this weekend, Rada will be joined by her band, whose members are based in Tel Aviv. The city has a music scene that she describes as “very exciting”. Her band’s members are immigrants like her, bringing sounds from Egypt, Iraq, Tunisia, Morocco, Algiers and Poland.
Rada and her band have just finished recording her second album and will be performing the new material during her their two nights at the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz. The album, which is yet to be named, will be released in the coming year and will include more minimal sounds, with a bit of an electronic influence.
So what can we expect from Rada's performance in Johannesburg? “We want to bring good music, great energy and love,” she says.
Ester Rada and her band will be performing at the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz Festival tonight (16th September) and tomorrow night (17th September).
September 2016
Ester Rada is bringing sounds from the African Diaspora to the Joy of Jazz
Israeli-Ethiopian singer Ester Rada talks to Ntombenhle Shezi about her heritage, Nina Simone and coming to Africa for the first time.
Ester Rada says she has always loved music and her rich heritage has had an influence on her sound. As the daughter of immigrants who moved from Ethiopia to Israel, she was being influenced by a mixed heritage of music. “I heard a lot of music growing up at home: Ethiopian music, from the weddings, to stuff my mom plays, to Jewish prayers in the synagogue.“
Later on she discovered MTV, RnB and soul, and it all laid the foundation for her own sound, she says on the phone from Tel Aviv.
At the age of 13 her brother gave her first guitar. She taught herself how to play and started writing music. At 18 she joined the army as a singer, performing for troops almost every night. After the army, she tried a career as an actress, working for the National Theatre of Israel, but it would only be in 2012 that she would go back to her first love and recorded her first album, the critically acclaimed EP, Life Happens. The album is influenced by sounds including Ethiopian jazz, afro-beat, soul, funk and more.
After that came I Wish, a Nina Simone tribute that saw Rada cover four of her favourite Simone songs, interpreted with what she describes as an Ethiopian vibe. “Nina Simone is a big inspiration for me. I love her boldness and honesty. The tribute was my way of saying thank you.”
Her performance at the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz Festival will be Rada's first time visiting the continent. Although she has never been here before, she sees herself as part of the African Diaspora. “Living in Israel you stand out, especially when the colour of your skin is different and your culture too,” she says. She describes her upbringing as very confusing. "At the age of six I told my mom not to speak to me in Amharic because I wanted to be like everyone else. It took me time to really accept the mix of the two. I love the both cultures and I do not need to choose."
For her Standard Bank Joy of Jazz performance in Johannesburg this weekend, Rada will be joined by her band, whose members are based in Tel Aviv. The city has a music scene that she describes as “very exciting”. Her band’s members are immigrants like her, bringing sounds from Egypt, Iraq, Tunisia, Morocco, Algiers and Poland.
Rada and her band have just finished recording her second album and will be performing the new material during her their two nights at the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz. The album, which is yet to be named, will be released in the coming year and will include more minimal sounds, with a bit of an electronic influence.
So what can we expect from Rada's performance in Johannesburg? “We want to bring good music, great energy and love,” she says.
Ester Rada and her band will be performing at the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz Festival tonight (16th September) and tomorrow night (17th September).
The Standard Bank Joy of Jazz takes place at the Sandton Convention Centre from 15-17 September.
For more information: joyofjazz.co.za