Yair Nitzani ( he, יָאִיר נִיצָּנִי; born August 22, 1958) is an Israeli musician, songwriter, TV host and comedian.
Early life
Yair Nitzani was born in
Beersheba
Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...
in 1958. He is of Italian-Jewish descent. After serving in the
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...
as a broadcaster on
Galei Zahal in the 1980s, he joined the rock group
T-Slam
T-Slam (also Tislam, Hebrew: תיסלם) was an influential Israeli rock band, founded in 1980 by Dani Bassan, Izhar Ashdot and Yair Nitzani. The band dissolved on October 23, 1983, but has reunited at least three times since then.
History
T-Sla ...
as a keyboardist and songwriter.
/ref> Nitzani wrote some of the band's most famous songs, among them "Radio Chazak" (Loud Radio), "Partzufa Shel HaMdina" (The Country's Face), "Tnu Li Rokenrol" (Give Me Rock n' Roll), "Od Pgisha" (Another Date) "Chatzavim Porchim" (The Sea Squills are Blooming), and LirOt Ota Hayom (See Her Today). His identifying mark in the band was a faucet glued to his forehead.
Career
After T-Slam disbanded, Nitzani joined Erez Tal
Erez Moshe Tal ( he, ארז טל; born 27 July 1961) is an Israeli television host.
Early life
Born as Erez Moshe Ben-Tulila in Tel Aviv, Israel, to Jewish parents. His father, Aharon Ben-Tulila, immigrated from Algeria, whereas his mother Edn ...
and Avri Gilad
Avri Gilad ( he, אברי גלעד; born 21 November 1962) is an Israeli media personality.
Avraham Kwastler (later "Avri Gilad") started his professional career in the mid-1980s as a host on Israel Defense Forces Radio. He has hosted many tele ...
on the show ''Ma Yesh'' (What's Up) on Israeli Army Radio, and joined ''HaOlam HaErev'' (The World Tonight) on Israeli Channel 2.
As CEO of the Hed Artzi
Hed Arzi Music ( he, הד ארצי, meaning: ''Echo of My Country'') is an Israeli record label founded in 1946.
History
The company was founded in Tel Aviv in 1946 as a partnership of Zvi Levin (also known as Hirsch Lewin) with Josef Grossman, ...
recording company, he discovered new musical talent in Israel, such as the band Ha-Chaverim shel Natasha and the singer Adam
Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...
. It was Nitzani's idea to mix Ofra Haza
Bat-Sheva Ofra Haza ( he, בת-שבע עפרה חזה; 19 November 1957 – 23 February 2000), known as Ofra Haza (), was an Israeli singer, songwriter, actress, and Grammy Award-nominated recording artist commonly known in the Western world as ...
's Yemenite songs with a modern beat. He persuaded Izhar Ashdot to produce Galbi and Im Ninalu.
Nitzani was voted to the board of directors of Acum (Israel's copyright society). In 2002, he was a consultant of content to Comverse. He was an adviser to Tunewiki, a leading app for lyrics.
As a soloist, he gained fame with his comic song "Hashem Tamid" and a parody version of Brother Louie by Modern Talking
Modern Talking was a German pop music duo consisting of arranger, songwriter and producer Dieter Bohlen and singer Thomas Anders. They have been referred to as Germany's most successful pop duo, and have had a number of hit singles, reaching th ...
called "Shir Hamangal" (The Barbecue Song) with the actress "Gani Tamir".
From 2003 to 2005, Nitzani wrote and hosted three seasons of ''Ahorei HaChadashot'' (literally, "The Behind of the News") on Israeli Channel 10.
He is the owner of a music company, Yair Nitzani Music.Kokhav Nolad
''Kokhav Nolad'' ( he, כוכב נולד) (meaning ''A Star Is Born'') was an Israeli reality television show searching for talented new vocalists, based on the British ''Pop Idol'' model. Since its debut on Israeli Channel 2 in 2003, Kokhav Nol ...
'', the Israeli version of ''American Idol
''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...
''.
Discography
* T-Slam – ''Loud Radio''
* T-Slam – ''T-Slam 2''
* T-Slam – ''For Collectors Only''
* ''T-Slam with the Symphonic Orchestra of Rishon le Zion'', live
* Singles – "Hashem Tamid" and "Shir Hamangal"
* "Shiro Shel Shafshaf", performed by Meir Banai
Meir Banai ( he, מאיר בנאי; 5 July 1961 – 12 January 2017) was an Israeli musician, singer, and songwriter.
Biography
Meir Banai was born in Beersheba in 1961, the son of Yitzhak Banai, to a traditional Jewish family which has pr ...
, lyrics by Nitzani
Filmography
* ''Shovrim'', directed by Avi Nesher
Avi Nesher ( Hebrew: אבי נשר; born 13 December 1952) is an Israeli film producer, film director, screenwriter and actor.
Biography
Avi Nesher was born and raised in Ramat Gan, Israel. The child of a Romanian-born diplomat, and a mother w ...
(1984)
* ''Avoda BaEnaim'', directed by Yigal Shilon Yigal and Yigael are given names. People with those names include:
*Yigal Allon (1918–80), Israeli politician, acting Prime Minister, a commander of the Palmach, and general
*Yigal Amir (born 1970), Israeli assassin of Prime Minister of Israel Yi ...
(1989)
See also
*Music of Israel
The music of Israel is a combination of Jewish and non-Jewish music traditions that have come together over the course of a century to create a distinctive musical culture. For almost 150 years, musicians have sought original stylistic elements ...
*Culture of Israel
The roots of the culture of Israel developed long before modern Israel's independence in 1948, and traces back to ancient Israel ( 1000 BCE). It reflects Jewish culture, Jewish history in the diaspora, the ideology of the Zionist movement that de ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nitzani, Yair
1958 births
Living people
Israeli Jews
Israeli singer-songwriters
Israeli male singer-songwriters
Israeli people of Italian-Jewish descent