From Talat's Alon Nechushtan, "Reincarnation of a Niggun," as performed by the Ayn Sof Orchestra, live from the six street synagogue in downtown New York, December 24th 2011.
Alon Nechushtan - "Reincarnation of a Niggun" for Big band from alon nechushtan on Vimeo.
From host Michael Gerber:
The latest edition of my Kosher Jam show for UK Jazz Radio/Europe Jazz Radio – broadcast on 17th April and now on listen again – features a global roster of artists.
They include: French-Moroccan vocalist Laïka Fatien with her outstanding take on Stevie Wonder’s ‘Visions’; harmonica player Adam Glasser and music from his stirring South African township jazz CD; Brazilian vocalist Nicole Borger; Randy Newman performing one of his most poignant songs as re-recorded on a solo album; guitarist Steve Khan with a track from his Latin jazz album; Israeli jazz from flautist Ilan Salem and pianist Yitzhak Yedid; Yiddish world music singer-songwriter Lenka Lichtenberg; Toronto-based pianist Ron Davis with a Polish folk tune from his My Mother’s Father’s Song album inspired by his family history; and London-based band Just East, who are starring this month at the JazzAhead trade fair in Bremen, Germany.
Also featured: tenor saxophonist Ernie Watts improvising a Johnny Mandel/Dave Frishberg tune; alto saxophonist Libby Richman; vocalist Audrey Silver; tenor saxophonist Noah Preminger; bassist Josh Ginsberg; and with this year’s New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival about to get underway, a track from an 1955 album by its founder, pianist/vocalist George Wein.
There’s contemporary Jewish jazz from: clarinettist Ben Goldberg; the Masada Quintet with Joe Lovano interpreting John Zorn; The Sway Machinery; and Denmark-based saxophonist Marc Bernstein. And the late klez-jazz clarinettist Sam Musiker with joyous wedding music, from Songs For The Jewish American Jet Set CD, a compilation of artists recorded by the Tivka label between 1950-1973.
That’s 21 tracks in all, 2 hours of great music, accessible with 1 press of the button at: www.ukjazzradio.com/listenagain.htm
From Davido Chevan, about the new a href="/bands/chevan/further/">Afro-Semitic Experience CD:
A story about the new CD on the NPR News Show, "Tell Me More," aired today. Samples of four tunes from the new CD are being aired along with an interview of Alvin and David by NPR’s Jacki Lyden. I know we cannot get that show anywhere around here but there is a pod cast that you can stream or download (for free!): www.npr.org/2011/09/28/140876465/jewish-new-year-brings-new-music
And if that was not enough NPR has chosen “Adoshem, Adoshem,” one of the tracks on the album to be today’s SONG OF THE DAY!! Here’s a link to that site: www.npr.org/2011/09/28/140875436/afro-semitic-experience-pray-sway-love-the-lord
CDs sometimes come in far faster than I can review them. I am going to try to at least get the word out on these with release dates in the coming week, and hope to catch up with reviews as I can.
I have already mentioned this new Klezmatics release celebrating their 25th anniversary. The main CD release party is on September 14th in NYC. Let me also repeat that when I first saw the band 15 years or so ago. At that time, as on this CD, the band came out and Lorin launched into a cut off their breakout CD, Jews with Horns, "Man in a Hat." Well, same cut, same energy—or more, and the broadest repertoire of new and traditional Jewish music and Americana played by anyone. You need this CD, and you can get it by doing good: In five days, on September 13th, the Klezmatics either reach their Kickstarter goal of $15,000 to pay for this tour and CD—or they don't. Then what? The band sets up shop as housepainters? That would be bad. Check out the Klezmatics Kickstarter campaign and pledge until it hurts. Make this happen.
