Sue Horowitz new CD In the Water

Sue Horowitz is a Jewish singer-songwriter and Jewish guitar player who lives in coastal Maine. She writes, often in partnership with Reform Jewish Rabbi Lev Baesh, highly singable and usable modern Jewish songs appropriate for worship services at synagogues, camps, youth groups, Jewish holidays, and religious ceremonies.

Her debut contemporary Jewish music CD, Eleven Doors Open, was produced in Boston by the multi-talented Jewish performer and composer, Josh Nelson. Sue's new Jewish music CD, In the Water , was recorded in Nashville, and produced by Grammy-nominated Mark Niemiec, and well-known Jewish rocker Dan Nichols.

Visit http://www.suehorowitz.com/ where you can watch a short YouTube of Sue's rock.

Galeet Dardashti Releases CD The Naming

The Naming The Laughter and Crying of a Persian Jew. Galeet Dardashti Gives Voice to Provocative Women of the Bible

This is the story of why the brilliant Queen of Sheba shaved her legs, how the stunning Vashti laid down the line for her drunken husband, and how a mysterious witch spoke King Saul's doom and then served him a nice dinner. The Naming, the upcoming release from singer and composer Galeet Dardashti , draws on the Persian classical music and Middle Eastern Jewish singing deep in her bones to transform the ghostly outlines of Biblical women into full-blown flesh-and-blood personalities.

The Naming's release on September 14 occurs smack in between the Jewish High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah (September 9-10) and Yom Kippur (September 18), when Dardashti will be chanting services as cantor for her Park Slope, Brooklyn synagogue. She is the first woman in her family to continue her family legacy of distinguished Persian and Jewish musicianship. For the September 14 New York City release concert at Le Poisson Rouge (158 Bleecker St; www.lepoissonrouge.com), Dardashti will be accompanied on stage by her five-piece band,SYREN Modern Dance ( www.syrendance.org), and the work of LA-based video artist Dmitry Kmelnitsky of Lustre (www.lustrecreative.com ).

Leaping from passing mentions and phantom females, Dardashti seeks names and lives for the many women in the Bible, Talmud, and the Midrash, the millennia-old Hebrew commentaries. "I am not going to sugarcoat everything," Dardashti explains. "We know that women get the short stick. Women are marginalized. I am trying to show how for the most part women try to overcome that inequity. And how they can rise to the challenge and be powerful and funny."

Women like the Queen of Sheba ("Sheba"), whose interest in King Solomon blossomed into romance, but only after he had the brains to answer her riddles and only after she overcame one more obstacle. "In both Muslim and Jewish tradition, Sheba is a really cool character, a gorgeous queen who perhaps hailed from Ethiopia or Yemen. One of the stories repeated in both religious traditions says that just as they are about to make out, Solomon finds that her legs are really hairy, like a horse," Dardashti laughs. "So, the commentaries say, he has her remove the hair before he is willing to sleep with her. It's taking her down a notch. She's not really a woman. She couldn't be a woman and be that powerful and have such chutzpah and ask all those questions."

Strong, powerful women-both Israelite and non-Jewish-are everywhere in the Bible, from the bold Persian Queen Vashti who refused her carousing husband's orders to dance naked for his buddies ("Vashti"), to the witch of Endor, who foretold Saul's bitter end but then showed him motherly kindness ("Endora").

For Dardashti, these women's stories intertwine with her own family's tales of women breaking the rules: Just as the Biblical Michal donned the tallit (prayer shawl) and tefillin (leather prayer bands) only worn by men, so did Dardashti's childless great-aunt Tovah in Tehran years ago, who reasoned that since she did not have children to care for, she should take on the same religious obligations as men and use the same accoutrements. Dardashti links their stories musically in "Michal," singing the text recited while fastening the tefillin.

They also echo through her own story, and Dardashti's personal transition into motherhood drew her to the intriguing female shadows flitting through Jewish tradition. "I don't know if I would have done this project if I hadn't been pregnant. I'd never written about gender or gone to women's groups. But so much of what is mentioned about women in the Torah is about giving birth, or not giving birth and not being able to," Dardashti reflects. "And suddenly, I was linked to those stories, that identity as a woman with a child."

Binding texts in several languages from the Torah, Talmud, Midrash, and elsewhere, Dardashti crafts songs inspired by her heritage, the Persian classical music that her legendary grandfather Yona Dardashti performed in Iran, and the Persian Jewish liturgical tradition she learned from her father, Hazzan Farid Dardashti. The intertwined texts resonate with the sound of the Persian santur (hammered dulcimer) and Arabic qanun (zither), as well as in the Middle Eastern cantorial and Persian classical vocal techniques Dardashti employs to tell her stories. "In 'Vashti,' for example, I open with passages from the Book of Esther," Dardashti explains. "I chant that in the Persian style," the Hebrew liturgy sung the way it evolved among Iran's Jews.

Though Dardashti grew up in the U.S., singing in a family band "sort of like the Partridge Family, but without the van," she was separated from her grandfather's world and her Persian heritage by language and custom. "At that point, I thought my grandfather's music was beautiful, but it was definitely something foreign, different," Dardashti recalls. "In Iran, my grandfather was huge. He was one of the biggest singers in his day. He would sing at the Shah's palace, he had a weekly radio show, back when there was no TV, so everybody would listen every week. They knew he was Jewish," Dardashti recounts. Yona Dardashti was so popular as a singer, in fact, that even when he acted as cantor at the synagogue in Tehran , Jews and Muslims would line up to hear him. Dardashti's father carried on the family tradition with his own TV show, becoming a teen heartthrob before eventually leaving for the U.S. to attend college, and becoming a renowned cantor.

Only after she began research in Israel as a student, where Yona Dardashti and many other Persian Jews emigrated in the 1960s, did Dardashti come to a stirring realization. Her grandfather stopped performing locally after he established his new life in Israel . "The émigrés were less interested in keeping their Persian identity than in becoming Israeli, which was becoming more and more Western and less accepting of Middle Eastern culture. When I understood that, I was stunned."

To reconnect with her roots, Dardashti set about learning classical singing from Persian Jewish musicians in Israel, including the elusive taqrir , a glottal ornament in the intro to "Michal" that at first confounded her then more Western-oriented voice. After weeks of frustrated attempts to emulate it, "My teacher mentioned that it was like crying. I remember that that really opened things up for me," Dardashti muses. "Crying, but also laughing. It's the sound of pure emotion," a sound perfectly attuned to the bittersweet fates of Dardashti's heroines.

While shedding light on the strong women of the Abrahamic religions, Dardashti also strives through her music to bring Middle Eastern Jewish traditions to wider audiences. "Most people don't realize there was this shared culture or that there was such a thing as a Persian or Arab Jew. I am excited to share this music with people so that we can break these boundaries, these stereotypes of what Jewish is, what Iranian is," Dardashti reflects. "It's similar to what I am also trying to do in The Naming: breaking down walls about the characters I'm writing about."

For more about Dardashti, please visit www.galeetdardashti.com

The Naming is supported by a grant from the Six Points Fellowship for Emerging Jewish Artists, a partnership of Avoda Arts, JDub Records, and the Foundation for Jewish Culture, and made possible with major funding from UJA-Federation of New York.

Open the Gates CD

Robert Cohen has put out a collection of Jewish music of liturgical music by contemporary composers. He calls it "heart music" for prayer, healing, dance and meditation. Information about the CD, "Open the Gates" can be found at: http://www.rlcwordsandmusic.net/music/open-the-gates-vol-1-cd

Robert is a writer, editor, and lecturer. He frequently lectures on American Jewish music.

Jewish village of Putti in Uganda new CD

Mike Cohen traveled to Uganda to record a CD with the Jewish village of Putti. It's out and the music of "When I Wake Up" is an amazing blend of African music and Jewish music and texts. You can get it at
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/MusicFromPutti. All proceeds go to the village. For more info about Putti, you can visit
www.thejewsofuganda.org

Michal Tal New CD

Michal Tal, one of the most active musicians in Israel's piano scene, has a new 2-CD set called: Great Short Masterpieces for Piano. The CD features the works of Schubert, Debussy, Satie, and Berio. It is published as Romeo Records 7278/9.
email: info@romeorecords.com or tel: 917-613-8865.
For more information visit www.michaltal.com

Sy Kushner CD Release Performance

Klezmer Brunch at City Winery
Sy Kushner CD Release Performance
Nov.1, 2009
11.a.m. and 1.p.m.
Sy Kushner will be making a rare public appearance when he performs at City Winery* on Nov.1. He will be playing original tunes from his newly released CD, "Journeys". Accompanying him will be some of New York's top klezmer musicians.

Sy was one of the founders and musical director of The Mark 3, a trendsetting Jewish music ensemble in the mid 60's. More recently, he has released 3 CDs as well as books of transcriptions of both his own music as well as klezmer classics.

For more info, visit his website at nulitemusic.com

City Winery is located at 155 Varick Street in lower Manhattan.Doors open at 10 a.m. Show times are 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Music charge is $10 for both shows.

Dan Aran Breathing CD Released

An Israeli musician living in Brooklyn, Dan Aran just released his new CD Breathing containing a number of compositions by him. Aran is known in NY as a "brush specialist" and has got what the doctor ordered. Take a deep breath and listen to Breathing.. It's sure to put you in the right place.

Kulmus Hanefesh: A musical journey into the Hassidic niggun

The Jewish Music Research Centre in Jerusalem has released a new CD : Kulmus Hanefesh: A musical journey into the Hassidic niggun. The recordings are edited by Seroussi Edwin, the director of the Centre and Shaked Yuval, a composer. Performances by HaOman Hai ensemble in association with the Jewish Music Research Centre, Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Jerusalem Music Center. The album, released in 2009, includes a CD and a booklet in Hebrew.
Price: $ 20 / 80
For more information: http://www.jewish-music.huji.ac.il/store.asp?cat=21&in=0&id=2085&act=view

Soul Aviv CD Release

SoulAviv has produced a CD of the same name. The vocal group is located in Santa Barbara, CA. Members are three women: Erin Berkowitz, Jamie Green, (vocals and percussion) and Liat Wasserman all singing with Rob Raede, vocals and guitar. The recording features music aimed at "tikkun olam" or making the world a better place... featuring the sounds of gospel, soul, reggae. Additional tracks include a number of original songs by Rob Raede featuring Jewish themes. The album's vocal focus is energetic and highly entertaining. Some of the songs are "standards" recorded many times, such as "Wade in the Water" and "Rivers of Babylon/One Love" which joins a traditional gospel tune to Bob Marley's hit, or "Oh Had I a Golden Thread by Pete Seeger. While not definitive editions, they are well done. But other items include "Feel the Power" and "Naomi's Song," and "Modah Ani" by Bob Raede. Jamie Green also contributes "We Need Love". SoulAviv doesn't try to pretend that the gospel music is "Jewish" or vice versa. The first song, "Feel the Power" the text could be from either tradition..However, the blending flows out of combining the common threads of the "soul" or essence both in general and Jewish contemporary spiritual traditions. "Feel the Power" is in reggae rhythm while "Modah Ani" clearly reflects Jewish threads ala Debbie Friedman. The weakest selection is "Lean on Me" but still the beauty of the harmonies and the voices carries it. Generally, a very reliably entertaining album with a touch a soul from mixed traditions.

