Ofra Haza

Ofra Haza (עָפְרָה חָזָה born November 19 1957, died February 23 2000) was a popular Yemenite Israeli singer, actress and international recording artist.

Born the youngest of nine children, in the poor Tel Aviv suburb of Hatikvah, she became an instant local and then national success story; the subject of great pride for many Israelis of Yemenite origin.

Her voice has been described as mezzo-soprano, with near flawless tonal quality, capable of lending itself to a variety of musical styles with apparent ease. It is thought likely that Haza's voice had the most upper harmonic overtones of any singer in history, reaching as many as 32 on some songs, such as "Love Song" from the album Shaday (1988).

Inspired by a love of Yemenite-Jewish culture, her music somehow bridged the divide between the Jewish and Arabic peoples and her appeal quickly spread to a wide Middle Eastern audience. As her career progressed, the multi-lingual Haza was able to switch between traditional and more commercial singing styles without jeopardising her credibility. The music too, cleverly fused together elements of east and west instrumentation, orchestration and dance-beat. Success was to follow in Europe and the Americas and across the span of her singing career, she collected many platinum and gold discs.

Early Career

Opportunity first presented itself for the young Haza when, at the age of twelve, she joined the local theatre troupe and manager, Bezalel Aloni spotted her exceptional singing talent. He staged many of his productions around Haza as the centrepiece and as her career developed, became her long time manager and mentor. At the age of 19, she was Israel's first bubble-gum pop princess and retrospectively, music journalists even described her as the 'Madonna' of the east.

Representing Israel, she made her international debut at the Eurovision Song Contest 1983 with the song "Chai" and finished a close second to the Luxemburg entry.

By the time she had completed her military service in 1979, Aloni's protégé had matured as a singer and was ready to launch a solo career.

There were many successful recordings in her homeland, including her fist album, recorded when she was only 18. Her Israeli hits included 1979's "Shir ha-Frekha" ('The Teaser Song', or 'The Tart'), the theme song from the movie Shlager (in which she also acted) and "le-Orekh ha-Yam" ("Along the Shore").

But it was with the crossover album Yemenite Songs (1985), that Haza took her first real steps towards global appeal, combining traditional orchestration with lyrics drawn from the poems of a 17th century rabbi and western dance beats. The album was a big hit both at home and abroad and contributed to the formation of a whole new music category, nowadays commonly referred to as 'world music'.

When asked about her musical roots in an interview on KCRW-FM radio (1993, Santa Monica), Haza spoke of her Yemeni parents, a childhood filled with music and singing and a passion for traditional Yemenite songs, picked up from her mother. Questioned about the theatre troupe, she spoke of poverty and the total neglect of successive governments for the Hatikva region. And how, by way of protest, the community had rallied to create something positive and dramatic; something that would make others sit up and take notice of a forgotten neighbourhood. Throughout the interview, Aloni can be heard in the background, adding information and curiously, correcting Haza about her age (by subtracting two years) at a particular juncture in her life. Indeed, opinion appears to be divided on whether her year of birth was 1957 or 1959, but the former seems most likely, given that most artists strive to appear younger.

International Artist

Her greatest international recognition came with the single "Im Nin' Alu", taken from the album Shaday (1988), which won the New Music Award for Best International Album Of The Year. For years to come, this song would be extensively re-released, re-mixed and sampled. The single made only a brief appearance in the UK top 40 singles chart, but became a dancefloor favourite across Europe and the USA, topping the German charts for an incredible nine weeks. Subsequent singles were also given the dance-beat / MTV-style video treatment, most notably, "Galbi", "Daw Da Hiya" and "Mata Hari", but none quite matched the runaway success of her first hit.

Haza also received critical acclaim for the albums Desert Wind (1989), Kirya (1992), Ofra Haza (1997) and for her collection of children's songs. Kirya (co-produced by Don Was) received a Grammy nomination.

Collaborations And Performances

Her collaborative work with internationally established acts included the single "Temple of Love (Touched by the Hand of Ofra Haza)", recorded with the Leeds-based post-punk band The Sisters of Mercy in 1992. Thomas Dolby co-produced Yemenite Songs and Haza guested on his album Astronauts And Heretics (1992 - singing on the track "That's Why People Fall In Love"). She recorded "My Love Is for Real" with Paula Abdul in 1995 and on Sarah Brightman's album Harem (2003), Haza's vocals were included on "Mysterious Days", thanks to an idea by Brightman's partner Frank Peterson (ex-Enigma), who produced both Harem and the album, Ofra Haza (1997).

