Avner Strauss
Encyclopedia
Avner Strauss (born 1954 in Jerusalem, Israel
) is an Israeli music producer, musician
, guitar
ist singer/songwriter and poet
. He has also written books and music for children.
at age 14, and began playing in rock bands in the late 1960s
. In 1971 he formed the first Israeli Blues band, and wrote one of the first Israeli Twelve-bar blues; " I got a Telephone, Ain't got no one to call ".
Drawn to jazz guitar, Avner went to Boston in 1975 to study at the Berklee College of Music
(Composition, graduated in 1978).
Upon returning to Israel in 1978, he began recording and teaching music, and received an appointment as a guitar professor at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance
.
For few years after he was the advisor of the Israeli guitar company "Yuval" and endorsed their guitars giving concerts (1980 -1984) in the frankfurt trade fair "Musikmesse".
Avner Strauss' musical instrument store in Jerusalem ("Effect") in the 1980s was the first Israeli store dedicated solely to guitars and a friendly meeting place and general resource center for any and all musicians who dropped by.
Although he started out as an Avant Garde guitarist in Jerusalem in the late '60s, today Strauss plays jazz
, flamenco
, classical, folk
, bluegrass
and blues
guitar.
Avner has published two illustrated story books for young children ("The Porcupine", "Mr. Frog") and one book of poetry for adults ("Distance and Other Measures").
He has produced three audio CDs of original Hebrew songs, including a live CD of Blues in Hebrew, and a CD and animated DVD of his original children's songs.
Avner also produced an instrumental guitar album ("Courtyard", MCI records 1990) that highlights his many different musical facets and playing styles.
During the years Strauss devoted many years to the research of catalogs and collecting whistle
s, he published hundreds of articles about the subject and about the History of whistle manufacturers in the 19th Century and is considered one of the world's foremost authorities on the subject of collecting whistles, some of his articles and samples of his collection which might be the largest known, can be found on the Whistle Museum.
Avner Strauss is the founder of "Strauss Mifaaley Tarbut" and Sal Tarbut Strauss
(Hebrew:"סל תרבות שטראוס") that were involved with education for the arts in the educational system in Israel since 1986, producing music, dance, theatre, cinema, literature and plastic arts shows and activities for schools.
.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
) is an Israeli music producer, musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist singer/songwriter and poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
. He has also written books and music for children.
Biography
Strauss picked up the electric guitarElectric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
at age 14, and began playing in rock bands in the late 1960s
1960s
The 1960s was the decade that started on January 1, 1960, and ended on December 31, 1969. It was the seventh decade of the 20th century.The 1960s term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends across the globe...
. In 1971 he formed the first Israeli Blues band, and wrote one of the first Israeli Twelve-bar blues; " I got a Telephone, Ain't got no one to call ".
Drawn to jazz guitar, Avner went to Boston in 1975 to study at the Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
(Composition, graduated in 1978).
Upon returning to Israel in 1978, he began recording and teaching music, and received an appointment as a guitar professor at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance
Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance
The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance , founded in 1958 as the Rubin Academy of Music, is located on the Givat Ram campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.-History:...
.
For few years after he was the advisor of the Israeli guitar company "Yuval" and endorsed their guitars giving concerts (1980 -1984) in the frankfurt trade fair "Musikmesse".
Avner Strauss' musical instrument store in Jerusalem ("Effect") in the 1980s was the first Israeli store dedicated solely to guitars and a friendly meeting place and general resource center for any and all musicians who dropped by.
Although he started out as an Avant Garde guitarist in Jerusalem in the late '60s, today Strauss plays jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....
, classical, folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
and blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
guitar.
Avner has published two illustrated story books for young children ("The Porcupine", "Mr. Frog") and one book of poetry for adults ("Distance and Other Measures").
He has produced three audio CDs of original Hebrew songs, including a live CD of Blues in Hebrew, and a CD and animated DVD of his original children's songs.
Avner also produced an instrumental guitar album ("Courtyard", MCI records 1990) that highlights his many different musical facets and playing styles.
