At the age of 23, Israeli bass guitarist Hagar Ben Ari dropped everything in Israel and moved to New York to pursue her musical career. The risk paid off when she was invited to join the house band of The Late Late Show with James Corden, since which she has been conquering the American music industry one chord at a time.
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"There were times that I walked into the locker room and saw Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey or Sting," said Ben Ari, who met many famous people throughout her career. "It is incredible. One time String turned to me and said, 'Hi Hagar! It's good to see you,' and I thought to myself, 'I can't believe he knows who I am."
Ben Ari, 42, was born in Givatayim, east of Tel Aviv.
"I moved to New York when I was 23," she continued. "I played with Moby, with artists that work with Mark Ronson, with Prince. At one point, I decided to study classical music, so I began a degree at Brooklyn College in New York in classical composition. After that came the opportunity to play for James Corden in Los Angeles."
Q: Tell us how that happened.
"Comedian and musician Reggie Watts, the leader of the Late Late Show house band, heard about me from friends. We met and we jammed [after which he offered me the job]. This was a few weeks before the show aired. I asked a good friend of mine for advice and he said 'Take the gig, and you'll understand later what to do.' So I said yes, packed up my bags and moved to Los Angeles. For me, it was a significant change, because not only did I have to move to a different city, but I would no longer go on world tours.
"The show was an immediate success. We won three Emmys in the first season, and very early on I realized that I was part of something special. Besides being very funny, James himself is a fantastic musician and singer, and so he incorporates a lot of music into the segments."
Q: You are the only woman in the band, correct?
"Yes. For me, it's been like that pretty much the whole time. In most of the bands that I have played in, I have been the only woman. In the world of rock, female bass guitarists are a rarity. Although there are many more female bassists in Israel than before, and it's exciting for me to see this change."
Q: Do your colleagues on the show know you're from Israel?
"Of course. Whoever is interested in knowing more about Israel turns to me. It's been a while since I've been back in Israel, though, because of the coronavirus pandemic. I am visiting my family now as the show is in recess until the end of August. We will be starting our seventh season soon, which might be the last one. James has a contract for one more year, and I know he misses England and wants to return there with his family."
Q: How did the show adjust after the outbreak of the pandemic?
"In the beginning, we did the show via Zoom. It was bizarre. We returned to the studio pretty fast, but without an audience. This happened to a lot of shows, and it was actually quite nice, such an intimate atmosphere."
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