From the Kirya album, Iggy Pop, a friend of Don Was, performed the narration on "Daw Da Hiya" and Haza joined him and a host of other stars for the video and single release "Give Peace A Chance" in 1991. She also sang on the soundtracks of Wild Orchid (1990), Queen Margot (1994) and The Prince of Egypt (1998). On the soundtrack of The Governess (1998), Haza is the featured singer on seven of the twelve tracks and worked closely with film music composer Edward Shearmur. Towards the end of 1998, she joined the late Pakistani virtuoso Ali Akbar Khan on the album The Prayer Cycle, a celebration of the musical heritage of the Judaic and Muslim worlds.

As a featured background vocalist, Haza's voice was recorded or sampled for Black Dog's "Babylon" single, Eric B and Rakim's "Paid In Full (Coldcut Remix)" and for the M/A/R/R/S hit "Pump Up The Volume".

Covers of songs by other artists included the Carole King / James Taylor classic "You've Got A Friend", Madonna's "Open Your Heart" and Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir".

There were many distinguished live performances and Haza spoke with fond memories of her visits to Japan and Turkey. Notable too, was her performance at the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony in Oslo, where she appeared alongside Sinead O'Connor, a noted peace campaigner. "Paint Box" was written specially for the event. Her 1990 live recording, Montreux Jazz Festival was released in 1998.

Obituary

Ofra Haza died in 2000 - the cause being widely reported as organ failure or pneumonia, arising from AIDS complications. Her family declined to confirm or deny these reports however, stating that it was Haza's wish that the matter should remain private. Inevitably, this led to much media speculation and suspicion, during which time more elaborate theories have duly emerged, alleging government conspiracies and cover-ups.

After her death was announced, Israeli radio stations played non-stop retrospectives of her music and Prime Minister Ehud Barak praised her work as a cultural emissary, commenting that she also represented the Israeli success story - "Ofra emerged from the Hatikva slums to reach the peak of Israeli culture. She has left a mark on us all".

She was succeeded by her husband since 1997, businessman Doron Ashkenazi, who died in 2002.

Albums

1974 - Ahava Rishona (with Shechunat Hatikvah Workshop Theatre)
1976 - Ve-hutz Mizeh Hakol Beseder (with Shechunat Hatikvah Workshop Theatre)
1977 - Atik Noshan (with Shechunat Hatikvah Workshop Theatre)
1978 - Shir HaShirim Besha'ashu'im (with Shechunat Hatikvah Workshop Theatre)
1980 - Al Ahavot Shelanu
1981 - Bo Nedaber
1982 - Pituyim
1982 - Ofra Haza le-yeladim
1983 - Hai
1983 - Shirey Moledet 1
1984 - Bayt Ham
1984 - Shirey Teyman (Yemenite Songs) / Fifty Gates of Wisdom
1985 - Adamah
1986 - Yamim Nishbarim
1986 - Shirey Moledet 2
1987 - Shirey Moledet 3
1988 - Shaday
1988 - Yemenite Love
1989 - Desert Wind
1992 - Kirya
1993 - Oriental Nights
1994 - Kol Haneshama
1995 - Queen in Exile (unreleased)
1997 - Ofra Haza
1998 - Montreux Jazz Festival (live - recorded 1990)

Compilations

1987 - Album HaZahav (Golden Album)
2000 - Manginat Halev
2004 - Manginat Halev 2

Soundtracks

1990 - Wild Orchid
1994 - La Reine Margot (Queen Margot)
1998 - The Prince of Egypt
1998 - The Governess

Singles

Year	Title	Chart positions				Album
Year	Title	US Hot 100	US Modern Rock	US Mainstream Rock	UK	Album
1988	"Im Nin' Alu"	-	#18	-	#15	Shaday

Trivia

On February 3, 1987, Haza survived a crash in a Cessna aircraft on the Israeli-Jordanian border.

References

External Links