Yemen Blues Set for Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, 10/27

The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts' Target World Music and Dance Series presents the band Yemen Blues on Sunday, October 27, with a special dance floor open for the occasion.

Conceived from vocalist Ravid Kahalani's vision, Yemen Blues mixes music of Yemen and West Africa with contemporary grooves from funk to mambo and the deep soul of old chants. Conjuring up a rich and diverse aural palette with the use of percussion, oud and horns, Yemen Blues coexists in both the past and present, at once timeless and modern. Yemen Blues delivers a passionate experience, ranging from Middle Eastern chants to a psychedelic rock performance - energizing the entire audience.

"Yemen Blues has an electric and colorful energy that compels you to dance," said Dayna Martinez, Director of World Music and Dance. "I knew I had to bring them to the Ordway."

The collective is a true collaboration of top master musicians, its core includes Ravid Kahalani, Itamar Doari, Rony Iwryn, and Itamar Borochov. Kahalani leads the group with his rock star persona but connects to the audience believing "it doesn't matter where you come from, your language is my language." The group comes from all parts of the world from Tel Aviv to New York to Uruguay. Yemen Blues geographically includes sounds from the Mississippi Delta, the Middle East and West Africa seamlessly and energetically, captivating its audience in a performance unlike anything else. As they bring together a wide mixture of musical sounds from throughout the world, the group provides a unique sound and vigor that is unmistakably their own.

Yemen Blues' myriad of influences carry over on stage, where the ensemble navigates from the boisterous to the romantic, from joyous celebration to anguished balladry. Horns fire off emphatically, percussion adds deep rhythmic textures, and the enchanting oud strums out subtle melodies.

Frankly, Yemen Blues is one of the most gripping and fun live bands in contemporary music today.