HaOman Hai Ensemble New CD Kulmus Hanefesh

A new CD by HaOman Hai Ensemble called Kulmus Hanefesh: A musical journey into the Hassidic niggun explores the integration of Jewish folk niggunim and instrumental music from eastern Europe into contemporary Israeli art music. Members of the group include Baruch Brenner, Andre Hajdu, Yair Harel, Nori Jacoby, Jonathan Niv, Eitan Kirsch, and Matti Kovler. Participants are: Avishai Fisz, Roni Mosenson-Nelken and Itamar Ringel The CD is produced by the Jewish Music Research Centre of Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Andre Hajdu (b. March 5, 1932-) is an Israeli musicologist and composer who has taught at Bar Ilan University since 1970. He studied music with Darius Milhaud and Olivier Messiaen, among others. Hajdu helped found a composition department at Bar Ilan. Hajdu has studied folk musics of Eastern Europe, including niggunim of the Hassidim, and Jewish instrumental music, today known as "klezmer" music.

Yearning new CD by Valitova

Lilia Valitova has released a new solo piano CD "Yearning" You can read and listen to some songs from the album at her web site www.valitova.com or visit the CD Baby site at: www.cdbaby.com/cd/liliavalitova and at www.amazon.com

Upto Here | From Here CD Release

Vocalist Ayelet Rose Gottlieb releases third album Upto Here | From Here In stores in USA/Canada and digitally worldwide. This review came to the JMWC:
With her third full-length album, Israeli-born Ayelet Rose Gottlieb has elevated to a rarefied level of artistry. On the new album, Upto Here | From Here, released August 11 on Arogole Records imprint and distributed through ObliqSound, Gottlieb pulls the art of jazz singing out of its safety zone and infuses it with new possibilities, exploring the human voice in a way that few contemporary singers can or will. And Gottlieb does so seemingly nonchalantly, with the panache and authority of an artist who has been making records for decades, not a mere handful of years.

"Unlike so many singers around her, she explores the textures and styles that her voice can produce. She is an instrumentalist on par with any other and a fully integrated member of her band," notes Andrey Henkin, editor of All About Jazz, in the album's liner notes. Upto Here | From Here features a cast of musicians with whom Gottlieb has worked since 2002, some of the most skilled and visionary players the New York jazz scene has to offer:
Loren Stillman (saxophone),
fellow Israelis Avishai Cohen (trumpet) and Anat Fort (piano),
Ed Schuller (bass)
and the late Take Toriyama (drums), who passed away in 2007.


Gottlieb's earlier recordings--the avant-garde-oriented debut InTernal ExTernal (Genevieve, 2004) and Mayim Rabim (Tzadik, 2006), an original song cycle based on the erotic biblical love poem "Song of Songs" and sung entirely in Hebrew--established Gottlieb as an adventurous, even audacious performer.

Upto Here | From Here, co-produced by Gottlieb and her husband Shahar Levavi, makes it even clearer that Gottlieb is a commanding artist who thrives on the unexpected: Her improvisational acumen is second to none, her confidence as a leader and her range defy description, and her artistic inquisitiveness spurs her to outdo herself each time out.

HA'OROT-THE LIGHTS OF RAV KOOK

Tonight Tuesday, June 16th
8pm
GREAT SHOW ! GREAT BAND !
Cover $15
CD release concert of
HA'OROT-THE LIGHTS OF RAV KOOK by
Greg Wall's 'LaterProphets'

The Jewish Music Cafe
401 9th Street (Between 6th & 7th Avenues)
Brooklyn NY 11215

Serving delicious Gourmet Pasta Dishes, Wraps, Cheese Cake , Beer and more !

Featuring Rabbi Itzchak Marmorstein
The lineup is:
Rabbi Greg Wall saxophones, clarinet,shofar, moseno
Shai Bachar keyboards
Dave Richards bass
Aaron Alexander drums
Rabbi Itzchak Marmorstein spoken word

Some cuts from the just released on Tzadik Records CD -HA'OROT-THE LIGHTS OF RAV KOOK can be heard here:
www.myspace.com/orotharav

More info and directions at http://www.jewishmusiccafe.com

Suvenir Kantigas en Ladino

There are only a few albums that are wholly satisfying whether it's the music, the vocals or accompaniment, the selection or arrangements. One new album that nicely fits the bill is the Suvenir Kantigas en Ladino recently released on CD by Betty Klein of Jerusalem. It's simple: It's beautiful. On much of this album are newly composed songs to newly composed Ladino poetry. Klein sings and plays variously guitar, celtic harp, piano, keyboard, accordion, bouzouki, mandolin, flute, recorder, oud, percussion, as well as writing the compositions and making the arrangements. Both the texts and the collaborations read like a 'who's who' of poets, Ladino teachers and experts throughout Israel, the US and elsewhere. This recording is not the relic of some long dying culture, but a showcase of a vibrant society still active amongst a large population in Israel and abroad. To get more information, visit www.myspace.com/kleinbettymusic

Like a Rose Among the Thorns

Rosally Saltsman announces a new disc (for women audiences only) Like a Rose Among the Thorns. The CD is available for order on her website where you can also hear samples of the songs: http://www.shemayisrael.com/publicat/rosallysaltsman/

New Debbie Friedman CD Shacharit Prayers

Debbie Friedman has released a new CD "As You Go On Your Way: Schacharit --The Morning Prayers". This just released CD has a combination of Debbie's compositions and melodies to the liturgical texts of the Shacharit, the morning service. Some of the songs on the album are new, but many were composed as long ago as 1972. In a way this retrospective is a perspective piece. The "traditional" repetitions, for example are where the text is more traditional (for example, in the Amidah, the Imahot are included in the non- traditional setting.) The album helps the listener integrate the familiar tunes of Friedman with some chanting of segments of the service. Friedman states in her album "By praying we can understand how each Bracha, each blessing, helps us build a balanced and grateful life. Drawing on our ancient yet connected past, we ignite aspirations for holiness, wisdom, personal and communal redemption, pleading for health and healing, for ourselves and others." Her website is www.debbiefriedman.com has information on ordering the disk. She also has a free download of the album booklet insert.

CD Release Oud Prayers on the Road to St. Jacques

Oud Prayers on the Road to St. Jacques
Sacred music of the Abrahamic faiths
Oud solo performances and arrangements by Yuval Ron

International composer, producer and world music artist Yuval Ron takes on a highly symbolic endeavor, to unite chants from the three religious traditions of the Middle East into a handful of harmonic musical medleys. His deeply moving weaving of ancient sacred music from the Hebrew, Maronite, Armenian and Sufi traditions results in a decidedly contemplative, meditative and introspective experience. Upon hearing a performance on the Oud by Yuval Ron, Pir Zia Inayat- Khan, head of the Sufi Order International, remarked: "While deep practice of one's religious tradition is like sounding a note, a note of great integrity and beauty, bringing together many sacred traditions through the harmony of music expands the notes into a symphony!" Recorded in live recitals on April 18, 2007 at Chapelle de Cgan (built 12th Century) in Arthez and on April 19, 2007 at Notre Dame a Sarrance (built 14th century) in Sarrance. Both chapels are on the historic pilgrimage road “Route de St. Jacques de Compostelle” (“Camino de Santiago de Compostela”) in Basque region, France.
phone orders: 415-924-4848
www.myspace.com/yuvalronensemble
www.myspace.com/yuvalron

Rebecca Teplow Releases Hope

Rebecca Teplow's latest CD "Kaveh, Hope" has just been released. The songs are all in Hebrew and composed and arranged by Rebecca on liturgical texts. Rebecca's strong embrace of text is clear and distinct. She has interestingly even composed variations of her own songs and presents "Gam Ki Elech" twice in different styles. I liked the Joni Mitchell clarity and simplicity of her word painting in "Esa Einei" and that is one of her real strengths. The rock idiom predominates as in pieces such as "Hinei Kel," which also includes some fun instrumentals. Teplow's use of contemporary musical idioms are muted but used in a effective way, as in the introduction to "Peyrasti," which starts out in one idiom but morphs into a rock sequence with some nice guitar riffs. The songs showcases Teplow's vocal range and ends the entire album with a quiet dieout. Many will enjoy this album. It's available through CD Baby.com.

Reuben Jewish Jazz Duo

The Reuben Jewish Jazz Duo is Nehama and Shimon Reuben, husband and wife professionals in Jewish music, for harp & piano. They perform traditional Jewish music, liturgical, and new compositions. They have produced several albums between 1997 and the present, and travel throughout Europe to play in festivals. They appeared in Prague at the Jewish Music Festival in summer of 2000 and on national French TV for the 2000 millenium celebrations. Shimon recently recorded a new double album CD piano jazz solo "Yom Yeroushalayim Blues", 25 compositions Nehama composed for harp solo and just published "Rhapsodia Ivria for harp" by Editions Combre - Paris. CDs are for sale at www.fnac.com
shimon-reuben.jimdo.com
nehama-reuben.jimdo.com

Shandel Antelis, Aliza Dubin -- CD Release Parties

"Kol Isha" Concert (For Women Only) curated by the Rockin' Rebbetzin
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Doors 7pm Cover $12
Featuring a CD Release Parties of Shandel Antelis and Aliza Dubin

THE JEWISH MUSIC CAFE
401 9TH STREET
BETWEEN 6TH & 7TH AVE.
PARK SLOPE BROOKLYN
For MORE INFO & DIRECTIONS HTTP://WWW.JEWISHMUSICCAFE.COM

Songs in the Key of Hanukkah

Created and produced by composer and multi-instrumentalist Erran Baron Cohen, the CD is a collection of songs that "brings the ancient music of Hanukkah kicking and screaming straight into the 21st Century" ..." the songs combine klezmer, reggae, electronica, hip hop, tango, pop and other genres, all fluently woven into something uniquely Baron Cohen’s. The album contains five reinterpretations of classic favorites as well as five original tunes created exclusively for this project, all sung in English, Hebrew or Ladino (Judaeo-Spanish)." Featuring Jules Brookes in new English texts, some songs on the album performed by some world-class Jewish singers, including Israeli superstar Idan Raichel, world-music diva Yasmin Levy and New York City-based rapper Y-Love. For more info:
http://newlinerecords.com/hanukkah/info.html

Poykler's Shloft Lied new CD from Matt Temkin

Matt Temkin's Yiddishe Jam Band CD Release Show and Party Wednesday, November 12, 7pm

Join drummer Matt Temkin as he celebrates the release of his band's debut CD, Poykler's Shloft Lied, in which they explore the intersection of large combo Jazz and Yiddish dance music.

