Jews and Blues at JCC in Newton, MA

Jews and Blues at JCC
Saturday, January 27, 8:00 pm, and Sunday, January 28, 2:00 pm: "Jews and Blues," Leventhal-Sidman Jewish Community Center, Newton:
You might feel the JCC shake, rattle, 'n' roll when Artistic Director Joshua Jacobson and Zamir, in collaboration with Nathaniel Stringfield and his band, HouseK'wake, team up this weekend. The program includes individual sets by each group and a not-to-be-missed joint set showcasing Jewish and African-American music— swing, jazz, folk, gospel, reggae, and blues. For more information, go to LSJCC (http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=mfkt88bab.0.8qf568bab.p54cesbab.2674&ts=S0229&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ovationtix.com%2Ftrs%2Fcal%2F191) or call the JCC Box Office at 617-965-5226.

Cantors Sing Broadway for Benefit

From "West Side Story" to "Wicked," the music of the Broadway theatre will be highlighted at the "Cantors' Cabaret" concert at 7p.m., Thursday, February 15, 2007 at Congregation Rodeph Sholom, 7 W 83rd Street off Central Park West.

Joining Rodeph Sholom's Cantor Rebecca Garfein and Cantorial Intern, Jennifer Strauss-Klein are New York Metro Area Cantors, Claire Franco, Daniel Singer, Howard Stahl and pianist, Jonathan Faiman. The concert, a light-hearted tribute to the Broadway theatre will benefit the School of Sacred Music Scholarship Fund at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and Project Kehila, Rodeph Sholom's response to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. To date, Project Kehila has contributed tens of thousands of dollars to the hard-hit Gulf community.

General admission tickets to the "Cantors' Cabaret" are $25 in advance/$36 at the door; Senior citizen tickets (age 65 and above) are $18. All ticket prices include the

reception. Benefactor/ priority seating information is available upon request. For more information, please call (212) 362-8800, ext. 1337 or visit www.rodephsholom.org .

The concert will feature music from "Wicked," "Les Miserables," "Annie Get Your Gun," "Showboat," "Funny Girl," "West Side Story," and includes many songs written by Jewish composers..

Cantor Rebecca Garfein is the Senior Cantor of Congregation Rodeph Sholom in New York City and is the first female Cantor to hold this position in the history of the congregation. A graduate of the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University and the Hebrew Union College School of Sacred Music, Cantor Garfein made her Carnegie Hall debut with Mandy Patinkin and has sung in numerous recitals throughout the United States, Israel, and Europe. Cantor Garfein has two solo CD recordings, "Sacred Chants of the Contemporary Synagogue," a live recording from the 1997 Jewish Festival in Berlin and her first studio recording, "Golden Chants in America...Commemorating 350 years of Jewish Music, 1654-2004," the first U.S. recording to feature Jewish music spanning 350 years of life in America.

Cantor Claire Franco came to the cantorate with a diversified background. After graduation from the University of South Florida with a degree in business, music and English Literature, she worked in sales management before enrolling in Hebrew Union College School of Sacred Music. An accomplished pianist, she also worked as a musical director for a local theater company. Cantor Franco has an extensive theater background and has performed at Disney World among other venues.

In July of 2003, Cantor Franco joined the clergy team at The Community Synagogue in Port Washington, New York.

Cantor Daniel Singer majored in Music and Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin, and holds masters degrees in vocal performance from the University of Michigan and in sacred music from the Hebrew Union College School of Sacred Music. Before entering the cantorate, he was Voice Department Chair, Opera Workshop Director, and Head Start Coordinator at the Flint School for the Performing Arts. In addition, Cantor Singer was a resident artist with the Toledo Opera as well as the Israel Vocal Arts Institute and the Brevard Music Center. He made his solo debut in On Second Avenue with the Folksbiene Yiddish Theater. Cantor Singer currently serves as the senior cantor at Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in New York City.

Cantor Howard M. Stahl was called to Congregation B'nai Jeshurun in Short Hills, New Jersey in July of 1999. He is a graduate of the Hebrew Union College School of Sacred Music, and earned a Masters degree in Social Work from the State University of New York at Albany. Cantor Stahl has appeared on major stages throughout the world including the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, the Sarasota Opera House, and Carnegie Hall where he made his operatic debut in Massenet's Herodiade with the Opera Orchestra of New York with Renée Fleming and Grace Bumbry, under the direction of Eve Queler. Cantor Stahl can be heard on the from the Milken Archive of Jewish Music series - Leonard Bernstein: a Jewish Legacy; and The Music of Gershon Kingsley.

Originally from La Crosse, Wisconsin, Jennifer Strauss-Klein, soprano, is a third-year cantorial student at Hebrew Union College School of Sacred Music. She received her Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the University ofWisconsin-Madison in 1999, and her Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, MD in 2001. Jennifer continued to study at Peabody in the Graduate Performance Diploma program.

