the KlezmerShack

Over a year ago, I was on my way to starting to catch up on reviews and news. Hah! So, here is some quick catch up from the start of the year, and then I'll have to reach backwards as soon as I can to write about an amazing Yiddish New York. Tagline: That engagement with modernity which was so critical to why Yiddish matters as a world language is well re-engaged!

Baymele in Boston

I wanted to note that Baymele, which some of you may know as the band that supported Anthony Russell's wonderful Kosmopolitn a couple of years ago has its own album, Sapling, out. Consisting of instrumental music, often klezmer, it represents their corner of Eastern Europe. In a modest setting (the LilyPad) here in the Boston area, with the always tuneful and welcome Adah Hetko opening, Baymele blew through town last month to introduce folks to this remarkable recording. There was, of course, dancing in the aisles, good tales, and great music. While I try to find the words to type about the recording, please check it out on Bandcamp. Relying on the KlezmerShack to get a review done, much less in timely fashion, can be dangerous.

Then, last week, the redoubtable Rebecca Mac led her string band in what looked like a sold-out Club Passim to celebrate the release of her first solo album. Mac has recorded before, of course, notably with Mamaliga. She also teaches fiddle at Passim and hosts the monthly Klezmer Jam at the Boston Synagogue. Our privilege last week was to hear the Rebecca Mac String Band play from Night bird (cover artwork by her father?). I got to sit a couple of seats down from one of her teachers, Beth Bahia Cohen, and watch her kvell while my eyes and ears took in the music. The CD is now released. The digital release is not far behind. You have been alerted!

There are also some new articles about new-ish recordings:

• Frank London / Brass Conspiracy, 2024 (reviewed 14-Mar-2026)—a rare recording of London performing pure jazz and experimental music. I wish he did more. This is proof that when he does, it is very, very rewarding listening.
• Adrienne Cooper & Marilyn Lerner / All silent things speak today, 2025 (reviewed 13-Mar-2026)‐This was the final project of the late Adrienne Cooper. Poems by Anna Margolin, some in English translation, set to music by the genius of Marilyn Lerner. A reminder of what we have lost, but also an evocative, beautiful introduction to Margolin's art.
• Jordan Wax / טײַטש [The Heart Deciphers], 2025 (reviewed 5-Mar-2026)—like Daniel Kahn, Wax takes contempoary issues and sets them to (mostly) Yiddish song. But, also totally different, perhaps coming from grounding the songs in the music of the Southwest US. One of my favorite recent recordings
• Ira Khonen Temple / Mistame-loshn - Strange Tongue, 2025 (reviewed 5-Mar-2026)—like Wax, Temple has written songs in English and Yiddish, or more often, re-worked existing songs in our traditional canon to reflect the strength and joy of the resistance. This is the album I listen to when I need uplift. Temple has a way with puns and rhymes in Yiddish and English that always brings a smile to my lips, and a voice that fits the music perfectly.