For perspective’s sake, I feel like I should share with you some background details about this concert review, given how I felt about it beforehand.

My very old and very Jewish grandparents—who rightfully live in Boca Raton, Fla.—told me they had bought tickets to a concert during the time I would be visiting them over spring vacation. All they knew, they said, was that it was an Israeli artist who was supposed to be “wonderful.” That, of course, meant she would be forgettable. And to add insult to my already painful injury, I didn’t find out until the night of the concert that her name was Din Din Aviv and that the concert was at their temple, B’nai Torah. So now, not only was the concert going to make me want to pull my hair out (I would have to remove my kippah before doing so), the name of the artist sounded like a Chinese buffet (which, to be fair, is still pretty Jewish).

But the concert itself proceeded to defy all my expectations.

I didn’t learn until 15 minutes into the concert that Din Din Aviv has had a No. 1 hit on the Israeli pop charts and that some of her songs were co-written with new superstar Yael Naim. As far as the music was concerned, it was surprisingly good. The musicians behind her were very skilled and Din Din herself had a very beautiful voice.

From a jazz student’s perspective, the solos the musicians performed (which were very frequent for the nature of the genre) were at a very high level of difficulty and theory, and would intrigue even a highly educated jazz listener. The keyboardist used great sounds and pads that fit the style perfectly, and the bassist and drummer laid down the rhythm section very solidly, including some nice lines from the bass.

What surprised me the most was that the band had a cellist, and before the concert I was very skeptical. But the cellist fit the style perfectly and soloed very well. All the songs had a pop feel to them while staying true to the roots of the music from the region, although the Middle Eastern feel seemed recycled and clichéd at times.

While the sound got slightly repetitive as the concert progressed, it was a very interesting and intimate sound that’s hard to come across. Two of the songs were written by the drummer, Din Din’s husband, and included music set to the lyrics of King David when they played a musical version of the prayer “Hallelujah.” They ended the concert by playing the famous and powerful “Shir L’Ahavah” with their signature Middle Eastern pop vibe.

Overall, the concert seemed longer than it actually was because of the repetition that seemed to dominate most of her songs, but it had a refreshing verve and quality to it. The future of her American tour was not very clear, but seeing Din Din Aviv was a stimulating experience, if only to get a taste of what makes the Holy Land groove these days.

For more info on Din Din Aviv, visit her MySpace page.

Jonathan Cohen is 15 years old and lives in Providence, R.I. He goes to the Wheeler School and enjoys playing music. He’s also a member of the JVibe Teen Advisory Board.