Waking Up in Jerusalem

Ever since my earliest childhood, I carried within me a dream – a longing to live at the very centre of things. As a young boy, that centre seemed obvious: it was New York, the restless city that never sleeps. But as the years passed, I came to understand a deeper truth. The true centre of the world is not defined by commerce or culture, but by spirit. And that centre, for the Jewish people and for so much of humanity, has always been Jerusalem.

Jerusalem has been called the heart of the world, a place where heaven and earth come together. A beautiful ancient legend tells of King Solomon, who knew of hidden roots extending from Jerusalem outward to the four corners of the earth. Through these subterranean channels he could draw into the city strange and wondrous trees – fruits of far-off places brought to the world’s spiritual core. And in our own day, as the Jewish people return from every corner of the globe, those roots live again. Each person arrives carrying their own tree: a memory, a melody, a culture, a story from lands once distant but now folded back into the life of Israel.

It was here, in this most magical of cities, that the inspiration for my melodies first took flight. Every walk through Jerusalem renews my sense of wonder. In its streets I encounter a tapestry of languages, faces, cultures—humanity gathered from north, south, east, and west. The diversity of its people is nothing less than a living symphony. And it is this same spirit that resonates through the collection before you: echoes of England and Scotland, France and Russia, America and even distant China. The musical styles wander freely – classical, folk, klezmer, jazz – yet all feel at home under Jerusalem’s sky.

Tunes in Colour is, in truth, a child of Jerusalem. It is a microcosm of the city itself – vibrant, many-hued, shimmering with a light all its own. Like Jerusalem, it beats with the energy of renewal, with the joy of return, and above all with the enduring promise that tomorrow can be better than today. It is my offering from the heart of the world, inspired by the city that continues to inspire us all.