During the years Strauss devoted many years to the research of catalogs and collecting whistle
Whistle
A whistle or call is a simple aerophone, an instrument which produces sound from a stream of forced air. It may be mouth-operated, or powered by air pressure, steam, or other means...
s, he published hundreds of articles about the subject and about the History of whistle manufacturers in the 19th Century and is considered one of the world's foremost authorities on the subject of collecting whistles, some of his articles and samples of his collection which might be the largest known, can be found on the Whistle Museum.
Avner Strauss is the founder of "Strauss Mifaaley Tarbut" and Sal Tarbut Strauss
Sal Tarbut Strauss
Sal Tarbut Strauss is an educational program founded in Israel by Avner Strauss. The program is renowned throughout the Israeli public education system...
(Hebrew:"סל תרבות שטראוס") that were involved with education for the arts in the educational system in Israel since 1986, producing music, dance, theatre, cinema, literature and plastic arts shows and activities for schools.
Discography
- "On A Slow Flame" 1987 Vinyl Album , 11 tracks (Eastronics)
- "On A Slow Flame" 2nd edition 1995 CD, with 5 Bonus tracks (Hed Artzi)
- "Courtyard " (Instrumental guitar) 1990 (M.C.I Records)
- "In Jerusalem, the Heavens Are Nearer" 1990 (Phonokol)
- "1/2% Blues " 1995 (Hed Artzi)
- "Friends of The Rhino" 2004 (CD and DVD )(Strauss Ltd.)
Poetry
Avner Strauss poems have been published in various magazines among these are; Mantis 1976, April 2010, February 2011 issues of Moznaim and in the Jewish poetry anthology "Voices Within the Ark" along with poems by his grandfather Ludwig Strauss and great grandfather Martin BuberMartin Buber
Martin Buber was an Austrian-born Jewish philosopher best known for his philosophy of dialogue, a form of religious existentialism centered on the distinction between the I-Thou relationship and the I-It relationship....
.
- Birds Of The Mind
- Chameleons Of The Heart.
- Distance and Other Measures. Poems 1976-1992, Hebrew, (Yaron Golan publications).
Children
- The Hedgehog Who Fell in Love with a Hairbrush 2005
- http://translate.google.co.il/translate?hl=en&sl=iw&u=http://www.text.org.il/index.php%3Fbook%3D0607014&ei=Ofe4ScX0Mc6osAbTiaWbCA&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=1&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3D%25D7%2590%25D7%2591%25D7%25A0%25D7%25A8%2B%25D7%25A9%25D7%2598%25D7%25A8%25D7%2590%25D7%2595%25D7%25A1%2B%25D7%259E%25D7%25A8%2B%25D7%25A6%25D7%25A4%25D7%25A8%25D7%2593%25D7%25A2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DGMr. Frog 2005 (Strauss Books).]
See also
- Sal Tarbut StraussSal Tarbut StraussSal Tarbut Strauss is an educational program founded in Israel by Avner Strauss. The program is renowned throughout the Israeli public education system...
- Ludwig Strauss (DE wikipedia)
- "Touched By the Blues" Stories of the Unsung Heroes of the Blues
- http://translate.google.co.il/translate?hl=en&sl=iw&u=http://mooma.mako.co.il/Discs.asp%3FArtistId%3D14872%26AlbumId%3D18759&ei=iOqMTZDEKYLh4wa8sIi4Cw&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CCgQ7gEwAQ&prev=/search%3Fq%3D%25D7%2590%25D7%2591%25D7%25A0%25D7%25A8%2B%25D7%25A9%25D7%2598%25D7%25A8%25D7%2590%25D7%2595%25D7%25A1%2B%25D7%259E%25D7%2595%25D7%259E%25D7%2594%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:he:IE-SearchBox%26rlz%3D1I7SKPB_en%26prmd%3DivnsoAvner Strauss Biography and Discography In the Mooma Encyclopedya]
- The Nation 1989 With Paul Stookey Concert Review 1989
External links
- Avner Strauss home website.
- Whistle Museum
- Avner Strauss guitar instrumentals samples.
- Sal Tarbut Strauss's founded Israeli cultural venue.
- Avner Strauss Fingersyle Guitar Instrumentals
- Avner Strauss - from WN Network. WorldNews
- Scans from newspapers and magazines