David Chevan has been exploring Jewish and Afro-American spiritual music through the lens of jazz, for years. As I love mentioning, my first date with the person who is now my wife was at the CD release of one of his first efforts. The music gets better. David writes: "For most of the past decade the Afro-Semitic Experience has played the midnight Selichot service with Cantor Jack Mendelson at his synagogue in White Plains. We have, in the process, created a new way to accompany cantorial music and we decided to document it. We recorded three concerts in August, 2010 just before the High Holy Days, one in New York City, one in New Haven, Connecticut, and one in Greenfield, Massachusetts. And now that music is ready for you to hear. The new CD is called Further Definitions of the Days of Awe and it features the band with special guests Cantor Jack Mendelson, Cantor Lisa Arbisser, Cantor Erik Contzius, cantorial soloist Danny Mendelson, and trumpeter Frank London. The CD officially drops on Tuesday, September 13, but it is already on sale at iTunes and amazon.com
If, like me, you have noticed that the fiery new violinist in the Klezmer Conservatory Band these last few years also seems to be a favored accompaniest and band-member on other Hankus Netsky projects, you won't be surprised that the classically trained violinist's first CD, Yaeko Miranda Elmaleh features a broad spectrum of underplayed, but very traditional klezmer tunes, ranging from the "Philadelphia Sher" (from whom could you have learned that?) to "Meron" and "Kaddish" (okay, this is Ravel), to some Carlebach tunes and "Waltz from the Hills of Manchuria." The CD release party is this Tuesday, Sep 13, in Boston at Club Passim, one of my favorite venues.
Jazzman Roger Davidson explores klezmer with some of my favorite musicians, including Frank London, Josh Horowitz, Khevre graduate and current Klezmatics drummer Richie Barshay, the great Pablo Aslan on bass … and Andy Statman. The territory is relatively familiar, but this is an all-star cast. The CD, On the Road of Life
This past year has been one of the busiest of my life. There are hundreds of emails to the KlezmerShack that are sitting in a folder, dated from 2009 and even earlier. One of the articles I missed, from the often-excellent Tablet covers two fascinating bands, one long-known to me (the Afro-Semitic Experience), and one, entirely new to me—Atlanta's 4th Ward Afro-Klezmer Orchestra. Read on:
Hyphenated Sounds: Two bands cultivate the ‘Afro-Judaic’ aesthetic, by Alexander Gelfand, Jan 28, 2010
Lancement du IXème Festival Jazz'N'Klezmer à partir du 21 novembre 2010.
This started last week and I missed it. There is an amazing line-up throughout December, though, including David Krakauer on Dec 13. Check it out!
Jewish-Music mailing list regular Mike Regenstreif has begun writing reviews of new Jewish music for the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin. He has graciously begun sending the columns to the KlezmerShack for publication online here.
In his first reviews, published last month right after the most musically diverse Ashkenaz Festival yet, he covers a couple of artists about whom I know nothing, and a couple that have been very high on the "get a review onto the KlezmerShack soon" list. Not a bad way to start:
You may have heard Israeli-born cellist Maya Beiser on NPR a few weeks ago. Here, Mike reviews her excellent new album, Provenance.
Bassist Jim Guttman has been the rock holding Boston's own Klezmer Conservatory Band together since the band's formation these many decades ago. It's taken him a long time to release a CD under his own name, and we've put up with it because his "day band," is, after all, pretty spectacular. This CD, he says, is the one he's longed to create for years, and Mike discusses what makes Bessarabian Breakdown.
Mike notes the Ashkenaz Festival debut by the Red Hot Chachkas with admiration—and well he should. I was sitting with Philadelphia drummer Elaine Hoffman Watts while they were doing their set, and Elaine was pretty admiring, herself. I've reviewed previous CDs with great pleasure. Their newest, Beats without Borders deserves everything nice that he says about it.
I've never heard of jazzman Benny Sharoni until I read Mike's review of Eternal Elixir. I would be very surprised if jazz fans don't really enjoy what they hear when they check out the bebop and ballads on the new CD.
Hankus Netsky has been stretching the repertoire available in the Klezmer world for quite some time. He has also been doing more work with fellow jazz musician Linda Chase and friends. Tonight we'll get a chance to enjoy the best of both of those worlds at Newton's Temple Reyim. Show is at 8pm and the details, of course, can be found on the KlezmerShack Calendar.
Those of us (and the house was pretty full, so it wasn't a small crowd filling out the National Yiddish Book Center's new auditorium--I'd give you the donors' names, but the new NYBC website seems particularly opaque on such details) who attended the Amherst debut of Hankus Netsky's new band, "Branches" on Monday night had a subversively pleasant evening.
