Noa's new world citizenship

ISRAELI POP chanteuse Noa has coined the perfect term to describe herself -- and other musical artists like her: "new world citizens."

"We're people who have roots in many places," the singer-songwriter says. "We may have a father who comes from one place, a mother from another place. We speak several languages. We're a mishmash. And we're everywhere."

Indeed. Born in Israel to Yemenite parents, Noa was taken to New York at age 1 and lived there until she was 17, when she moved back to Israel. As a performer -- known in Israel by her given name, Achinoam Nini -- she has been touring the world since the early '90s, usually in the company of Gil Dor, the guitarist-composer who has been her close musical associate for nearly two decades.

Noa this week makes a pair of rare Southland appearances -- on Saturday as one of the Israeli musical all-stars performing in the celebration "Israel 60 at the Kodak," and on Monday in a full performance of her own ensemble at the Irvine Barclay Theatre.

Despite her strong identification as an Israeli artist, however, Noa writes and sings most of her songs in English, and mentions '60s songwriters Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Paul Simon and James Taylor as primary influences. Growing up in Riverdale, in the Bronx, and attending a Hebrew school, she resisted both the Hebrew language and the Israeli folk songs that her parents frequently played at home.

"Like every immigrant child," she says, "I rebelled against my parents' culture when I was young. And even though I've lived in Israel since I was 17, I didn't really get around to embracing it until I did the music on my new CD, 'Genes and Jeans.' "

There, this new world citizen embraced the Old World. Inspired by her desire to honor her grandparents and her Yemenite ancestry, she assembled a program highlighted by old Hebrew/Yemenite songs, viewed through the rich, colorful filter of Noa's contemporary perspective. And that duality is underscored by the pun in the CD title -- the narrow circle of one's own gene pool contrasted with the garb that is, she says, "the unifying symbol of the new world."

"How could it be otherwise," Noa says with a gentle laugh. "I mean, look at me with my Arabic face, my Jewish religion, my blue jeans and my New York accent. That's why I see myself as the advocate for all those new world citizens. It's like in 'Star Wars' -- all those creatures that have a head from here, a tail from there and a heart from someplace else."

NOA

WHERE: Kodak Theatre, 6801 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood

WHEN: 8:45 p.m. Saturday

PRICE: $60-$180

INFO: (818) 986-7332

WHERE: Irvine Barclay Theatre, 4242 Campus Dr., Irvine

WHEN: 7 p.m. Monday

PRICE: $36-$50

INFO: (949) 854-4646

Related topic galleries: Music Industry, Riverdale (Bronx, New York), Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Folk Music, Popular Music, Family

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