Jo Amar

After the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 many in the new nation wanted to create a style of national music that would belong uniquely to Israel. The songs written in this new "Israeli" style combined familiar Eastern European motifs, traditional Sephardic melodies and more exotic Middle Eastern and North African influences. This new musical style became known as Mizrahi music.

A pioneer of this new style of Israeli music was Josef "Jo" Amar, a noted Moroccan-born Israeli singer and hazzan, who began his singing career in the late 1940s in Morocco before moving to Israel in 1956.

Jo Amar's love of Arabic music was strong and he made several recordings in Arabic. But it was his Hebrew recordings which introduced Mizrahi music to mainstream Israeli culture and was responsible, to a great extent, for its growing popularity.

By 1970 he was living in New York singing professionally as a well-known cantor. He spent the last two decades of his life in his beloved Israel where his artistry brought him many honors and awards.

Ben Shalev wrote this in Jo Amar ‘s July 2, 2009 obituary on Haaretz.com: “His songs still gladden the heart and bring excitement into the lives of many, just as they did decades ago, and they have been an important factor in the acceptance in Israel of Mizrahi music."

 

Music in this collection courtesy of Menorah Records


Total: 32

25 Years of Israel in Songs
An Evening with Jo Amar in Old Jerusalem
Bartsalonah; Havah Libi Havah!
Dance Dance Dance with Neginah Vol. 1
Folklore Songs
Haguim Umoadim: A Treasury of Sepharadi Song Featu...
Hebrew Songs in Sephardic Style
Israel's 'Songs of Victory'
Israeli Singing Personality (Sensation)
Jo Amar - Dynamic Singing Personality
Jo Amar American Debut Carnegie Hall
Jo Amar American Debut Carnegie Hall
Jo Amar Sings Chassidic Nigunim and Hebrew Concert...
Jo Amar Sings Only For You
Jo Amar sings Yismah Moshe and other Sephardi Sabb...
Jo Amar's Chassidic Rhapsody with Sephardic Soul
Mitzat Ha'Pismonim
Mivchar Shirei 1967
Mordechai Ben David HASC Volume Two
Oriental Cantorial Gems
Oriental Favorites
Oriental Songs
Shabbat-Mozaei Shabbat: A Treasury of Sepharadi So...
Shir Ha Shikur
Shir Lekhol Et: A Treasury of Sepharadi Song Featu...
Simhat Torah: A Treasury of Sepharadi Song Featuri...
Songs for the Jewish-American Jet Set
Songs of Israel
Songs of Love & Peace
The Best of Jo Amar
The Return of Jo Amar Better Than Ever
Yamim Noraiim - Jo Amar