"Branches," includes Hankus on piano (Klezmer Conservatory Band founder and, as Dr. Netsky, head of the NYBC's "Discovery" Project), KCB regulars Andy Blickenderfer on bass, cello, and banjo; and Yaeko Mirando Elmaleh on violin; along with Hankus' jazz ensemble, "Another Realm" co-conspirator Linda Jaye Chase on flute and bass clarinet; and Hebrew College cantorial student Jessica Kate Meyer on vocals, harmonium, and percussion. You couldn't ask for a much more professional, tighter sounder group of folks for a pleasant evening in Amherst. Augmenting everything was the core of NYBC interns (and audience members) who took advantage of the floor space to indulge in "Yiddish" (Eastern European Jewish) folk dancing. The group started off with some traditional klezmer, but it quickly became clear that this was traditional music, but not the old same repertoire. Instead, Hankus mixed in pieces that he had gathered as part of the Center's "Discovery" project, as well as less-well-known pieces by that generation of Second Avenue songsters who had drawn on traditional music and made it American. We got to hear wonderful music that sounded familiar, but was still new to most of us.
Once the audience was warmed up, Hankus moved farther afield, including pieces from "Another Realm," including two wonderful pieces by flautist Linda Chase, one inspired by a poem by Itzik Manger, read simultaneously in Yiddish and English by Netsky and Chase; and another inspired by an earlier poem by the Sufi mystic Rumi. Again from "Another Realm" (I think—I forgot to check) was a new middle eastern piece by Hankus. Closing out, the ensemble returned to the familiar-sounding Yiddish and klezmer. As they played, my audience companions would turn to each other and to me, smiling that "this is hot shit" smile.
What made the concert special wasn't just wonderful music wonderfully played—it was the way that Hankus continues to broaden the repertoire of traditional music, expanding ears, and in a way, legitimizing further the boundary-pushing music of a younger generation of musicians such as The Lithuanian Empire or Daniel Kahn & Painted Bird. It's not a static canon, nor does the music come from a tradition that is disappearing—at least, not disappearing yet, and if the musicians or Monday night's audience have anything to say about it, clearly not disappearing anytime soon.
Tonight, of course, is the East Coast premiere of the new Veretski Pass piece, "Klezmer Shul," as suitable to close the festival as "Branches" was to open the festival—the one to open by showing that the culture that the Center has preserved is alive and well; and tonight to seal a future is even more open-ended and exciting than we imagined a few days ago. חזק חזק ונתחדש!
Perhaps pre-celebrating the California tour of Beyond the Pale this week, Keith Wolzinger announces Klezmer Podcast 60, featuring Eric Stein and Beyond The Pale. It is available on the website, iTunes, and Blubrry
From David Chevan:
Our performance at the benefit concert for the Columbus House Homeless Shelter in New Haven was video recorded by our friend, pianist and visual artist, Richard Gans. Three of the tunes we performed have now been posted to YouTube and they have a lot of good energy. Richard was not limited by his use of a single camera and he did a great job as he captured the performance. You can really feel the wonderful vibe in the room last Saturday night as we transformed the place with our healing feeling. There are two little girls and a little boy who sat in the front row for most of the concert and they are sure feeling the music!!! You can see their heads bobbing in most of the camera shots. What fun.
The Road that Heals the Splintered Soul:
Obatala:
Adon Olam:
From Klezmokum's Burton Greene:
Klezmokum just posted 6 video clips from our tour of synagogues and culture centers in November, 2007 on youtube…. Check it out!
Also there's a documentary about my life and involvement with Jewish music at www.justin.tv/bgreene. (It's in 4 segments.. you have to wait about a minute for the first segment to begin.)
KlezmerShack favorites: Ribs & Brisket Revue
New England premiere! (If you don't count a wonderful show at the 2008 Paper Bridge fest in Amherst)
Saturday, October 24, 2009 8pm
Sunday, October 25, 2009 2pm
Ribs & Brisket Revue has been serving up heaping helpings of '40s & '50s-style Jewish jazz, Yiddish swing, and various kosher-style blues to fans everywhere. Ribs & Brisket Revue both entertains and impresses: chicken soup for the weary, postmodern soul. The most fun you’ll have at a concert this year!
Tickets: $25 General; $23 JCC members and seniors
Pre-show talk: Sunday, October 25, 2009 12:30pm
”Roots: Klezmer Meets Jazz—Exploring Jewish and African-American musical traditions”
Hankus Netsky
Faculty, New England Conservatory; Founder and director, Klezmer Conservatory Band
Free with ticket to either show or $8 General / $5 JCC members
Ribs and brisket bake-off: Enter your favorite brisket recipe!
A panel of culinary judges, including Firefly’s chef, Steve Uliss and PBS Cookbook authors Sheila and Marilyn Brass, will select the best recipes. Winners will be announced at the Saturday evening show and a taste of the winning recipe will be served.
