the KlezmerShack

Tonight, of course, is selichot, the midnight prayers held on the Saturday night before the New Year. With that in mind, I have shuffled the mountains of CDs on the review table and come up with six especially wonderful recordings that most seemed perfect for tonight, and of course, for the new year:

First on the list is last year's long-awaited recording from Adrienne Cooper / Enchanted. I would have reviewed this long ago, but that would have implied that I would put it on the shelf and move on to other CDs that I need to review. No way this CD is unshuffling from the iTunes. Read more, and you'll understand why.

I couldn't stop kvelling about the Veretski Pass project, "The Klezmer Shul" back when I first saw it live over a year ago. Now the CD is out and you can hear why. A fusion of klezmer and jazz and avant garde modern music, the arrival of this CD a couple of weeks has pushed almost everything else out of mind.

This one CD summation of three monster concerts from a year ago, "Further Definitions of the Days of Awe" is a perfect summation of both the Afro-Semitic Experience's wonderful fusion of Jewish and Black sacred music, and the art of the Cantor as mostly represented by the irrepressible Jack Mendelson, but also including several other significant names. And what better time for High Holiday nusakh than the High Holidays?

All last year we got periodic new sounds from "The Nigun Project" by Jeremiah Lockwood, commissioned by the Forward. What is most striking is how much ground Lockwood covers in re-imagining the Nigun while also making deep music. I love this one.

I am a year late in my review, but at least I am right in time for the holidays with this return of Steven Greenman's sacred music persona, Stempenyu. This time, he captures "Stempenyu's Neshome". I typeset and laid out the CD, so it can't be all bad—actually, if I were as good a typesetter as Greenman is a violinist, this would be long out of print. Fortunately, you can still get your copy in time for the holidays.

Why? Because if there is one thing that will ensure repentence, and get us in the frame to approach the awe of the approaching holidays, it is a reminder of what makes us happy. This loving 2008 re-release of Danny Rubinstein's original 1958 "The Happy People is all that.

Posted by Ari Davidow at 6:56 PM | Permalink

This is a very rare public performance by one of the most wonderful klezmer violinists out there. If you're in the area, it's worth stopping by!

You're invited!

Sandra Layman will be performing with the Seattle Jewish Chorale and Kesselgarden at a free event on Sunday afternoon, November 29, between 2:00 and 5:00 pm, Barnes and Noble bookstore at University Village, NE Seattle.

It's a "pre-Hanukkah" event, with beautiful choral singing (including a lovely song for women's voices with violin), interludes of rousing klezmer music, and Hanukkah sing-alongs. Drop by, and bring the kids!

It's finally available -- at a special low price for the holiday gift-giving season -- the downloadable (MP3) version of my CD, "Little Blackbird"! Preview and buy it at: Little Blackbird

Posted by Ari Davidow at 3:38 PM | Permalink

20th Annual North American Jewish Choral Festival
July 12-16, 2009
Hudson Valley Resort & Spa
Kerhonkson, NY

• Celebrate the joys of Jewish music with hundreds of singers, and the finest conductors and clinicians from across North America (and beyond)


• Enjoy daily "community singing" and participate in an "instant choir"


• Hear outstanding ensembles in nightly evening concerts featuring the best in Jewish choral music


• Attend daily workshops focusing on a wide array of musical topics with outstanding clinicians


• Jewish Hallelujah Chorus Festival Tradition - Singing the "Jewish Hallelujah Chorus" (Lewandowski's Psalm 150)

Click to download: Festival Brochure (PDF)
Hotel Reservation Form (PDF)

For more information, contact (212) 870-3335
www.zamirfdn.org

Posted by Ari Davidow at 10:12 AM | Permalink