Looking back, it doesn’t really matter what brought Aris San to Israel, be it a young Israeli girl he fell in love with, local agents who saw his potential, or dodging the military draft in Greece. What is really important is what this 17-year-old brought with him on the boat to Israel.

Aris’ electric guitar, tuned like a Greek bouzouki with a magical sound that bewitches all who listen to it, came with him to Israel and has been shaping the sound of Israeli music ever since.

In just a few years, Aris San became a local star. His music issued from night clubs in Yafo and reached the mainstream. His sound captivated guitarists like Yehuda Keisar and Ben Mosh, who adopted him immediately and crafted, with his help, the sound of Middle Eastern music in Israel. The same sound that caused rockers like Yehuda Poliker to rethink the instrument that they thought they knew so well and embark on the journey to create a unique sound for Israeli rock. Local pop artists also flirted with the new sound until they figured out how to incorporate it, and over the last few decades the sound that emanates from Aris’ guitar has even found its way into Israeli hip hop and Indie groove.

Looking back, we can see the path that Aris’ guitar carved out. We can listen to it playing dozens of songs from the local musical canon and enjoy the impact it has had on Israel’s melting pot.

These musical riches were served up in a festive Friday celebration that brought the curtain down on Mekudeshet 2019. The same Friday celebration that brought together Haim Moshe and Berry Sakharof, Margol and Uri Kinrot, Yehuda Keisar and Benni Bashan, Ron Bunker and Tzlil Danin for a performance of the greatest hits that owe (at least some of them) their success to Aris’ guitar riffs.