Today’s Enlightening Entertainment will be presented in Hebrew and English, with subtitles in Arabic, Aulacese (Vietnamese), Chinese, English, French, German, Hebrew, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Mongolian, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Thai.

Welcome artistic viewers to our program today featuring the acclaimed Shem Tov Levi Ensemble from Israel. Founded by the renowned Shem Tov Levi, the band has been performing its unique ethno-jazz music since 2003 to the delight of audiences around the globe.

My name is Shem Tov Levi, and I am an Israeli, I was born in Israel and my band also. We are five musicians from Israel, we are seven years together, playing together, like a band, and are playing my music and also other music for all the world. Many, many kinds of music from all the world.

Hi, my name is Tzur Ben Ze’ev, and I play contrabass, double bass, and I’m a musician for a lot of years. I’m coming now from Israel but I studied in the United States, in Moneton School of Music, classical music, and I play lots of kinds of music, classical, jazz, ethnic. And I also write music and I’m a musical producer.

Golden peacock flying in the sky Golden peacock flying in the sky Golden peacock flying in the sky Golden peacock flying in the sky

Born in 1950, Shem Tov Levi has been an iconic figure in Israeli culture, excelling as a composer and flute player. Since the 1970s, he has established himself as one of the country’s leading musicians, performing with the popular bands, Kzat Acheret and Tzlil Mechuvan.

Many of his songs have become Israeli classics and his moving musical scores are featured in dozens of films. His composition for the film, “Circle of Dreams,” received the Israeli Film Academy Award in 2001. Four years later, Shem Tov Levi was honored by Israel’s Society of Authors, Composers and Music Publishers (ACUM) with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Shem Tov Levi, the leader of the band, is also a very famous composer in Israel. When I was a kid, I used to listen to Shem Tov Levi, and I was, “Wow, I wish I can play with him sometimes,” and thank God my dream came true. And seven years ago he called me and he asked me if I want play with him.

Of course I told him definitely, without any question. We started to rehearse and we worked on our first album, and it’s seven wonderful years. We play all over the world, also a lot in Israel, we just released our second album, and I’m very proud to be a member of this group.

Although a young nation, Israel is infused with the rich cultures of ancient lands through the varied backgrounds of immigrants who settled in the country such as those from the Balkans, Greece, Iraq, Yemen, Russia and more. Inspired by the great diversity of Israel’s musical roots, Shem Tov Levi incorporated these ethnic influences into the unique sounds of his band.

My family came to Israel from Bulgaria, and they have the culture, Balkan music from Bulgaria, from that area. It’s very, very, very happy music, and a lot of rhythm and it influenced me, and also they have a European culture, because Bulgaria it’s in Europe, so they know a lot of operas and classical music, so it’s also the mix of this.

I’ve had in my childhood, Bulgarian music and classical music, you know Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, and it inspired me very much. And also I was born in some neighborhood of Yemenites, so they have in their weddings and this they have their music, so it’s also coming to my ears.

Then when I was a little bit grown up, 18 years old, I start to listen to records from jazz, American jazz and the Beatles and other good music from the world. Also rock like Eric Clapton and BB King, and all kinds of good musicians, Stevie Wonder, from my age, I am 60 years old. And all of this coming inside together.

I will go to another land I will go to another land I will sail to another land I will find a different city for me Better than this one by far Because here I fail Weak and giving up Because here my heart shrivels And no spirit awakens in me Will the spirit wake in me
To overcome the weakness Will I have the power in me To find another place Because here my life crumbles like a wave of ruins I wast my life for emptiness and nothing
You won’t find different cities You won’t sail in a different sea The city will always follow after your footsteps Even if you wander far away You won’t be free From the city where you spent your youth

And one of the very interesting points over here is because everybody over here in the group is, aside from being a very good musician, I’m not talking about myself, but everybody’s very talented, and you know, is a virtuoso player, but the best quality is that they are listening to each other, and we’re having fun together.

If you come on the bus with us, you see we are laughing a lot, we are talking a lot, we are teasing each other, we’re like a family, you can say it’s a family. So, also musically, it’s very gentlemanly way to approach music, it’s by listening and sometimes you have to play less, and sometimes you have a solo, so you play solo, and you sing your melody.

Please tune in to Supreme Master Television’s Enlightening Entertainment next Tuesday for part 2 of our two-part series featuring the eclectic Shem Tov Levi Ensemble from Israel.

Gracious viewers, it was a pleasure having you with us for today’s program. Words of Wisdom is up next after Noteworthy News here on Supreme Master Television. May pristine melodies from Heaven uplift all hearts and spirits.