The event will take place at:
Stephen Wise Free Synagogue
30 W. 68th St.
New York, NY 10023.

For information, please call 212-877-4050 or visit us at:
www.swfs.org.

Talia Applebaum Flashes in the Darkness Album

Several times in the last year (or so) there have been concerts for women based on the album by Talia Applebaum Flashes in the Darkness. It deserves another look for the humour, fun, a bit of blues, a little jazz, a bit of funk, but mostly American folk. Talia is writing about the stuff of her chosen life with the Breslov Hassidmi, and the way religious devotion permeates her life, blended into 'the everyday.' The music gives a window into that world --that Talia obviously relishes-- for the rest of us. All music and lyrics are by Talia, including blending English and Hebrew with an all female accompaniment. Occasionally the melody and words don't quite make it, but most often they do, and music cleverly wraps into the lyric.The best piece, (or maybe better to say, the one more universally related to all Jews' experience), is "Perservere" with arrangement and piano by Shana Friedman, which could fit into any Jewish denomination's repertoire. The CD is labeled "for women only." Clips are available through CD Baby: http://cdbaby.com/cd/talia. To contact Talia directly, email her at: flashes@bezeqint.com

Eight Nights of Joy from Live Concert

An early-bird Chanukah album reached JMWC even before Rosh Hashonah! The Maxwell Street Klezmer Band teamed up with Rabbi Joe Black to create a great Chanukah show for Temple Sholom in Chicago. Now you can join in the fun. It's more than a children's album, although there are some great pieces for the kids, especially the new ones composed by Joe Black. He has a great ear for combining lyrics with the American folk and country sound which work well and sound great for kids. There are also some fantastic jazz arrangements with Maxwell Street. Joe Black also has some moving pieces that are for the parents too, such as "Faith is Not A Flag". Lori Lippitz has such a wonderful voice as everyone knows from over twenty years in previous albums,-- and she's featured in "Chanukah Lights." Kimber Leigh Nussbaum, a lead singer with the group, is also terrific in "Abi Gezunt", a song that has been done so many times, it takes a lot of energy to make it fresh. Great instrumentals fill in the album along with the traditional blessings and Chanukah favorites in a sing-along medley. For information on ordering the album, email maxwellst@aol.com or by visiting the website at http://www.klezmerband.com/index.html. For more info, there's a link for the album at www.eightnightsofjoy.com

Shmoozin' Just Hits the Spot

A new album, called simply, Shmoozin', has been released by our friends from 'down under' -- Australia-- The group is Klezmania and they have produced an album that just hits the spot. Give it to all your girlfriends, honey. Freydi Mrocki is the vocalist. She does a nice job that keeps the album in a even mood. David Breytman, bayan (a Russian type of button chromatic accordian); David Krycer, double bass and guitars; and Lionel Mrocki on clarinet, saxophone, guitar, percussion, didgeridoo, (this is an Australian album after all!) and vocals. There are a lot "standards" on this album, but there are some differences. They start with Leonard Cohen's "Dance Me to the End of Love" but add some Yiddish verse by Doodie Ringelblum. The fantastic cover art must be mentioned since you can see it's a special piece. It's by Eva Hannah and reflects the spirit of the album, friendly, comfortable, relaxed and folks you want to be with. Visit http://www.klezmania.com.au/ for more information.

And Sarah Danced CD Release

Emil Skobeloff and Or Chadash have released an album of all new tunes to liturgical music called "And Sarah Danced.: The album is thoroughly American in concept, and takes the listener on a walk through fifty-plus years of American popular styles, attached to Jewish liturgical texts. Skobeloff succeeds in creating some good tunes and some are quite catchy. So for those fond of American style music for Jewish worship, check out this album. Several of the successful songs are the "Magen Avot", "Ma Tovu" and "Ashrei". Skobeloff has a myspace page at: www.myspace.com/emilskobeloff Emil's MySpace page gives this bio: "Emil Skobeloff is a native of the Philadelphia area. He received his vocal training from Mary Romig deYoung, who was a mainstay on the faculty at the Philadelphia College of the Performing Arts. Under her direction, he developed his vocal skills, and performed live, and on local television for years. Emil received cantorial training as a protégé to Cantor Sigmund Blass, a Hungarian survivor of the Holocaust. Cantor Blass' passionate style opened the door to emotional and spiritual interpretations of liturgical music. While attending the Beth Jacob Hebrew Day School in Philadelphia, Emil was exposed to Gospel music in South Philadelphia on Sunday mornings, coming to and from choir practice. He was captivated by the passionate, visceral intensity of Gospel music. Combining the fervor of Cantor Blass' lessons and the poignant intensity of Gospel music, Emil began his quest for musical styles and interpretations that expose the core of human passions, experiences and frailties."

Eyal Moaz Edom

Tzadik label has released Eyal Maoz's Edom. Eyal Maoz, a guitarist, is a composer born in Israel but based in New York City. His CD Edom is with John Medeski on organ, Shanir Blumenkranz on acoustic and electric bass and Ben Perowsky on drums. Maoz is known as a leader of the fusion-neo-klezmer group "Lemon Juice". His ensembles performed at the Red Sea International Jazz Festival, Verizon Jazz Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival, NYC Winter JazzFest and many more. Eyal was hosted at NPR WNYC ear To Ear radio program, presenting some of his music and ensembles. Maoz wrote nine original tracks for this CD. The CD is part of the Radical Jewish Culture series on John Zorn's Tzadik Records. The cover photo, along with some musical elements, reflect tributes to the Masada songs on another Tzadik recording.

Lisa Jane Lipkin CD A Prayer for Peace

Lisa Jane Lipkin, an American singer songwriter, has created a new collection of Jewish prayers and chants based on traditional texts but performed with her own compositions. These prayers represent a spiritual journey for Lipkin, with Hebrew and English texts. Lipkin is a New York based musician who has recorded, arranged and produced for other artists including Sandi Kimmel, Christine Pepe and Neal Bomberg. Her first CD was Raise the Honey. Lisa has said "With the thirst of a mystic I traversed the world of spiritual teachings only to discover that all the wonders I learned out there were also in here in Jewish prayer and thought." Lisa has performed at NYC Mamapalooza, the Towne Crier, and the Tupelo Music Hall. For information about the CD, visit: www.lisjanelipkin.com or http://cdbaby.com/cd/ljlipkin2 Lisa Jane Lipkin, born in New Jersey, studied flute, oboe and choral music. She took a BA in music from Rutgers University, studying jazz with Kenny Baron. She studied voice, and began singing standards at open mics in Greenwich Village. She later was musical director for a 60s girls group revue "The Heartbreaks". She worked for ten years in the recording industry, including a stint at jazz radio promotion at BMG.

Eyal Bitton's CD High Holiday Memories

A new CD, High Holiday Memories: Timeless Moroccan & Sephardi Classics, has been released by Eyal Bitton. Bitton is a composer lyricist and musical director. He contributed lyrics for the musical of Mordecai Richler's The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz and has written for such musicals as King David, Moses, Freedom: The Moses & MartinLurther King Jr. Musical Tribute. Bitton is Musical Director at Toronto's Beth Tikvah Synagogue. He has conducted choirs for the Spanish & Portugues Synagogue (Canada's first congregation), Adath Israel Poale Zedek, Jewish Peoples and Peretz Schools, La Chorale Kinor and others. For more information about the CD, visit: www.eyalbitton.com

CD Release for Teach My Lips a Blessing: The Music of Erik Contzius

"Teach My Lips a Blessing: The Music of Erik Contzius" makes its debut at Temple Israel of New Rochelle on June 20, 2008. Recorded with the Amor Artis Chamber Choir under the baton of Maestro Johannes Somary, Christopher Creaghan, organist, guest cantors Helene Reps and Hayley Kobilinsky, tenor Jacob Meiner and the Youth Choir of Temple Israel, Cantor Erik Contzius lends his baritone voice and compositional style to this CD of twenty works for the synagogue. This collection highlights the grandeur of the Reform prayer service as well as several of the Psalms and other liturgies. Contzius' composition, "And Hannah Prayed," featured on this recording was recently selected as a finalist at Shalshelet's Third International Festival of New Jewish Liturgical Music in Wisconsin.

"Teach My Lips a Blessing" is available through digital distributors such as iTunes and Amazon.com, and is available as a physical CD at <http://cdbaby.com/cd/contzius>. Reviewers have said of the new recording:

"...what a collection of innovative melodies both traditional in style and eclectic..."

"...a well balanced variety of inspirational choral and solo compositions..."

"The range of texts the boldness of the interpretations and the beauty of the renditions are all helping to point the way forward for recordings of Jewish liturgical music."

More information about the recording and Cantor Contzius can be found at: <http://contzius.com/>.

Amaseffer "Slaves for Life" CD Release

Amaseffer, a band from Israel has release a new CD "Slaves for Life" which features everthing from rock, metal to sounds of the Middle East. The recording is part of a planned trilogy that tells the history of the Israel people. In a way, it feels a bit like a rock opera or the score to a film, but the music can't be pinned down to one style. However, the recording is quite compelling. Considering that this reviewer is not a heavy metal fan that's saying a lot. The album shifts mood with each scenario presented. Members of the b and are Hanan Avramovich (guitars), Yuval Kramer (Guitars), Erez Yohanan (drums, percussion and narration). Also appearing on the album are Mats Leven (lead vocals), Kobi Farhi (all eastern vocals), and Special Guest Angela Gossow.

CD "TWO FAITHS, ONE VOICE"

An Innovative CD, "TWO FAITHS, ONE VOICE," blending Sephardic and Eastern European folk traditions is being released in May. There will also be a March concert in Vilnius, Lithuania which will mark a world premiere.

