Labor Day
Jazz Details
The Detroit Jazz Festival runs Friday-Monday, Sept. 3-6. The Anat Cohen Tentet will perform 4-5:05 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 5. To get the livestreaming schedule, go to detroitjazzfest.org.
Oded Lev-Ari
Oded Lev-Ari and his wife, Amy Cervini, originate programs from their living room.
ARTS&LIFE MUSIC
See Israeli composerarranger Oded Lev-Ari in the livestreamed Detroit Jazz Festival. SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
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omposer-arranger Oded Lev-Ari, musical director of the Anat Cohen Tentet, had been looking forward to appearing before a live audience at last year’s Detroit Jazz Festival when COVID-19 forced cancellation of the performance. This year, he again looked forward to appearing live with the Tentet when COVID19 and area construction changed the format. Although based in Detroit, performances will be livestreamed — the Tentet at 4 p.m. Sept. 5. While still disappointing, this year’s Labor Day weekend audience has one advantage: Instead of having to choose among performances running simultaneously at Detroit venues, they can watch all performances as they run consecutively, Friday-Monday, Sept. 3-6. “This is the first time we’ll be playing together as a group since early 2020, and that’s very exciting for us,” said Lev-Ari, 46, whose career launched in Israel. “Basically, we’ll be playing material from our two albums, Happy Song and the Grammynominated Triple Helix. “There’s a substantial number of originals written by both Anat Cohen and me, but we play songs by other composers that we feel are good fits for the ensemble. When we got together as a group, the intention was to perform as many types of music as possible.” One Lev-Ari number performed by the Tentet is “Frills and Thrills,” written for the ensemble’s first album. It features a folk-like melody that turns into a rock anthem ballad with clarinet and electric guitar solos. “The unexpected thing was that I brought the composition to the band with the clarinet and electric guitar solos dovetailing,” Lev-Ari said. “Certainly, there is not the feeling that it’s overpowered by the guitar.” continued on page 74
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