A multiple ASCAP award winner, Jonathan Faiman was described in The New York Times as "a pianist with the kind of technique that affords remarkable clarity even in the speediest lines." Critically acclaimed, his solo CD, Hie Up The Mountain, has been called "a major contribution to the available body of music by the generation now making its mark in American music". He has performed with The Ambrosia Trio and other musicians throughout North America and in Israel. In New York City, Mr. Faiman has performed extensively in most major halls, including Avery Fisher, Florence Gould, Merkin, Miller Theatre, Symphony Space, and Weill (Carnegie Recital Hall). Mr. Faiman is on the faculty of Bloomingdale School of Music and the Preparatory Division of Manhattan School of Music, from where he holds a Doctorate.

Alicia Svigals' Party Band at Celebrate Showcase

Free! Come dance the hora with dance leader Steve Weintraub and Alicia's klezmer party band!
Sunday, January 28, 12 to 5 p.m.

Big hora at 2 p.m! Come dance with us, and check out the band for your wedding or bat/bar mitzvah. Before and after the big hora, we'll be playing for and teaching klezmer and Israeli folkdancing in a more intimate setting. Its free, and its part of the Celebrate! Party Showcase featuring hundreds of party vendors.

Celebrate! Party Showcase
Teaneck Marriott at Glenpointe
100 Frank W Burr Boulevard
Teaneck, New Jersey 07666 USA
Phone: 1-201-836-0600
For showcase information and directions:
http://klezmerbyaliciasvigalsllc.c.topica.com/maafB44abv8DhbIFEx6eafpQav/ or call Flora at 1-203-322-2840

Read about Alicia Svigals at www.aliciasvigals.com
http://klezmerbyaliciasvigalsllc.c.topica.com/maafB44abv8DjbIFEx6eafpQav/


Visit the JCC website for more info: www.jccmanhattan.org

Whirling Dervish with Yuval Ron Ensemble

"deeply moving pan-Middle Eastern music"-- The Yuval Ron Ensemble unites the sacred musical traditions of Judaism, Sufism (Islamic mystical tradition) and the Christian Armenian Church into an unusual musical celebration. Bringing together artists from Arabic, Jewish and Christian ancestry the Yuval Ron Ensemble is dedicated to fostering an understanding of Middle Eastern cultures and religions.

What: An evening of Suft Music and Whirling and Sufi poetry of Rumi, Yunus and Hafiz

Who: Whirling Dervish of the Melevi Order- Aziz, with The Yuval Ron Ensemble, featuring Najwa Gibran, vocal soloist

Where: Church in Ocean Park, 235 Hill Street, Santa Monica, CA 90405. Free street parking on 4th street and streets east of 4th street or pay parking lots on Main Street or 1/4 block east of Main Street

When: Sunday, February 18, 2007 at 7:00pm

Money: Advanced tickets: $15, at the door: $20. For Advance Ticket information please call 818-505-1355 or email to info@yuvalronmusic.com

or Calendar page at www.yuvalronmusic.com

Aziz is a authentic Sufi Dervish, and a member of the Mevlana Sufi Order both in Turkey and the US. He was born in the Us for parents who were Sufis and he followed the Sufi path since his childhood. He has studied with the leaders of the Mevlavi order in Kunia and Istanbul in Turkey and with the head of the US Sufi Mevlana order in Northern California. He is a master whirler who performed with The Yuval Ron Ensemble in the World Festival of Sacred Music in LA in 2002 and in many other concerts in the US, most recently in the concert Sacred Soul in LA For Aziz, Sufi Whirling and Whirling as a way of life, are a way of worship and a way of Prayer.

In 2002 and 2005, the ensemble was featured at the World Festival of Sacred Music in Los Angeles and was honored to be the first American-based Middle Eastern Ensemble to perform at an International Peace Festival ’05 in South Korea. In addition, the Ensemble was chosen by the Mid-Atlantic Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts to represent the United States and its cultural diversity at the International Folk Music Festival in Lublin, Poland in 2005. In 2006 the Ensemble was the first to introduce the music of the Middle East to Chihuahua, Mexico at the International Chihuahua Festival.

Composer and Oud master Yuval Ron works across different media and styles, actively seeking new forms of interchange and collaboration between musicians and other artists. His compositions have served as soundtracks for television programs and films such as Oliver Twist (UPN Network) and To Life (a CBS special), to dance works with the innovative dancer/choreographer Oguri (with music from these collaborations recorded on two CDs, In Between the Heartbeat and In The Shadows), to concert works for chorus, orchestra, and cello. He has also served as an impresario, helping to organize concerts at the UCLA Hammer Museum highlighting the diversity of musical styles to be found in the Los Angeles area.

But for many, Yuval is known for his deeply moving pan-Middle Eastern music. This group at once unites the music and peoples of the Middle East, incorporating elements of Armenian, Levantine, Arabic, Bedouin, Sephardic, and other stylings to create a fusion that is at once deeply traditional and still boldly innovative. His recordings include One and One Truth (with renowned Turkish Sufi musician Omar Faruk Tekbilek), Under the Olive Tree: Sacred Music of the Middle East, featuring the spectacular young Arabic singer, Najwa Gibran and most recently Tree of Life also featuring Najwa Gibran.