Sefarad Records, a contemporary musical enterprise that produces recordings and concerts of ethnic folk music spanning many centuries and cultures, is releasing "Two Faiths, One Voice," an acoustic album that uncovers surprising synergies between Christian and Jewish musical traditions. Featuring singer and folklorist Maria Krupoves and the singer and virtuoso guitarist Gerard Edery, "Two Faiths, One Voice" world premieres in Eastern Europe (at the Bernardine Church in Vilnius, the site of many ecumenical concerts, on March 24) prior to its U.S. premiere and CD release which take place in New York at Drom, 85 Avenue A, on Tuesday May 27 at 8pm.

Tracing the nomadic wanderings of Sephardic music over the centuries -- from Medieval Spain to modern Eastern Europe -- "Two Faiths, One Voice" reveals multiple, deep-rooted parallels between Eastern-European (Jewish and Christian) and Middle-Eastern (Jewish and Arabic) musical faiths.

The product of a two-and-a-half-year collaboration between Edery, based in New York and the founder of Sefarad Records, and Krupoves, a specialist in Central and Eastern European folksongs, "Two Faiths, One Voice" is notable for its curatorial insight as well as its musical virtuosity. Edery, a master player in multiple languages and styles (he sings in fifteen languages and speaks four fluently), is renowned for assembling world music instrumentalists, dancers and folklorists in unique and highly acclaimed cross-cultural concerts and recordings. Krupoves, who is a professor at the Vilnius Yiddish Institute at Vilnius University in Lithuania, sings in twelve languages and dialects, and is fluent in seven. A woman of Christian heritage, she is a specialist of a wide array of Jewish music, singing in Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino, and even Karaim (an off-shoot of Judaism from 8th century Babylon). She is credited with preserving important portions of Jewish folk tradition, particularly songs from isolated, so-called stateless Jewish communities.

Edery and Krupoves have performed in concert together in over a dozen major European and American cities. "Our upcoming 'Two Faiths, One Voice' concerts come at a particularly meaningful time," says Edery. "Incidents of anti-Semitism are a constant problem in the former Soviet Union. At the same time efforts to promote understanding through the arts are also gaining strength. We are deeply honored to premiere this concert in Vilnius, once a leading center of Jewish culture."

Interpreting songs in Ladino, Hebrew, Yiddish, Turkish, Galician-Portuguese, Tartar and Gypsy (among others), Krupoves and Edery revel in the shared stories, lyrics and melodies of people separated for centuries by ethnic and religious hatreds. "There are connections between the cultures and overlap, which prove the fluidity of oral and musical traditions," Edery observes. "Our art reminds us that the boundaries that often separate us can be easily and magically bridged." For more information visit www.sefaradrecords.com

Eyn Velt Brian Bender and Little Shop Of Horas

There's a great review of Brian Bender's new CD Eyn Velt on "Klezmer Podcast Blog". Brian is bending the boundaries beautifully... of klezmer, that is. So take a peek here and read all about it: http://klezmerpodcast.wordpress.com/2008/03/07/review-eyn-velt/
And when you finish reading the review, check out Brian Bender's Little Shop of Horas at www.littleshopofhoras.com

ZINGT! A CELEBRATION OF YIDDISH CHORAL MUSIC

ZINGT! A CELEBRATION OF YIDDISH CHORAL MUSIC,
the CD released by the Jewish People's Philharmonic Chorus
conducted by Binyumen Schaechter
is now available on CD BABY,
For those
who love Yiddish music,
who love choral music,
who love great music,
who love an excellent recording!

The 32-page booklet that comes with the CD has the complete texts in Yiddish, transliteration, and in English translation.
http://www.cdbaby.com
and click on new arrivals / world / yiddish
or click on http://cdbaby.com/cd/jppchorus

CD Release 'Bessarabian Hop'

This Sunday February 17 2008 Michael Winograd is the releasing the new CD 'Bessarabian Hop' The CD release party will take place at the
Workmen's Circle @ 8pm
doors @ 7ish
45 E.33rd Street, $10
Sunday 2/17

w/ Joey Weisenberg - mandolin
Patrick Farrell - accordion
Pete Rushefsky - tsimbl
Daniel Blacksberg - trombone
Nick Cudahy -bass
Richie Barshay - percussion

Michael Alpert and Judith Berkson - vocals

Michael Winograd - clarinet

and guests

there will be singing!
there will be dancing
there will be eating!
there will be blowing! (specifically for the clarinet and trombone)
there will be hitting! (specifically for the tsimbl and percussion)
there will be bowing!
there will be squeezing and plucking!
there will be SPECIAL GUESTS!
there will be NORMAL GUESTS!
there will be music!
there will be chairs!
there will be CDs FOR SALE!
there will be clapping! (we hope)
there will be Yiddish!
there will be English!
there wont be Spinach!

please come and tell all your friends

Becoming Hirschhorn Revises and Renews

There are some memorable albums that reflect a newer and older generation in popular music, Natalie Cole singing a "duet" with her father, electronically created using his original vocal. Here, Linda Hirschhorn revisits not a parent, but herself as the child of the parent, or, maybe vice versa. Putting down harmonies, and fuller tracks with some of her older songs recorded in the 1980s. Hirschhorn, along with some of her friends and daughter, revisits not only herself, but a generational change in American contemporary music. And why do we need more now? Is simplicity not enough? Here, depth in meaning is just as necessary to the spiritual and emotional needs of the generation today, and Hirschhorn gathers her own strength to capture that in a variety of styles. Of course there are a few newer songs, such as "Bountiful Love," from the wisdom of "Don't Keep Waiting, and "Hafoch V'Hapech" " to the exquisitely aching "Bishiva" to the rousing "Kumi." We can still enjoy "My Beloved", "Talia's Lullaby" and "Winter's Song." Her voice is still as soothing and good as ever. A great album for women, or anyone from any Jewish persuasion. Some texts of songs are on the website. http://www.lindahirschhorn.com

PHP release new CD Hodu

The band PHP just released their debut album "HODU" with Sameach music. Check out PHPJams.com The website features pictures, sound bites and there's video to download. The band is not sure what PHP stands for, -- but in analog-land it might be called a pretty hot platter.

SHAINA ETTEL releases CD YA'ALE

New CD Release: Ya’ale is for sale through CDBaby - http://cdbaby.com/cd/shainaettel

With Ya’ale, her first solo recording, Shaina Ettel expresses her love of Torah and song. She brings a fresh approach to traditional Jewish music. She captures the heart and soul of Chabad niggunim. The songs are powerful . The CD comes with an 8 page insert with text in English and Hebrew. Shaina Ettel’s voice has an “ethereal” quality and has been compared to Judy Collins, or Sarah Brightman. This CD, consists of 13 selections with Shaina Ettel accompanied by both piano and full orchestration.

Shaina Ettel grew up in Saratoga Springs, New York. She is a professionally trained vocalist, and has performed in many concerts and shows. She made Aliyah 2½ years ago and presently lives in the picturesque Nachlaot neighborhood. She recently played the title role of Ruth the Gush Etzion’s RSY original musical production of Ruth and Naomi in the Fields of Bethlehem. Google Shaina Ettel or visit her website www.ShainaEttel.com

Duo Known as "Temple" revitalize Chanting

Temple -- Danya Uriel and Eyal Rivlin are dedicated to revitalizing chanting as a form of meditation and ecstatic prayer. They create and share their music in the service of inspiration, community building, and devotion. Drawing on the power of the repetition of ancient sacred phrases, they use Hebrew and English chants to create inner and outer peace. Also known as the duo, Temple, their CD, Coming Home, was released by Sounds True in July 2007. For more information please visit www.HebrewChanting.com

“Eyal Rivlin and Danya Uriel have found the key to the temple of the soul. From there they mined melodies that touch the heart, lift the spirit and refresh the body.” ~ Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi

Miriam Ahuvat-El(Ohevet-El) Iron CDs

Miriam Ahuvat-El(Ohevet-El) Iron
Miriam is Jerusalemite singer and song-writer, the descendant of a Hassidic family from Karlin who arrived from White Russia to Israel as early as 1846. She has published a CD, Hassidic Shabbath Songs and Nigunim of Karlin.Many of these Chasidic tunes were, according to tradition, "passed down through the generations, from the time of the great Hassidic Rebe, Reb Araleh Hagadol of Karlin, who was part of the circle of the Baal Shem Tov." Miriam has also published a CD of her songs "Miriam Ahuvatel sings Psalms", which appeared at the Shalshelet competition. "Ways of Peace" is another CD. Miriam has put her CDs for sale on CD-baby http://cdbaby.com/cd/miriamae. Miriam's CDs dress the melodies in some modern garb, including jazz and modern American musical elements. Miriam has a very pleasant voice, and the songs are all well done.

CD Release "No More Hanging Loose"

Zlati Krycer announces the release of CD "No More Hanging Loose." Though an observant, religious Jew herself, Zlati hopes to reach out to women in general with songs that evince the experience and emotion of being a woman through a spiritual lens. To hear samples, http://cdbaby.com/cd/zlatikrycer Zlati has somewhat of a high, nasal voice and sings in a basic folk manner. While some of her songs are interesting, the recording is somewhat amateurish and lyrics, while intended to be "slangy" come across as naive. ("Torah is where it's at") But you be the judge... some people may like it and it's certainly sincere and heartfelt. Her website says: "Growing up in Brooklyn, NY in a family of musicians, Zlati’s musical career began as a vocalist, performing in various choirs as a soprano. Playing piano throughout the early years, she began to learn guitar to accompany herself as a solo singer. A natural songwriter from the start, Zlati has been accumulating experiences, having lived in Australia and various cities in the US. Being also a wife and mother, combined with her journey toward authentic Torah Judaism has greatly deepened Zlati’s compositions to something thought and soul provoking. Having recently moved to Dallas, TX with her family, she has continued the musical expression process by completing her first solo CD, “No More Hanging Loose”.

Temple Coming Home CD Release

Danya Uriel and Eyal Rivlin, a young couple from Boulder, CO, produced a CD of Hebrew chanting, and some new songs based on Hebrew liturgy reconnecting to "ancient Hebrew mantras," according to their website. Their music and information about the CD can be viewed at www.hebrewchanting.com

Shul Band of New York has new CD Instrumentals

The Shul Band writes: We have a new CD titled "Instrumental" and have a whole new folk rock body of work that we will perform at the concert and that will be on our next CD coming out in April. The new tunes are definitely inspired at least in part by the 'Barn', 'The Pond' and 'You ain't goin no where' sing-a-longs. www.theshulofnewyork.org

'Kamti Lehallel' from Beth Hatefutsoth

'Kamti Lehallel' (I Rise in Praise) a Double CD album has been released from Beth Hatefutsoth featuring the music of the Spanish & Portuguese communities of Amsterdam, London and New York. The set contains 50 cantorial works representing centuries of tradition, sung by Cantor Daniel Halfon of the Yad Harav Nissim synagogue in Jerusalem, accompanied by the Or Hadash Choir and a small chamber orchestra conducted by Azi Schwartz. For information on the album see http://www.bh.org.il/Music/catalogue.aspx#kamti A review appeared in The Jerusalem Post Oct. 16 http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1192380567106&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

'Friling' CD Release of Luceete Van Den Berg

The Sholem Aleichem Cultural Center,
3301 Bainbridge avenue, Bronx, NY near 208th st, (and Montefiore Hospital)
Sunday, Oct. 28th, 1:30 PM
to hear the visiting Dutch Yiddish singer
Lucette Van den Berg

This is a CD release party for her recording "Friling" which includes new Yiddish songs by Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman. Lucette has a beautiful voice and she is the first to record almost all of these songs.

