Global Ginga Presents........Jaffa Road!
In this episode, I speak to Aaron Lightstone about how the culture of Toronto is paving the way to more ensembles such as Jaffa Road. The band features some of Canada’s most exciting and innovative interpreters of intercultural music. Their sound takes listeners on a journey that is at once ancient and modern, acoustic and electronic, sacred and secular. It blends influences and inspirations from the worlds of Jewish music, classical Arabic and Indian music, modern jazz, blues, electronica, rock, pop, funk and dub.
The Jaffa Road vibe is ignited by the ethereal vocals of Tamar Ilana, the evocative oud & guitar playing of the band’s founder Aaron Lightstone, the visionary grooves of Justin Gray (bass & bass veena), the exhilarating sounds of saxophonist & flautist Sundar Viswanathan and the driving beat of drummer & percussionist Rakesh Tewari. For ‘Until When’, Jaffa Road has recently added Shawn Rompre on electronic percussion & effects to the mix. Along with a cadre of other top-notch guest artists, these stellar musicians challenge accepted notions of Jewish music while creating a new form of expression that breaks cultural boundaries.
In 2013, they won the Canadian Folk Music Award for World Music Group of the Year, and have been nominated for two Canadian Juno Awards for Best World Music Album. Jaffa Road has recently finished their much-anticipated third album Until When, which will be released in October 2021. The band’s trailblazing musical odyssey has taken them to festivals and theaters across North and South America.
Global Ginga Presents........Jaffa Road!