For more information, please contact 818-505-1355 or info@yuvalronmusic.com. Yuval Ron can be reached directly at 818-505-1355 or yuval@yuvalronmusic.com.

www.yuvalronmusic.com

Frank London's "A Night In The Old Marketplace"

CD Release Celebration for Frank London's "A Night In The Old Marketplace"

Featuring
Ron Caswell, tuba. bass
Brandon Seabrook guitar, banjo, mandolin
Art Bailey keyboards, accordion
Aaron Alexander, drums

And vocalists... La Tanya Hall, Manu Narayan (star of Broadway's Bombay Dreams), Craig Wedren (from Shudder to Think), The Klezmatic's Lorin Sklamberg and many others featured on the recording.
CD Release Celebration:
Monday, March 26th
8pm
Barrow Street Theatre
27 Barrow St.
NY 10014
(corner of 7th Ave. South)
http://www.barrowstreettheatre.com
Admission: $20
Telecharge Website <http://www.telecharge.com/> or by phone inside the NY metro area at (212) 239-6200 and outside the NY metro area at 1 (800) 432-7250.


A Night In The Old Marketplace In Stores --April 3, 2007
http://www.soundbrush.com

Soundbrush Records presents A NIGHT IN THE OLD MARKETPLACE by Jewish music giant Frank London with lyrics by acclaimed playwright Glen Berger. Inspired by the legendary 1907 Yiddish play by I.L.Peretz, this extraordinary score mixes Jewish, jazz, classical, rock and world beats with a dose of Kurt Weill and Tom Waits. This collection of 21songs is performed by an array of stars including Manu Narayan (lead of Broadway's Bombay Dreams), the Klezmatics' Lorin Sklamberg, pop legends They Might be Giants, Celtic singer Susan McKeown, and Craig Wedren, leader of the cult rock group Shudder to Think.

The Night in the Old Marketplace band features the hottest, most versatile and exciting players on the new Jewish music scene: Aaron Alexander (drums), Ron Caswell (tuba), Art Bailey (accordion/piano) and Brandon Seabrook (guitar). London helped transform Jewish music through his work with The Klezmatics, the Hasidic New Wave, and his Klezmer Brass Allstars. Now he takes klezmer and Yiddish theater music solidly into the 21st century with this boldly original project.

Illustrated CD booklet includes lyrics.

In addition to the aftermentioned bands he has founded, London has composed the musical Green Violin (winner, Barrymore Award 2003), the Jewish folk-opera A Night in the Old Marketplace (winner, Frederick Loewe award), the song-cycle An Alphabet in the Sky, Tony Kushner's A Dybbuk, John Sayles' The Brother from Another Planet, Pilobolus Dance Theater's Davenen, Pearl Gluck's Divan (Winner, Best Soundtrack, Monaco Film Festival),and Great Small Works' Memoirs of Glikl of Hameln.

The Klezmatics releaseded their settings of Woody Guthrie poems on two CDS, the Grammy - nominated "Wonder Wheel" and "Happy Joyous Hanukah" to ecstatic press and sold out theaters this winter. His latest recordings include Frank London's Klezmer Brass Allstars' "Carnival Conspiracy" which won a German Critics' Award and was listed in Rolling Stone's Top CDs of 2007, his soundtrack to Pearl Gluck's film "Divan", his solo recordings of cantorial music, "Hazonos", Hasidic New Wave's Belly of Abraham, and solo CDs Invocations and Scientist at Work. Featured on over 200 recordings, he has performed and recorded with Allen Toussaint, John Zorn, LL Cool J, Mel Tormé, Itzhak Perlman, Lester Bowie's Brass Fantasy, LaMonte Young, They Might Be Giants, David Byrne, Gal Costa, Mark Ribot and Jane Siberry and on HBO's Sex and the City.

Mr. London's film scores include music for The Shvitz, John Sayles' the Brother from Another Planet and Hombres Armados, Yvonne Rainer's MURDER and murder, A Brother's Kiss, The Debt, and many others. In addition to Pilobolus Dance Theater, he has composed dance scores for Yoshiko Chuma, Min Tanaka, Tamar Rogoff, Elisa Monte and more. Musicologist Joel Ruben called him the person most responsible for pushing the Klezmer revival in the world beat and fusion with rock and jazz, and Harvey Pekar said "London is a passionate intelligent soloist, one of the best jazz trumpeters to emerge since 1980"

ABOUT THE MUSICIANS:
The Night in the Old Marketplace band features the hottest, most versatile and exciting players on the new Jewish music scene. Drummer Aaron Alexander released his thrash punk Jewish Jazz recording Midrash Mish Mosh on Tzadik records, and is London's bandmate in the Hasidic New Wave and the Klezmer Brass Allstars. Ron Caswell is tuba player for everyone in New York City, playing at Lincoln Center and in Balkan (Romashka), rock (The Knobs), klezmer (Kleztrophbix) and other groups. Art Bailey and Brandon Seabrook are both alumni of the Klezmer Conservatory Band (as is London). Bailey leads his Orkestra Popilar and is a salsa and jazz virtuoso. Seabrook is the hottest guitarist on the scene, toured and recorded with Paul Brody's Sadawi and the Klezmer Conservatory Band, influenced by John Bonham, Morton Feldman, Bjork and The Minutemen.