Take the D train to 205th st. or the 4 train to Mosholu Parkway. information: 917-930-0295

Midnight Prayer CD by Joel Rubin Ensemble

Midnight Prayer
Joel Rubin Ensemble
(Traditional Crossroads
780702-4332-2)

Announcing the release of the new CD, "Midnight Prayer" by the Joel Rubin Ensemble. Clarinetist Rubin has long been considered to be one of the leading performers of Jewish instrumental klezmer music in the world today, earning accolades from sources as diverse as klezmer giants Dave Tarras and Max Epstein, international clarinet soloist Richard Stoltzman, avant garde composer John Zorn, and Nobel Prize Laureate and poet Roald Hoffmann. The ensemble also features Hungarian cimbalom virtuoso Kálmán Balogh, Italian accordion wizard Claudio Jacomucci and rising klezmer star violinist David Chernyavsky, as well as Ferenc Kovács (trumpet), Csaba Novák (bass), Sándor Budai (second violin) and Pete Rushefsky (tsimbl).

Midnight Prayer brings together two diverse, yet partially overlapping repertoires: the instrumental music of the klezmorim -- the professional Jewish instrumentalists who graced every traditional Jewish wedding in Eastern Europe from at least the 16th century onwards -- and the mystical nigunim (religious melodies of spiritual elevation) of the hasidic movement. Recorded in four magical days at the Operetta House in Budapest, Hungary, Midnight Prayer creates its own sonic universe, full of depth, virtuosity, playfulness and introspection. The kaleidoscopic soundscape filters the many historical layers of traditional Jewish music through the lenses of the multifarious musical backgrounds of the band's members, ranging from classical to Gypsy to free jazz to contemporary art music. Here the interaction of a great improvising jazz ensemble melds with the delicacy of a chamber music group and the drive of a hot wedding band at the cusp of klezmer, Roma and other Eastern European traditions.

The Great Pretender CD Release

Tuesday, August 14, is the official release date of the BRAND-NEW solo CD, "The Great Pretender," by Alexandria Kleztet.
Seth's homepage
http://www.sethkibel.com/
The Alexandria Kleztet on MySpace
http://www.myspace.com/thealexandriakleztet

2 New CDs with Leib Levin

Two new CDs are announced from Lieb Levin and are available through CD Baby.:
Selections of Hasidic Nigunim :Violinist Leib Levin &Piano Trio:
CD link: http://cdbaby.com/cd/leiblevin
and
2)Violin Favorites:featuring "Nigun"from Baal Shem Tov Suite by Ernest Bloch-Violinist Leib(Leonid)Levin
CD link: http://cdbaby.com/cd/leonidlevin3

Rebecca Teplow CD "Prayers" Deserves More

Remind me again...Rebecca Teplow in her 2004 CD "Prayers" has a great voice, nice arrangements.... now what else? Find out. http://cdbaby.com/cd/rebeccateplow

VOICES FOR ISRAEL: KEEPING THE FAITH

A new CD from Voices For Israel has been released: Keeping the Faith http://www.voicesforisrael.org/faith
It's the largest gathering ever of women in Jewish music, from four continents and all Jewish backgrounds, joining their voices for Israel. This historic project includes 2 CDs of exciting and inspiring music and video and features the brand new anthems, "Keeping the Faith" and "Land Of Your Heart."**
**Proceeds benefit survivors and victims of war and terrorism in Israel.**

Available in your local Judaica store and online http://www.jewishjukebox.com/products/jewish_contemporary_music/2091.asp .

Pharaoh's Daughter Record Release

Pharaoh's Daughter is releasing their newest album on May 14, 2007 at the Highline Ballroom located at:
431 W 16th St
New York, NY 10011
between 9th and 10th Ave
(212) 414-5994

Website: www.pharaohsdaughter.com Time: 8pm
Doors: 6 PM
Tickets: $25.00 (Free CD with ticket purchase)

All Ages

Pharaoh's Daughter

Blending a psychedelic sensibility and a pan-Mediterranean sensuality, Basya Schechter leads her band, Pharaoh's Daughter, through swirling Hasidic chants, Mizrachi and Sephardi folk-rock, and spiritual stylings filtered through percussion, flute, strings and electronica.Her sound has been cultivated by her Hasidic music background and a series of trips to the Middle East, Africa, Israel, Egypt, Central Africa, Turkey, Kurdistan and Greece.

Rita Glassman "Journey to Shabbat" CD

Rita Glassman, the Cantor of Congregation Sherith Israel in San Francisco, has released a new CD "Journey to Shabbat". Rita is the composer and singer of an interpretive chant of the Hebrew prayer "Shema." Her recording of the Shema, accompanied by the talented Jai Uttal and Geoffrey Gordon, can be heard on the CD-Sacred World Chants on the 'Soundings of the Planet' label. Her newest "Journey to Shabbat" CD was recorded in Sherith Israel's sanctuary and is filled to the brim with "warmth, heart and soul." The elegant instrumental arrangements (use of percussion, guitar, mandolin, clarinet, flute) are a great compliment to Rita's voice, often compared to that of Chava Alberstein, Enya and Loreena McKennit. This recording is a preparation for Shabbat, taking one "on a spiritual journey to greater connectedness with this day of renewal, meditation, and celebration." cultures. Those interested in purchasing a copy of the CD can follow the link to a pdf order form: http://www.jmwc.org/pdf/journey_to_shabbat.pdf

Rita Glassman has performed Jewish and World Music throughout the US and Argentina. Her current project is an international folk/pop album with Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell songs as well as her own songs entitled "All The Way Home" recorded in Thailand with a popular pop/rock band. She has always believed that music is a bridge to the Creator and a vehicle for bringing harmony and peace into the world between people of all faiths.

"The Eternal Question (Di Alte Kashe)" New CD Released

Kame'a Media announces the release of "The Eternal Question (Di Alte Kashe)," a compact disc by Yiddish singer Fraidy Katz. The CD comes with a 24-page booklet of Yiddish text, transliterations, English translations, songwriter bios -- and more.

Produced by Wolf Krakowski and Jim Armenti, TEQ features the musical and vocal talents of 18 musicians from across the spectrum of Jewish, Americana and World Music.

Seth Rogovoy, author, The Essential Klezmer: A Music Lover's Guide to Jewish Roots and Soul Music, writes:

"The long-awaited recording featuring the vocals of one of our finest contemporary Yiddish singers, Fraidy Katz has finally arrived, and it was worth every minute of the wait. "The Eternal Question (Di Alte Kashe) features a baker's dozen Yiddish folk and popular tunes recontextualized for modern times; Old World ballads are draped in accordion, pipes, tsimbl, and violin, in a peaceful coexistence along with electric guitars, trumpets and saxophones. As co-producer Wolf Krakowski has explored on his own albums that feature a similar approach and use the same core band, the fabulous Lonesome Brothers, there is a natural affinity between Yiddish popular songs and such quintessentially American styles as blues, reggae, jazz and even country swing, and Katz explores this affinity in a manner that showcases her intuitive grasp of the songs' roots while at the same time effortlessly making them speak to contemporary audiences. Had there been no Shoah, this is undoubtedly the direction in which Yiddish song would have evolved and the music that a vast majority of what would have been a large Yiddish-speaking world would have been listening to today. It's our good fortune to have it re-created and represented by such a sterling talent as Fraidy Katz.

Four and a Half Stars
-- George Robinson, The New York Jewish Week

"One of the most important new Yiddish CDs in recent years. Wonderful material, lots of surprises . . ."
-- Yankl Falk, Di Naye Kapelye Host, "The Yiddish Hour," KBOO-FM, Portland, OR

"After I heard it, I immediately started to use it on the air. Judging from the listener phone calls, it is an instant hit! The timeless melodies flawlessly performed make the CD a wonderful new addition to my playlist, and I'll be playing it frequently on my daily klezmer/Jewish music program."
--Barry Reisman, WNWR-AM, Philadelphia, PA

Top Ten World Music Charts -- U of Toronto & UConn@Storrs

For more information, soundclips and ordering options:
Kame'a Media: www.kamea.com
Hatikvah Music International: www.hatikvahmusic.com
CDBaby: www.cdbaby.com

Leonid Levin Yesterdays

Leonid Levin and Trio have a new CD that features jazz arrangements of songs by Sholom Secunda, George Gershwin,and Jerome Kern, among others. It's available through CD Baby. www.cdbaby.com/llajt

Gail Javitt: Like A Braided Candle: Songs for Havdalah

Gail Javitt announces the release of her first CD "Like a Braided Candle: Songs for Havdalah". The entire album is devoted songs for Havdalah, and it may be the first, or only one, of its kind to specialize in just this music. Gail put several years of research into finding just the right music for this collection. Songs are in Yiddish, English and Hebrew. It's available through CD Baby with some sound samples and more details about the album http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/gailjavitt

Budowitz New 2-CD album

Recorded in Zurich and Geneva, the Budowitz klezmer ensemble has a new 2-CD set of Jewish instrumental music available. A MUST! Check it out here: http://www.goldenhorn.com/display.php4?content=records&page=ghp029.html Budowitz:
Christian Dawid:C-Clarinet, Baraban
Tamás Gombai:Violin
Cookie Segelstein:Violin
Sándor D. Tóth:Three-string Bratsch (Viola), Baraban (Drum)
Zsolt Kürtösi:Three-string Bass, Three-string Cello
Joshua Horowitz: Tsimbl, 19th Century Button Accordion

Anat Fort CD 'A Long Story' --US Release in March

Anat Fort announces the US Release of the CD, "A Long Story"which is coming out on ECM on March 6th. See her website at: www.anatfort.com Bio from Anat Fort website:
www.anatfort.com:
Pianist Anat Fort was born in Israel and began her classical music education there at the age of five. Her early attraction to improvisation and interest in jazz ultimately led to a summer session at the Eastman School of Music and enrollment in the jazz program at William Paterson University. While there, she started composing and continued to perform different styles under the guidance of jazz notables Rufus Reid, Norman Simmons, Harold Mabern and Vic Juris.

