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Guitar Player, Brazil.
February 2002, Article Appears Courtesy of David Hepner.
Hagai Rehavia - "The Israeli with the Brazilian soul"
Who would ever believe that a born-in-Israel guitarist could play Brazilian rhythms
with such natural ease? That is what Hagai Rehavia manages to do on Trio Tucan's
first CD. "One has to have developed a great sense of rhythm to be able to play
Brazilian music", says Hagai. "The secret is to listen a lot. Another essential thing is
to acquire classical playing technique, with total autonomy between the thumb and the
other fingers of the right hand. One has to think like a bass player and be able to play
a vast range of jazz chords.
Tucan, whose other members are the Israeli Amir Milstein (flute) and the Brazilian
Joca Perpignan (percussion), was founded in 1998 in Tel Aviv. The group adds jazz
components and Mediterranean and ethnic spices to its basically Brazilian brew.
In the 13 tracks that make up the album, Hagai skillfully handles a variety of Brazilian
rhythms, displaying excellent melodic taste and harmonic density. The trio interprets
the works of the greatest Brazilian musicians, such as Toninho Horta, Dori Caymmi,
Marco Pereira, Joao Donato, Joao Pernambuco, Tom Jobim and Vinicius de
Moraes, along with some of their own compositions. Hagai himself is the author of
three of the tracks. The beautiful "Coconut" reflects Brazilian-Mediterranean form in
the Israeli guitarist's performing, harmonizing and composing. "I wrote this piece in
Rio de Janeiro. It has strong elements of the Brazilian Northeastern rhythms, like the
Baiao and the Afoxe. Then in Israel, I have added a Mediterranean-influenced
interlude," explains Hagai. "My composing process is intuitive and guitar-based. I
need to be actually holding my instrument for the ideas to begin to emerge. An
interesting harmonic sequence can be the seed of a whole musical piece. I'm deeply
inspired by rhythms and grooves."
 Hagai Rehavia learned to play chords, mainly from the Beatles, but also from books
and friends. "I built up my harmonic vocabulary and my right-hand technique by
listening to works of great Israeli composers like Mati Caspi, Shlomo Gronich and
Yoni Rechter," he says. Exposure to their complex works, and my own efforts to
transfer them to the guitar were the best schooling for me. His formal musical
education began at age 23. "After three years serving in the army I decided I wanted
to be a serious musician. I went to study at the Rimon School of Jazz, which is an
extension of Berkley in Israel," he continues.
Before that, Hagai had already been won over by Brazil. When he was 13 years old,
his family moved to a new town, there he has gained new Brazilian neighbours.
"They had exposed me to records of Carnival samba, with all the magnetic strength of
its percussion instruments. Then I started listening to artists like Chico Buarque,
Vinicius de Moraes and Tom Jobim. I was charmed by the language, the marked
rhythms and the rich harmony, even before I knew I wanted to be a musician", he
says.
After graduating from the Rimon School of Music, Hagai decided to go straight to the
source and in 1995 he has landed in Rio de Janeiro to start studying. "In my 3 visits
in Brazil since then had the pleasure and luck to be in the presence of great masters
like Marco Pereira, Ulisses Rocha,and Toninho Horta, to watch many shows,and to
grow a lot" He returned to Israel in 1997 and has founded Tucan, which in 1999 has
performed with the Mandolin virtuoso Armandinho in Israel Festival in Jerusalem.
The Trio's first CD was studio-recorded live. Hagai played a Conde Hermanos guitar
on all tracks except in Vinicius Medley, in which he played a Di Giorgio. When
performing he prefers a Takamine model.
According to Hagai, Tucan's second album should be recorded in 2002 and half of the
tracks will be original compositions. One of the Trio's dreams is to play in Brazil. Its
first CD leaves no doubt about the quality of its music: it is not only exciting and well
performed, but it also begs the question: with his Brazilian grooves and Mediterranean
influences where on earth was this guitarist Hagai really born, in Brazil or in Israel?
This is what Hagai Rehavia says about the Brazilian guitarists that played an
important part in his own development:
Joao Gilberto, Toquinho and Baden Powell - "Joao Gilberto was the first to
influence my Brazilian guitar-playing. I spent hours trying to follow his fascinating
beat and discover the jazzistic harmonies that he used. Later I had a teacher who
introduced me to music by Toquinho and Baden Powell. These three great artists were
my first Brazilian heroes".
Nelson Faria - His "Brazilian Guitar Book" is very useful. Without
knowing it, Nelson gave me the gift of my life: he showed me a record by Toninho
Horta, who changed my whole concept of guitar playing."
Toninho Horta - "I was obsessed with Toninho's harmonies and his
marvelous compositions. He contributed enormously to my harmonic thinking. I was
lucky to have him as my teacher on a summer course in Brasilia in 1997."
Marco Pereira - "Another 'god' who was my teacher. From him I have
learned a lot about combining erudite elements, complex harmonies and exciting
Brazilian right-hand grooves."
Ulisses Rocha - "After I heard his Caminhos Cruzados, recorded with Teco
Cardoso, I decided I should put myself 'under his wing' for a while. I had some lessons
with him. His unique guitar focus and his beautiful compositions inspired me
immensely."
Raphael Rabello - "Thanks to a friend of mine, I had one lesson with Raphael.
He played and I watched. It was a wonderful experience. I have kept to this day the
tape I recorded of that one lesson. One month later, when I returned to Israel I heard
of his death. It was a terrible shock."
Guinga - "I was very lucky to have been able to know this brilliant musician.
I owe him a lot. With his unique attitude, Guinga gave me the courage to risk
incorporating uncommon harmonies and sequences. I wrote a piece, Choro para
Guinga, which represents the gentle spirit of this great musician, both in concept and
in mood.
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