Winner receives
From Alex Lubet and Marvin Margoshes on the Jewish-Music list last week:
Big article on Tucker in yesterday's NY Times. This is the centennial of her recording debut and there's a cd re-release of her earliest sessions that was highly praised. The article is great, too.
A Century Later, She’s Still Red Hot, by Jody Rosen, Aug 28, 2009
You can find out more about Sophie Tucker on the Jewish Women's Archive, or see her live as part of the JWA film, Making Trouble, now available for home purchase. (Disclaimer: I am an employee of JWA and pretty damn proud of it because of materials like these. ari)
Israel's first chief rabbi's redemption poetry is turned into jazz performances by two rabbis on a new CD and in clubs. Rabbi Greg Wall of Hasidic New Wave fame and Rabbi Itzchak Marmorstein, son of Holocaust survivors release Ha'Orot—The Lights of Rav Kook on John Zorn's Tzadik Records and perform in clubs in Israel and New York. The full text interview with audio is available from Benjamin Bresky's radio show.
Anyone who has heard Greg Wall's and Aaron Alexander's work with "Later Prophets" knows that this is the critical NYC event of the weekend. Don't blame me if you miss it:
This Satuday nite—You are invited to the debut of HAOROT:The Lights Of Rav Kook Concert Feb 7th in NYC
"Give me, give me rays of light, Enough for me, enough, these pits of darkness."
(Rav Kook)
Shalom friends:
In these challenging days, the profound insights and inspirational poetry of Rav Kook offer us illumination in the darkness.
Rabbi Itzchak Marmorstein and Rabbi Greg Wall's Later Prophets have collaborated in creating a powerful jazz presentation of Rav Kook's poetry in Hebrew and English. Their debut concert is Saturday, Feb. 7 at Congregation Bnai Jeshurun at 7:00 p.m. (257 W. 88 St.)
The lineup will include:
Rabbi Itzchak- spoken word
Rabbi Greg Wall-saxophone, flute, shofar
Pablo Vergara-keyboards
Dave Richards-bass
Aaron Alexander-drums.
This evening is sponsored by Romemu and Bnai BJ members. It will begin with a Tu b'Shvat celebration.
I am still months behind in posting reviews from Keith Wolzinger's Klezmer Podcast blog. Here are some exciting recordings as I slowly catch up (and yes, there are a host of my own reviews to come soon, I hope):
First, I have to mention David Chevan's most recent recording for the High Holidays, this one featuring Hazzan Alberto Mizrahi, as well as his Afro-Semitic Experience. Each time Chevan undertakes this sort of project, he finds new ways to explore, and incredible partners, and this recording from Mizrahi is no exception. But don't take my word for it. Check out Keith's review of David Chevan / Yizkor.
Many of us have been noticing that there is a plethora of exciting new Jewish-derived hip-hop, rock, world beat. From my vantage, I can also testify that an awful lot of it is getting to Paris, which has turned into the latest hotbed of new Jewish music. It's about time, then, that JuMu, the main Parisian agent of new music should put out this recording. This isn't just a chance to hear more familiar names like David Krakauer, Sophie Solomon, SoCalled, Hip Hop Hoodios, Oi Va Voi, or the Frank London Klezmer Brass Ensemble. There are also the French bands that haven't been heard in this country at all. Check out JuMu Presents Nu Jewish Music Vol. 1 and see if we're not in agreement.
When friends and I went to view Ladino rockers DeLeon at a local club several months ago, there was little other than the novelty of Ladino to perk up our ears. Now, Keith listens to their CD and comes away quite excited about where the band is now, and where they may go: DeLeon.
I had an entirely different experience last year when in Toronto (one of my favorite cities, and an incredible Jewish music—or world music in general—town). Fern Lindzon was holding court at a local jazz club. Here was a chance to hear an anchor of both The Lithuanian Empire and Sisters of Sheynville playing straight-forward jazz (with some much-appreciated personal twists) with some friends. It was a delightful evening, and Keith gets the same buzz from her solo album, Fern Lindzon / Moments Like These.
And, speaking of Jazz, along with Eastern European folk music, we have the STriCats, an innovative ensemble from the Netherlands. This could take some explaining (or you could just listen), so I'll let Keith do the honors: STriCat / rates & good people.
This is a couple months old, now, but still fascinating. Byron, of course, was the original clarinet player in the Klezmer Conservatory Band and is also well-known for a a href="/bands/byron/katz/byron.katz.html">CD of Mickey Katz tunes he recorded many years ago.