Upon graduation, Anat moved to New York and studied classical composition with Harold Seletsky and improvisation with Paul Bley, further reinforcing her diverse musical inclinations. Anat's 1999 debut CD containing original compositions, Peel, was followed by the formation of the Anat Fort Trio with bassist Gary Wang and drummer Roland Schneider, a collaboration subsequently voted "one of the best jazz shows of 2003" by All About Jazz-NY.

The Trio performs regionally and internationally at venues such as Symphony Space, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Makor, Cornelia Street Cafe and participated at the JVC Jazz Festival in 2005, sharing a concert featuring Anat as soloist. Her next CD will be released under the ECM label soon and the Trio is excited to record their first CD in early 2006.

Anat is a prolific and active composer and arranger. In 2000, she was commissioned to write Tzohar for string orchestra and improvising piano, performing it with the chamber orchestra Ramat-Gan in Israel. Since the premiere, she has performed it with the Palo-Alto Symphony in Palo Alto, California and the professional orchestra in residence at William Paterson University.

Her next commission, K'tanot (for chamber ensemble), was premiered in 2002 by the Musica Nova Consort at the Tel-Aviv Biennial for contemporary music. She has since received two composition grants from the Jerome foundation and was recently commissioned to create five new arrangements of Israeli music by the Opera House in Tel Aviv, Israel.

As a resident New Yorker since 1996, Anat has had the privilege of playing with such influential artists as Paul Motian, Joe Williams, Horacee Arnold, Perry Robinson, Al Grey, Ben Monder, and Ed Schuller.

When You Lie Down and When You Rise Up CD Release

Cantor Judy Greenfeld has released a new CD "When You Lie Down and When You Rise Up" which is a collection modern day renewal-style melodies to prayers for the beginning and end of the day. Each song is based primarily upon traditional texts which are set to new music. Cantor Greenfeld, Gordon Lustig, Meir Finkelstein and Sheryl Braunstein are the featured composers on the album. The album has spoken text of prayer as well as traditional texts helping listeners to have guided focus on the meanings of the prayers. Cantor Greenfeld has a wonderful, clear voice which is especially suited to the new age, quiet, relaxing music prevalent on the album. This is not an album geared toward children, although it is appropriate for them with a warm and friendly sound. This album has plenty of English spoken and sung text mixed with some of the Hebrew prayers. More information about her CD can be found at www.nachshonminyan.org/otherWorks.html

Cantor Judy Greenfeld is the founder and spiritual leader of the Nachshon Minyan (www.nachshonminyan.org) in Encino, California. Cantor Judy Greenfeld did her undergraduate work at the University of Arizona and received her ordination as well as a Master’s Degree in Jewish Sacred Music from the Academy for Jewish Religion, California (www.ajrca.org), a pluralistic rabbinical and cantorial seminary based in Los Angeles. Cantor Greenfeld is the co-author (with Dr. Tamar Frankiel) of two books, Minding the Temple of the Soul and Entering the Temple of Dreams which detail a new approach to Jewish prayer through movement and meditation. She has lectured and taught movement and prayer at retreats and synagogues around the United States. One of the highlights of Cantor Greenfeld's work with the Nachshon Minyan includes authoring a prayer book which reflects a blending of Conservative and Reform traditions. It will be published by the Ktav Publishing House in 2007 and will be accompanied by a CD now in production. Her latest CD, "When You Lie Down and When You Rise Up: Jewish prayers to begin and end your day in a meaningful way" features original music for evening and morning prayers. A resident of Encino, she is married to Michael Greenfeld and is the proud mother of Samantha and David.

Cantor Greenfeld is licensed to officiate at lifecycle events including bar and bat mitzvah services and weddings. She can be reached at CGC1@aol.com. More information about her CD can be found at www.nachshonminyan.org/otherWorks.html.

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.

Denise Williams CD Release 'Walk Together Children'

Soprano Denise Williams is launching her imaginative Black-and-Jewish CD, Walk Together Children,
Sunday, February 11, 2007
3 p.m.
in the Al Green Theatre,
Miles Nadal JCC
750 Spadina Ave. (at Bloor)

Admission is $20. For tickets and information, call 416-924-6211, ext.0,
or visit www.denisewilliamssoprano.com.
Copies of the CD will be available for sale, with Denise available to sign them following the concert.
Denise will perform a wide range of music. The program ranges from folk songs in English, Creole, African languages, Yiddish, Hebrew and Ladino to spirituals and classical. Joining her are some of the artists featured on the recording - Brahm Goldhamer, piano; Nina Shapilsky, keyboards; Sam Donkoh, percussion; and Tonian Morgan, guitar. The Antiguan-Canadian choir Voices of Paradise, led by Eulalie Walling-Sampson, will also appear, along with members of the Toronto Jewish Folk Choir.

"The Eternal Question” / “DI ALTE KASHE” released

"The Eternal Question” / “DI ALTE KASHE” FRAIDY KATZ sings Yiddish
Produced by Wolf Krakowski and Jim Armenti
http://www.kamea.com/F_MAIN.html
The CD includes a 24-page booklet with song lyrics in Yiddish, transliteration, and English translation. The booklet also includes songwriter bios and more.

Midnight Prayer Answered

The new CD, "Midnight Prayer" by the Joel Rubin Ensemble has been released. Clarinetist Joel Rubin has long been considered to be one of the leading performers of Jewish instrumental klezmer music in the world today, earning accolades from sources as diverse as klezmer giants Dave Tarras and Max Epstein, international clarinet soloist Richard Stoltzman, avant garde composer John Zorn, and Nobel Prize Laureate and poet Roald Hoffmann. The ensemble also features Hungarian cimbalom virtuoso Kálmán Balogh, Italian accordion wizard Claudio Jacomucci and rising klezmer star violinist David Chernyavsky, as well as Ferenc Kovács (trumpet), Csaba Novák (bass), Sándor Budai (second violin) and Pete Rushefsky (tsimbl).

To order:
http://www.traditionalcrossroads.com/

For more information:
http://www.rubin-ottens.com Midnight Prayer brings together two diverse, yet partially overlapping repertoires: the instrumental music of the klezmorim - the professional Jewish instrumentalists who graced every traditional Jewish wedding in Eastern Europe from at least the 16th century onwards - and the mystical nigunim (religious melodies of spiritual elevation) of the hasidic movement. Recorded in four magical days at the Operetta House in Budapest, Hungary, Midnight Prayer creates its own sonic universe, full of depth, virtuosity, playfulness and introspection. The kaleidoscopic soundscape filters the many historical layers of traditional Jewish music through the lenses of the multifarious musical backgrounds of the band's members, ranging from classical to Gypsy to free jazz to contemporary art music. Here the interaction of a great improvising jazz ensemble melds with the delicacy of a chamber music group and the drive of a hot wedding band at the cusp of klezmer, Roma and other Eastern European traditions.

The ensemble will also be in residency at the University of Virginia Sunday, Feb 4th - Tuesday, Feb 6th, 2007.

Joel Rubin is Professor of Assistant Professor, Director of Music Performance at the McIntire Department of Music, University of Virginia. Education: Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology from City University of London, BFA in Clarinet Performance from State University of New York, College at Purchase.

Research Interests: Ornamentation, improvisation and modality; music and trauma; music and professionalism; music and immigration; music and diaspora; music and identity; music and religion; folk music revivals; musical hybridity; Jewish musical traditions (klezmer, hasidic, American Jewish popular music, Middle East and beyond); art and urban popular traditions of the Balkans, Turkey and the Middle East.

NPR and Nextbook stories on new CD "Jewface"

Some of the most offensive music ever recorded, put together by Jody Rosen...a look at the early vaudeville and minstrel music about Jews in America a hundred years ago... http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6710022

NPR's radio program hosted by Terry Gross, "Fresh Air" had a story on January 2, 2007 on the new CD "Jewface", which journalist Jody Rosen put together. "It's the first anthology of Jewish minstrel songs. Tracks include "Cohen Owes Me 97 Dollars," "I'm a Yiddish Cowboy" and other long-lost hits from the vaudeville stage of the early 20th century. Rosen is the music critic for Slate.com and also writes for The Nation." Rosen is the author of the book White Christmas: The Story of an American Song which was reviewed on JMWC http://www.jmwc.org/whitechristmas.html Rosen also has an interview on Nextbook.http://www.nextbook.org/audio/podcast_feature455.mp3

Flashes In The Darkness CD Released

In honor of her newly released CD, Flashes In The Darkness, Talia Applebaum will be performing in Har Nof in the home of Karen Pichel.
Address: 2/12 Chai Taibe, Entrance Bet
Jerusalem
Date: Motzei Shabbat, January 13th
Time: 8:00 PM
Entrance fee: 20 NIS
Cost of CD: 50 NIS
Talia's music encompasses a variety of genres including:
Melodic piano ballads, folk, jazz, blues, rag time, mild rock and ethnic-funk. All carrying messages based on Torah themes or verses. All resulting from a personal spiritual journey that can be shared by all. Please join us for this "Inspiring Musical Odyssey"
Quote from Tambourine, Jewish Woman's Arts Newsletter, "Talia's unique sound reveals deep spiritual dimensions within her voice. Potent and playful, Talia's voice emerges from the depths of the soul with a rawness and honesty that is simply refreshing" http://cdbaby.com/cd/talia

Flashes in the Darkness CD Release

In honor of her newly released CD, Flashes In The Darkness, Talia Applebaum will be performing in RBS. In the home of Chava Ashkenazi, Nachal Yarden 120/11
Date: Wed. November 22nd
Time: 9:00 PM
Entrance fee: 20 NIS
Cost of CD: 50 NIS

Shalom Kids by Roberta Seltzer CD

A new CD for children called "Shalom Kids" is now available through CD Baby by Roberta Seltzer.Roberta Seltzer is a children's performer whose warm voice delights both youngsters and adults. She entertains extensively at temples, schools, libraries and organizations, where she builds a warm rapport with her audience. In her CD SHALOM KIDS, she shares some of her favorite Shabbat melodies and familiar playsongs.

Roberta serves as music specialist at various temples, day schools and community centers. Sound clips for the CD are available at CD Baby. http://cdbaby.com/cd/seltzer

A Rockin Hanukkah

Stephen Feldman/Poppa's kitchen has put together a fun Hanukkah album in a pop rock format...! You can check out the cd at www.arockinhanukkah.com .

