Aris San (Greek: Άρης Σαν, Hebrew: אריס סאן; January 19, 1940 – July 25, 1992) was a Greek-Israeli singer and nightclub owner who popularized Greek music in Israel in the late 1950s and 1960s.[1]
Aris San
Aris San in 1972
Background information
Birth name
Aristides Seisanas
Born
(1940-01-19)January 19, 1940 Kalamata, Kingdom of Greece
Died
July 25, 1992(1992-07-25) (aged 52) Budapest, Hungary
Aristides Seisanas (Greek: Αριστείδης Σεϊσανάς) was born in Kalamata, Greece. At the age of 17, he sailed from Athens to Israel, shortening his name to "Aris San" on board. San began playing at the Arianna nightclub in Yafo, a bastion of Israelis from Thessaloniki. His unique approach to playing the electric guitar like a bouzouki and creative melding of different styles of music opened Israeli society to Greek and Mizrahi music.[2] The club proved popular with senior officers and members of Mapai (forerunner of Labor and, at the time, the ruling party), including Moshe Dayan.
Lucy Maloul, a singer known professionally as Aliza Azikri, visited the club with her manager and husband Nissim Azikri. A romantic relationship developed between Aris San and Azikri that became grist for the gossip columns. They had a daughter, Sani.[2] San wrote songs for Azikri.[3]
In Israel, San gained prominence for songs like "Sigal" and "Boom Pam".[4] His band played at the double wedding of the children of Moshe Dayan, which was attended by David Ben-Gurion. The speed with which he obtained his Israeli passport and his close relationship with army officers encouraged gossip columnists to accuse him of being a spy, a charge he denied out of hand.
San left Israel a few months after the birth of his daughter on the eve of Yom Kippur. He settled in New York City and opened a successful nightclub, Sirocco. Some of the club's most notable guests were Anthony Quinn, Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. Eventually, however, as San developed a cocaine habit and Sirocco gained the interest of the underworld, the club was raided by the FBI, which discovered drugs on the premises.[2] San did not cooperate with the investigation, was convicted, and served a two-year sentence. Upon his release he opened a poultry business in Harlem and another nightclub, which was unsuccessful. He later moved to Budapest, where he was killed by the mafia of Budapest. He borrowed money to purchase cocaine, but did not repay it. He had a heart attack while walking with his manager, who rushed him to hospital. The mafia later came and strangled him with a pillow in 1992. His remains were cremated.[2]
aris, greek, Άρης, Σαν, hebrew, אריס, סאן, january, 1940, july, 1992, greek, israeli, singer, nightclub, owner, popularized, greek, music, israel, late, 1950s, 1960s, 1972background, informationbirth, namearistides, seisanasborn, 1940, january, 1940kalamata, k. Aris San Greek Arhs San Hebrew אריס סאן January 19 1940 July 25 1992 was a Greek Israeli singer and nightclub owner who popularized Greek music in Israel in the late 1950s and 1960s 1 Aris SanAris San in 1972Background informationBirth nameAristides SeisanasBorn 1940 01 19 January 19 1940Kalamata Kingdom of GreeceDiedJuly 25 1992 1992 07 25 aged 52 Budapest HungaryGenresGreek musicMizrahi musicOccupation s Singermusiciannightclub ownerInstrument s VocalsguitarYears active1957 1992 Contents 1 Biography 2 Film 3 See also 4 ReferencesBiography editAristides Seisanas Greek Aristeidhs Seisanas was born in Kalamata Greece At the age of 17 he sailed from Athens to Israel shortening his name to Aris San on board San began playing at the Arianna nightclub in Yafo a bastion of Israelis from Thessaloniki His unique approach to playing the electric guitar like a bouzouki and creative melding of different styles of music opened Israeli society to Greek and Mizrahi music 2 The club proved popular with senior officers and members of Mapai forerunner of Labor and at the time the ruling party including Moshe Dayan Lucy Maloul a singer known professionally as Aliza Azikri visited the club with her manager and husband Nissim Azikri A romantic relationship developed between Aris San and Azikri that became grist for the gossip columns They had a daughter Sani 2 San wrote songs for Azikri 3 In Israel San gained prominence for songs like Sigal and Boom Pam 4 His band played at the double wedding of the children of Moshe Dayan which was attended by David Ben Gurion The speed with which he obtained his Israeli passport and his close relationship with army officers encouraged gossip columnists to accuse him of being a spy a charge he denied out of hand San left Israel a few months after the birth of his daughter on the eve of Yom Kippur He settled in New York City and opened a successful nightclub Sirocco Some of the club s most notable guests were Anthony Quinn Louis Armstrong Frank Sinatra Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr Eventually however as San developed a cocaine habit and Sirocco gained the interest of the underworld the club was raided by the FBI which discovered drugs on the premises 2 San did not cooperate with the investigation was convicted and served a two year sentence Upon his release he opened a poultry business in Harlem and another nightclub which was unsuccessful He later moved to Budapest where he was killed by the mafia of Budapest He borrowed money to purchase cocaine but did not repay it He had a heart attack while walking with his manager who rushed him to hospital The mafia later came and strangled him with a pillow in 1992 His remains were cremated 2 Film editThe Mystery of Aris San Documentary screened at the Jerusalem International Film Festival in 2007 2 and directed by Dani Dothan See also editMusic of Israel Culture of IsraelReferences edit From margins to mainstream Haaretz com Retrieved March 24 2010 a b c d e Star crossed Songstress brought Greek music into the mainstream Haaretz com Retrieved March 24 2010 dead link Save the Music Aris San dead link Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Aris San amp oldid 1205036486, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