Musician, composer and bandleader Don Byron has a new album out, Do the Boomerang. It's a collection of songs associated with the great Motown saxophonist and singer Autry "Junior Walker" DeWalt. Tracks include Shotgun and Roadrunner. While Byron is usually associated with the clarinet, he plays tenor sax on this new CD.
While I am catching up, it is long past time to note several new posts of interest by Elliott Simon, from All About Jazz:
Let's start with a review of David Buchbinder's brilliant collaboration with Cuban musician Hilario Durán, Odessa/Havana.
… Partnering with Cuban pianist Hilario Duran, Buchbinder has created more of a symphonic statement that extols the best of both genres [Cuban/Jewish]. While some pieces clearly ring more Latin than Jewish and vice versa, others blend aspects of both musics into a holistic experience that highlights the commonalities while celebrating the differences….
If, like me, you are as captivated by Balkan brass rhythms as by klezmer, you will be very interested in Simon's review of this new entry from Seattle: Orkestar Zirkonium.
… This is great "tukhes" shaking music with a depth of composition and style that keeps it from becoming cartoonish—Orkestar Zirkonium is the real deal.
Finally, and sticking closer to home, Simon catches the latest of a series of Israeli jazz artists who have come to call New York their home, Introducing Omer Klein
… an Israeli-American jazz connection … has produced a culture of premier artists who have gone on to influence the broader jazz community. Pianist Omer Klein is part of a second wave of these musicians who mix virtuosity, world music sensibility and melodic flair to affect a global sound….
I am so very behind in posting reviews by Keith Wolzinger, who continues to release new podcasts and reviews, regardless. Let me start to catch up with some very special ones:
It's hard for me to imagine a more pretentious name for a Yiddish art song CD than "A Song is Born," especially when the haunting sound of didgideroo is heard in the opening bars. But Mitch backs it up. The former director of Toronto's acclaimed Ashkenaz Festival got some of his (and mine!) favorite musicians from around the world, including trumpeter Paul Brody from Germany, and the incomparable Moguilevsky and Lerner from Buenos Aires. The result is the most exciting, inventive, beautiful, and just plain interesting Yiddish album in years. Songs range from traditional, to Yiddish folk & theatre hits, to the always-interesting Lazar Weiner, and new tunes by Marcelo Moguilevsky. But, read what Keith has to say, in his review of Mitch Smolkin / A song is born / אַ ניגן איז געבוירן
For those lucky folks who live in Toronto, tonight is the CD release of the first solo release by talented Jazz musician Lorie Wolf: The Lithuanian Empire, as well as the award-winner Sisters of Sheynville.
Drummer Matt Temkin goes in a different direction, entirely. To those who know him, this is no surprise, nor is the delicious serving of older-style klezmer-jazz á la Epstein Brothers, with welcome side trips to Second Ave. and to the music of the late German Goldenshteyn. Anchoring it all in "today" is the way he transposes the concept of "jam band" to klezmer, and how obvious and delightful it all sounds together. Check out Keith's review of Matt Temkin's Yiddish Jam Band / Poykler's Shloft Lied.
Finally, Keith introduces a band that is entirely new to me, the high-energy Polish ensemble, Klezmafour. Sounds like I need to pick up some new music.
More coming soon!
Given recent posts about Roberto's work in Cuba, I wanted to make sure that people know about Keith Wolzinger's recent Klezmer Podcast with the drummer. I should note that more recent podcasts include Toronto singer Mitch Smolkin and a Chanukah special.
Klezmer Podcast 43: My guests on this episode are Roberto Rodriguez and Gilad Harel from the band Sexteto Roberto Rodriguez. The band plays a combination of Jewish/Klezmer and Afro-Cuban music. Rodriguez talks about growing up in Miami Beach and his exposure to Jewish culture.
Alan Watsky posted notice of this event to the Jewish-Music mailing list. The event is free, but Alan says that an RSVP is required. I cannot find a way to RSVP on the website, so check in with Symphony Space to be sure. The event is sure to have extra resonance this year, and Abraham Inc is an exciting ensemble.
Mon, Jan 19 at 6:30 pm
Peter Jay Sharp Theatre
Symphony Space,
NYC
Free and open to the public .
Honor the life and work of Dr Martin Luther King, on the eve of this historic presidential inauguration, with a celebratory night of music. Abraham, Inc. inspires audiences with their unique blend of the sounds and cultures of renowned trombonist Fred Wesley, who has worked extensively with James Brown, klezmer clarinet virtuoso David Krakauer, and beat architect Socalled.