Psalms of Joy and Sorrow

On October 17, the Milken Archive of American Jewish Music released the 48th CD in its pioneering recording series that documents music related to the Jewish experience in America. Titled Psalms of Joy and Sorrow, this new disc reflects the varied responses of twelve 20th- and 21st-century composers to some of the most affecting and enduring of all biblical texts-the Psalms.

Common to the liturgies, histories, and spirit of both Judaism and Christianity, the biblical Book of Psalms is one of the most widely familiar and most frequently quoted books of the Hebrew Bible. The Psalms' sentiments and teachings, expressed in a singular blend of majestic grandeur and poignant simplicity, give them a uniquely universal resonance.

Encompassing virtually every human emotion and mood from exaltation to alienation, hope to despair, these texts have inspired musical interpretation since Jewish antiquity, with notated musical settings dating back more than ten centuries. Composers of virtually every orientation have engaged the Psalms in compositions ranging from large-scale works for chorus, full orchestra, and soloists to intimate a cappella choral pieces.

The original settings heard on this new CD, by both traditionally-minded and avant-garde composers, exemplify the variety of musical treatments and expressions the Psalms have inspired.

Participating artists heard on Psalms of Joy and Sorrow include actor Theodore Bikel, cantors Alberto Mizrahi, Charles Osborne and Meir Finkelstein; the BBC Singers, Laudibus Choir, Schola Hebraeica, Barcelona Symphony/National Orchestra of Catalonia and the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra; and conductors Samuel Adler, Michael Brewer, Ronald Corp, Patrick Gardner, Steven Gunzenhauser, Avner Itai, Elli Jaffe, Neil Levin and Karl Anton Rickenbacher.

Click here to read an article about this CD
Click here to read details about this CD.

Art Bailey's Orkestra Popilar at Stain

ABOP performs at Stain Bar on Wed, Nov 1, 2006. 7-9pm.
Admission is by donation at the event.
766 Grand Street, Brooklyn, NY (By Subway: take L to Grand, 1 block west)
718-387-7840 | http://www.stainbar.com for more directions and information.

Art Bailey's Orkestra Popilar new CD is now available! Branch from the Tree features fresh interpretations of rarely heard material first recorded by Romanian-born cymbalom master and Lower East Side restaurateur, Joseph Moskowitz. On this debut cd, the band also explores early 20th century Jewish fiddle pieces, improvisation, newly composed music, and pieces from the klezmer and Eastern European repertoire. Learn about the CD, listen to clips, or purchase it online at http://www.artbailey.org About Art Bailey's Orkestra Popilar: Art Bailey's Orkestra Popilar is a newly formed Jewish music ensemble led by accordionist and pianist Art Bailey and includes bassist Jim Guttmann, violinists Jeremy Brown and Jake Shulman-Ment, and mandolinist Brandon Seabrook.

Chanale Sings with new CD

"Chanale and Friends", a new CD has just been released and is now available through Jewish Jukebox. You can check the sound samples out at:
http://www.jewishjukebox.com/products/jewish_female_songwriters/1970.asp
To learn more about Chanale and her music, see her website at: www.chanalesings.com.

Shevet Achim Featured on Richard Nunemaker CD

Shevet Achim (Brothers Dwell) by Meira Warshauer featured on New Richard Nunemaker CD Project – Work Has Special Relevance for Today Clarinetist Richard Nunemaker has released a new CD “The Louisville Project”, which features Meira Warshauer’s “Shevet Achim (Brothers Dwell).” The Louisville Project (AUR CD 3127). The piece, for two bass clarinets, is a response to the troubled relationship between the descendants of half-brothers Yitzchak and Yishmael (sons of Abraham), now Israelis and Palestinians. Written in fall, 2000, the piece roils with the conflict between the two peoples, expressing both intense animosity and common identification. It has been observed that the most strongly felt conflicts are between peoples whose lives and histories are intertwined on many levels.

For more information, including how to order this CD from Arizona University Recordings, please visit http://www.aurec.com/louisville_project.htm.
The composition exploits the acoustic properties of the bass clarinet. Color trills, tremolos, flutter tongue, glissandi, quarter tones, and extreme registers help express the confrontation. In contrast, the audible overtones in the low register, two voices contained in one, represent resonance, mutual recognition. As the piece progresses, the moments of recognition become longer, softer; the possibility of another path emerges, even though the conflict does not yet completely recede.

The title recalls Psalm 133, vs. 1: “Hinei ma tov u’ma nayim, shevet achim gam yachad (How good and how pleasant it is when brothers dwell together as one).” The composer comments: “As we send out this CD announcement, we are painfully aware of the current fighting between Israel and Hezbollah and the destruction in Lebanon and Israel and elsewhere. It is my hope and prayer that this music can in some small way help point all of our hearts --the children of Israel and of Ishmael, the children of Abraham, the children of Adam and Eve, the hearts of all who dwell on earth--towards a path of peace and life.”

Performers for this recording of “Shevet Achim” are Mr. Nunemaker and fellow bass clarinetist Timothy Zavadil. Mr. Nunemaker describes his feelings about the composition: “I love ‘Shevet Achim.’ Every time I perform ‘Shevet Achim’ I well up at the sheer beauty and emotion that it evokes. It is music for our time and music for humankind. A wonderful and beautiful work of art.” Visit Richard Nunemaker online at http://www.RichardNunemaker.com.

The Louisville Project (AUR CD 3127) is music that was commissioned by Richard Nunemaker and premiered by him in performances in Louisville, Kentucky and Chicago, Illinois with the composers present. This CD was recorded in Louisville, Kentucky immediately following performance on the campus of the University of Louisville.

For more information about Meira Warshauer, including a complete catalog of her works, visit her website at http://home.sc.rr.com/meirawarshauer/.

Theresa Tova Sings Beyle

Theresa Tova is launching a new CD: "You Ask Me Why -- Tova Sings Beyle". It is an ambitious CD featuring a collaboration with masterful producer/arranger John Alcorn. The CD celebrates the songs of Yiddish poet and songwriter Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman (National Endowment of the Arts honoree). Tova places these folk gems in settings that are a meange of jazz, world and contemporary pop grooves... bridging the gap between the traditional roots of Jewish culture and 21st century sensibilities and rhythms.

The CD launch is Monday September 4th 5:30 pm at the Harbourfront Centre Theatre in Toronto with an all star jazz band:
Mark Eisenman Piano
Artie Roth Bass and Electric Bass
Daniel Barnes Drums and Percussion
Brian Katz Classical and Electric Guitars
Jane Bunnett Flute
Kelly Jefferson Tenor Saxophone
John Macleod Trumpet
and Julie Michels Vocal duet

For more information about Theresa Tova, visit: http://www.theresatova.com

New Herman Berlinski CD from Milken Archive

Herman Berlinski: From the World of My Father [8.559446]

The Milken Archive of American Jewish Music has released a CD of four works for the synagogue and the concert hall by German-born, American composer and organist Herman Berlinski. These works reflect his rich, post-Romantic musical language, eclectic musical style, and depth of Jewish inspiration. This new disc complements the Milken Archive's 2004 release of the composer's Avodat Shabbat, a large-scale setting of the Sabbath evening liturgy according to the American Reform prayerbook. It brings to 45 the number of recordings released since the Milken Archive CD series was launched in September 2003.

New Shabbos Waltz by David Grisman and Andy Statman

A new CD by instrumentalists David Grisman and Andy Statman called ' New Shabbos Waltz ' is now available. Years ago Grisman and Statman were highly successful with their first CD, "Songs of Our Fathers." This is the first release they've done together since then of a CD of Jewish Music. FROM THE BOOKLET: "Although this is an instrumental album, the majority of the original songs alternate between the twin themes of shabbos and Jerusalem, which are closely related. Jewish mystics state that what Shabbos is in time, Jerusalem is in space." Selections include; Avinu Malkeinu, Anim Zemiros, Pischu Li, Shabbos Ha Yom La Shem, Ya'Aleh, Old Klezmer, Yerushalyim Shel Zahav, Ani Ma'amin, Lekha Dodi, and more. CD available through many vendors, including Hatikvah Music, Contact: (323) 655-7083.

Alei Assor announces new CD

Rachel Ferency, of the Alei Assor women's group, announces the new CD, Ezkera Neginati Balaila - "Recall My Song at Night" They play Jewish spiritual music for women. For information, visit: http://www.geocities.com/shiru_lo/start.html

Sue Horowitz of York Maine, releases CD

Sue Horowitz of York, Maine has released a CD of Jewish music called Eleven Doors Open. The site is located at http://www.suehorowitz.com . E-mail at rwhorowitz@hotmail.com .

Hazzan Israel Alter's Music Now Available on CD

At long last the music of Hazzan Israel Alter is available on CD. Lois Welber recently released her cantorial CD, "Prayers of the High Holy Days: Shomeah Tefillah". (Shomeah Tefillah - "...Who hears prayer" from Hineni) featuring the music of Hazzan Israel Alter. The CD focuses on music from "The High Holy Day Service" and "The Selichot Service" published by the Cantors Assembly. The original musical accompaniment is arranged by organist/composer Ernest Rakhlin and with pianist David Sparr. There is also one song included by Israel Goldfarb, "B'Sefer Chayim" (from Shirei T'shuvah --991900), which score is available through Transcontinental Music Publications.

These renditions are all sung with Welber's strong mezzo-soprano in dedication to the 100th anniversary celebration of Temple B'Nai Israel in Revere, Massachusetts, where she has been cantor since 2000. Prior to that Lois served as High Holiday cantor at Harvard-Radcliffe Hillel for 18 years. She studied hazzanut for many years with Hazzan Gregor Shelkan (z"l) and dedicates this CD to his memory and to Rabbi Ben-Zion Gold of Harvard Hillel.

To obtain a copy or contact Lois, email lois_welber@msn.com.
You can visit Lois Welber's website at: http://www.loiswelber.com
You can also learn more at the Temple B'nai Israel website at: http://www.tbirevere.org/index-1.html<
Sales price $15.00 (add 5% sales tax for Massachusetts residents) and $2.00 shipping.

Lois commented about this project that: "Though Alter published his musical settings for the High Holy Day prayers 35 years ago, to my knowledge, they have never been recorded.... having sung Alter's music for over 20 years and witnessed its effects on a variety of congregations and services, I very much wanted to record it and believe that more people deserve to hear it. Clearly the eloquent beauty of Alter's hazzanut speaks to contemporary sensibilities, enhancing the service where they are sung."

