“I am particularly fascinated in the dynamics of interaction among performers,” says Brinner who is interested in the knowledge and processes that musicians use in performance, not as isolated units but in relation to one another.
How do musicians do what they do? This question has inspired much of his research which brought him to Indonesia. He conducted a comparative study of the workings of musical memory in Java and Bali which was published in 2007 under the following title, “The Music of Central Java: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture”.
His latest project took him to Israel where he concentrated on the emerging field of performance involving Palestinian musicians from the West Bank as well as Israeli Jews and Arabs. Fascinated by the dynamics of interaction between the performers, he wrote,  “Playing Across a Divide: Israeli-Palestinian Musical Encounters”, the first book to address musical collaboration between Israelis and Palestinians, Jews and Arabs.
Brinner studied for twenty years the careers of some of the most talented musicians active on the ethnomusical scene. He followed two bands, in particular: “Alei Hazayit” and “Bustan Abraham”, whose members were both Jews and Arabs. These mixed bands not only created an exciting new musical trend but most of all, they offered a third way. This alternative is based on mutual benefit, contrary to the present status quo, where a gain by one side is viewed as a loss by the other.
Right at the beginning of the book, the author gives us a taste of the power of music during a ceremony held on the West Bank, to mark one of the first stages in the implementation of the Oslo Peace Accords. Alei Hazayit, a small band of male Arab musicians and a female Jewish singer had been hired to provide entertainment and, most of all, to break the ice between the sides. The harmonious blending of the languages with the lute, the Arab violin and the darbukkah (goblet drum) softened the tension. The atmosphere was peaceful and relaxed; people began to feel they shared similarities with the other side.
 “By their actions these musicians modeled the possibilities for peaceful coexistence and collaboration, embodying the symbolism of their band’s name, “The Olive Leaves” says Brinner.
Throughout the book, hybrid bands are a living example of how one might live in mutually beneficial harmony. Members of a band share a unique bond based on a common trust, a passion for music and a shared goal.
The musicians mentioned in, “Playing Across a Divide”, came from different social and musical backgrounds, with one shared dream: to create a new kind of fusion music. Apart from Israeli Jews, they all began playing at weddings and other family events. Most of them are self-taught, learning the basics through contact with music and musicians.
Musicians on both sides were often frustrated because the Arab community gave very little support to this new hybrid sound and the Jewish community did not encourage musicians to have a career playing Arab music.
Members of the band, “Bustan Abraham” were united by their desire to make the music they wanted without considering commercial pressures. This band symbolized the peaceful coexistence and artistic collaboration between Jews and Arabs. Each time they presented themselves and played on stage, they gave audiences a formidable hope for the future of the region.
“Bustan Abraham rose quickly to prominence in the nascent field of ethnic music due to the masterful integration of a diverse array of musical resources in compositions and improvisation that were performed with multi-stylistic competence. They quickly became the gold standard that other groups in Israel attempted, and usually failed, to match,” explains Brinner.
The unique sound of their music is part of what Erlman calls world music, “a new aesthetic form of the global imagination, an emergent way of capturing the present historical moment and the total reconfiguration of space and cultural identity characterizing societies around the globe.”
Even though the political life has worsened, Brinner has noticed, outside the spotlight of news coverage, signs of readiness to compromise and to enter into meaningful relationships across deep divisions.
This timely study highlights the value of music, as a cross-cultural and a cross-temporal means of communication, which is more efficient than any spoken language. “Playing Across a Divide: Israeli-Palestinian Musical Encounters” should be read by specialists and general readers. It is an eye opener for any one interested in the making of hybrid music and it also gives a realistic account of the lives of local artists.