Rebecca Mac / Night Bird
Rebecca Mac / Night Bird, 2026
CD or digital download available from Bandcamp.
Time was, every bandleader had dozens, maybe hundreds of tunes stored up. In a few cases, they were written down, as the Sid Beckerman notebooks that peppered early KlezKamp sessions with "we'll be doing Beckerman 56". Only the best write their own. Mac, is clearly one of the best young bandleaders around, and here is a first offering from her imagination, fully steeped in what she has learned over the years. (Type Designer Fred Goudy used to say: "Those old guys! They stole all our best ideas!) And yet, here she is with new ones, tracing their lineage not just through the jazz-influenced American klezmorim, but also the older old guys in Eastern Europe!
And here is the band ably supporting her lightning fiddle playing, starting with the "Birthday Bulgar" and continuing on through several other new dance tunes, from a new (Romanian hora, not the Israeli dance) "Hora Batua," including "Leon's Sirba," from the late Leon Schwartz, the only non-original here. There are slower numbers, as well, ranging from the "Doina" to the title track, "Night Bird," a trip through melodies old and new, occasionally "Rozhinkes mit mandln," for instance, but with additional tunes, a medley. We end with poet Rokhl Korn's "Benkshaft" (Longing? Homesickness?), and a final, beautiful lullaby.
These, then, are Rebecca Mac's first entries into her book of tunes. I can't wait to hear what comes next. Until then, "Night Bird" hits the spot.
Reviewed by Ari Davidow, 20-Jul-2026.
Performers
Rebecca Mac: violin, vocal (track 9)
Akiva Jacobs: bass (tracks 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
Ira Khonen Temple: accordion (tracks 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10)
Giulia Haible: cello (tracks 4, 6, 7, 8, 10)
Zoe Christiansen: accordion & clarinet (tracks 2, 5)
Zoë Aqua: violin (track 2)
Michael McLaughlin: accordion (track 9)
Songs
- Birthday Bulgar 2:15
- Becca's Skotchne 3:20
- Leon's Sirba 2:07
- March for Gabriel 3:53
- Roziker Zhok 3:23
- Hora Batuta 2:42
- Doina 3:32
- Night Bird 4:59
- Benkshaft 3:24
- Libe Fareynikt Di Veltn 5:23
Tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 composed by Rebecca Mac.
Track 9 lyrics by Rokhl Korn.
Track 3 traditional, original recording by Leon Schwartz.
