Queenta-  a Jazz Festival dedicated to female creation. From across the world to Israel, from known international female artists to innovative, inspiring, local female creators. Three days of beauty, grace, and sensational talent.

Featuring: Carolina Cohen & Ariance Trujillo Duran (ineternational concert, Cuba), Anat Fort & Mayu Shviro, Chen Levy in tribute to Shoshana Damari, Meital Waldmann & Nitsan Kolko, Stav Achai & Roni Kaspi, Julia Feldman & Hagit Goldberg, Inbar Fridman, Ariel Bart, Katia Toobool & Hadar Noiberg.

Thursday 26.5

Katia Toobool & Hadar Noiberg

Tribute to Alice Coltrane 

Alice Coltrane, a pianist, harp player and composer, studied classical music and jazz. Aside from performing in John Coltrane’s ensemble, she was his second wife.

Alice experienced a long and fascinating life. She released dozens of albums and lead numerous ensembles. She forged ahead to a spiritual search, becoming the head of an Ashram. Towards the end of her life, she released several unique hymn albums. 

Coltrane’s music is beautiful, intense, profound, full of wisdom and emotion.

Fit for this tribute, two similarly gifted musicians have been selected:

Katia Toobool – Pianist, composer, and educator, graduate of the Rimon Music Academy and the New York New School University. Katia has performed with the finest musicians in Israel and abroad, in various local and international festivals. She teaches piano and jazz studies in Rimon Music Academy and in the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. 

Hadar Noiberg – ASCAP award winner for composition and the representative artists of the flute company Haynes. Her concerts are a worldwide success, performing with ensembles led by Hadar herself. Noiberg gracefully combines jazz and world music, creating her own name and sound within the jazz and world music scenes in the US and abroad- since she moved to New-York at 21. Combining her background of classical music and her ability to improvise across a wide range of genres, Noiberg has developed her own, personal style.

Their encounter, and the life the two shall breathe into Alice Coltrane’s music is truly intriguing. 

Ensemble- piano (Katia Toobool) and flute (Hadar Noiberg).

Concept- Tribute to the jazz and spirit icon, Alice Coltrane 

Chen Levy

Tribute to Shoshana Damari

Chen Levy, musician, singer, creator, and art director of the festival.

Concerning Shoshana Damari and the inspiration for the concert, Chen writes:

“Shoshana Damari is a cultural icon. She was a feminist before the term was coined, she toured, she was self-accomplished career woman- for which she paid quite a price. Watching the movie about her, I wept, and was filled with inspiration. This is a woman who knows what she wants, who always knew what she’s asking for to happen to her, and knows how to fulfill her wishes. She is neither afraid of her radiance, nor of the price she might pay. The path is so clear to her, and considering the time in which she performed, to me it’s no less than magnificent. Beyond her impressive and fruitful activity, I was especially moved by her collaboration with the Dizzy Gillespie orchestra in a Canadian jazz festival, and her close relationship with Nina Simone. She reminds me that I’m entitled to dream and fulfill these dreams. She reminds me that when you are true to yourself- there are no limits. Suddenly, a common language could be discovered between simple, folk music in Hebrew and complex jazz in English- connection is the name of the game. That is the reason I wish to explore her music, her character, maybe some of it will latch on to me ”. 

Chen Levy – Vocals | Nir Kleiner – Drums | Daniel Harlev – Double Bass | Orel Oshrat – Piano

Concept- tribute to Shoshana Damari’s greatest songs, jazz musical arrangement. 

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Julia Feldman & Hagit Golberg

Tribute to the Album- “Duets”, by Betty Carter & Carmen McRae 

Within Carmen & Betty’s album, one may find plenty of freedom which existed between these two luminaries. 

The humor they allow themselves to bring forth on stage in unique nonchalance,  the simplicity and playfulness, are probably achieved after long years of life experience. 

Hagit Goldberg- musical and jazz singer. Besides her knowledge and expertise, Hagit is a lively and spirited musician.

Julia Feldman- singer, pianist and creator. 

Adventurous and drawn to improvisation.

Ensemble- Hagit Goldberg (Vocals), Julia Feldman (Vocals), Katia Toobool (piano), Assaf Hakimi (double-bass), Shay Zelman (drums). 

Concept – American jazz, album tribute.