New Faces Old Souls and more CDs Released

Leah Epstein is a song writer living in Israel since making Aliya from Chicago in 1981. She lives on Moshav Keshet, an orthodox community in the Golan. Her Hebrew and English songs are wistful, and at the same time religious and personal. The music itself is heavily influenced from a 'time capsule' of American song from some 30 years ago, such as American folk, Carole King or Joni Mitchell. There are some highly personal songs, such as "Child of the Heights" dedicated to her son killed in a car accident, and other of her texts are more universally and politically themed. The CDs, Nof Mushlam (A Perfect View), and New Faces, Old Souls, are available at Moria Books and Music in the Old City and through cdbaby.com. Leah can be reached by email at leah_epstein@walla.com. While Mrs. Epstein is an amateur musician and singer, her songs, intended for women only, will have meaning for encapsulating her experiences, her attitudes, and this period and of her life and times.

Rabbi Henkin releases Shirei Nefesh CD

Rabbi Yehuda Henkin from Jerusalem sent a copy of his new CD, Shirei Nefesh Yehuda, to JMWC. All the music is composed by Rabbi Henkin and sung by Yaron Bar. The rabbi has produced an album of singable and pleasant religious melodies with nice arrangements. Contact information is Henkin@012.net.il and FAX (02) 652-1473.

Lazar Weiner's Yiddish Art Songs Come to Life on New CD Release

The Milken Archive of American Jewish Music has released another CD. This one is "The Art of Yiddish Song" with 32 songs by Lazare Weiner. [8.559443]. You can read a complete discription released by the Milken Archive about the recording. http://www.milkenarchive.org/articles/articles.taf?function=detail&id=112
Often referred to as "America's Jewish Schubert", Weiner's exquisite songs are a pinnacle of Yiddish art song (lider). This recording shows his mastery of craftsmanship, connection to the language, and complete immersion in the depths of meaning in Jewish culture. The performers are top drawer, and so the recording is a "must" for anyone interested in Yiddish art music, or generally in good lieder.

Liderman "Aires de Sefarad" CD Released

Albany Records has just released "Aires de Sefarad" (Airs from Spain). It is a cycle of 46 works,an hour of music written for the violin and guitar ensemble-Duo46 by award winning composer Jorge Liderman. The music is based loosely on 500-year old Jewish music from around the Mediterranean. After a 2003 visit to Spain and walking through the Jewish quarter in Cordoba, Liderman was inspired to write these works. Albany Records "Aires de Sefarad", Albany Records TROY-829,can be purchased at retail record stores or online. For information about Duo46 and Jorge Liderman visit websites http://www.duo46.com and http://www.jorgeliderman.com

SpiriTune for Shabbat

Michael Buonaiuto has a CD "SpriTune" Sacred Space: Melodies to Welcome Shabbat. It's a collection of melodies for the Jewish Sabbath, played simply on acoustic instruments.. The Boston-based trio featuring Michael Buonaiuto on hammered dulcimer, Beth Levin on guitar, and Jon Dreyer on bass. Available through CD Baby:http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/spiritune

Miriam's Drum

A new CD, Miriam's Drum has been released with all original new songs by Tziona Achishena Zilbershtein. This recording, intended for women, features a diverse group of musicians performing on everything from traditional oud to Indian tablas, tampura, bendir, bowls, flutes, harmonium and drums. A children's choir also appears as well as women's vocals. Most of the texts come from Psalms, or prayerbook liturgy, yet the settings are new and spirited. Tziona is a 'mulit-instrumentalist who plays guitar, piano, riq (a Middle Eastern tambourine), harmonium, and the Persian santur.' Recordings can be purchased directly through the artist at: Tziona Zilbershtein Ohr HaGanuz, D.N. Merom HaGalil, ISRAEL 13909. For more information, visit: http://www.koltziona.com/
Originally from the US, Tsiona's diverse background includes "intensive studies of Ballet, Tap, and Jazz, Traditional dance in Indonesia, Tai Chi, Western vocal training, Persian classical singing, and creative writing, through a lens of Torah and Mitzvot." She has three other albums: Aleynu –2004; "Shema" Hebrew Chant –1999 Two Disc Set ; and The Future –1996.

Zemlinsky Songs Get Some Well Deserved Attention

Alexander Zemlinsky is one of those 'lesser known' composers who fled Nazi Germany for the US in the 1930s. Recently there has been a sort of revival of sorts with a book by Anthony Beaumont a few years ago, several concert series about Austrian 'emigre' composers, and a CD set of Songs of Zemlinsky sung by Hermine Haselbock.To hear samples, go to Haselboeck's site and click on "Zemlinsky CD".
Songs by Alexander Zemlinsky (1871-1942)
Hermine Haselböck, /Mezzosoprano
Florian Henschel,/Piano
PAN CLASSICS (PC 10162)
www.panclassics.com

Wings: Songs of the Jewish Heart

Valeria Fubini Ventura, voice, Anna Barbero, piano, have released a CD of classical Israeli music on the Italian label http://www.ludomentis.it/eng/chi_eng.htmlLudomentis. Recorded in the Church of S. Apollinare in Monticello di Lonigo (VI) near Vicenza, the recording has a collection of Israeli composers whose "musical horizon is tied to European national school of the end of the nineteenth century." Also included are selections by Ravel and Milhaud.

"Shalom Comrade" CD Released by Schott Wergo

Schott Wergo announces the US release today (Feb. 14, 2006) of "Shalom Comrade!: Yiddish Music in the Soviet Union 1928-1961" (Schott Wergo SM 1627-2), the 10th production in the Jewish Music Series of CDs edited by ethnomusicologists Joel Rubin and Rita Ottens . "Shalom Comrade" and other productions of the Jewish Music Series are distributed by Harmonia Mundi USA.

The anthology "Shalom Comrade" tells the history of Yiddish music in the Soviet Union via rare recordings from the archive of Ottens and Rubin. This carefully edited production documents the enormous variety of Yiddish music performed in the Soviet Union, from rollicking klezmer dance tunes to the interwar Polish-Jewish cabaret songs of the Galician troubadour Mordkhe Gebirtig, 19th century Yiddish folk songs, music of the Soviet Yiddish theatre, to art songs with revolutionary texts by composers such as Samuil Polonskii, Lev Pul'ver, Vladimir Shainskii and Moses Mil'ner, and texts by the poets B. Bergol'ts and Iosif Kerler. Rubin and Ottens' 40-page booklet in English and German includes a detailed essay about the political-ideological impact on Yiddish language, culture and music and ­ in the final analysis ­ on Jewish life in the Soviet Union.

Yiddish music played an important role in the cultural and political life of the Soviet Union's several million Jews throughout the 74 years of communist rule. Stalin's cultural ideologues planned to deploy the music of the Yiddish-speaking Jews as a building block for the new Soviet music; at the same time, the "outmoded" Jewish religion and its traditional way of life was being branded as counter-revolutionary in show trials. The recording of Jewish music in the Soviet Union was limited, with only 100-150 78 rpm discs released from 1917-1967. The importance of artists like Solomon Mikhoels and Nechama Lifshitsaite was immense for the Jews of the Soviet Union: celebrities of international significance, they were as well known for their roles as political figureheads as they were for their performances.

"Shalom Comrade" features some of the great performers of the Soviet and world stage: Misha Aleksandrovich, Sof'ia (Sonya) Druker, Mikhail Epel'baum, Solomon Fayntukh, Sara Fibikh, Marina (Masha) Gordon, Emil' Gorovets, Anna Guzik, Irma Iaunzem, Solomon Khromchenko, Nechama Lifshitsaite, Saul Liubimov, Solomon Mikhoels, the Moscow State Yiddish Theatre, Debora Pantofel'-Nechetskaia, M. I. Rabinovich, Zinovii Shul'man, Sidi Tal', Tatiana Vayntraub, and Klara Vaga.

For more information:
http://www.rubin-ottens.com
http://www.wergo.de
http://www.harmoniamundi.com/usa

Ruby Harris band Releases CD "LeShem Shamayim"

You¹re invited to a CD Release Party with The RUBY HARRIS Band Star of Diaspora
for the Debut of his CD Le'Shem Shamayim: For Heaven¹s Sake on Sameach Music.
This Saturday nite Shabbas Shirah Spectacular Saturday, Feb. 11, 8:00 p.m.
at The Carlebach Shul
305 West 79th Street New York NY 10024
Tel. (212) 580-2391, Infoline (212) 721-SHUL
appearing with ONEG Shemesh --Founding Moshav Band member and his CD Bring Us Together.

Austin Klezmorim with new CD

The Austin Klezmorim have a new CD, Bubba's Waltz, and it combines "traditional" klezmer with some American jazz favorites. To hear some samples, http://www.bamusic.net/bubbaswaltz.htm . Bill Averbach did a lot of the arrangements. This band is one that definitely goes to its own, sweet beat.

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

The Ramaz Chorus of the New York under the direction of Caroll Goldberg recorded songs on Yom Yerushalayim in 2001. Title of the CD is Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow. If your Jewish day school is looking for material that is attractive, uplifting, and sounds good both to you and teens, you may want to take a listen to this recording to see what kids can do. Caroll Goldberg also has a book L’yisrael Mizmor, that has "selections with melody line, chords, two and three part settings suitable for amateur as well as professional chorus, texts, transliterations and translations, discography, curriculum guide, amd bibliography." Availble through www.jewishmusic.com.

Atzilut Concerts for Peace

Atzilut is known in Europe as the "Middle East Peace Orchestra". The ten-member ensemble features Arab and Jewish musicians in concert making a powerful statement for peace by working together. Atzilut has three CDs: Fourth World, Souls on Fire: Music for the Kabbalah, and Concertsforpeace.com. The latter is a balanced program of Arabic and Jewish music including such works as Fo Rusnic (Arabic), Nagila Halleluyah (Hebrew), Balleghu (Arabic) and songs that combine Arabic and Hebrew. Available on CDbaby. Music director: Hazzan Jack Kessler. The message of the CD is "move forward into peace". It's for anyone enjoying middle east music with pleasant voices (Maurice Chedid performing Arabic vocalsand Jack Kessler, Hebrew vocals) and good instrumentalists. has a pleasing voice to western ears as well traditional ones. www.concertsforpeace.com

Laurie Sucher sings "Diaspora Dreams"

Laurie Sucher sings in the Chciago area as a seasoned cabaret, Yiddish singer and cantorial soloist. Laurie grew up in a Yiddish speaking home in New York, so she's quite familiar with the language-- and the songs on this CD show that familiarity.The CD is a mix of music recorded a few years ago live at Chicago's Harold Washington Library Theater and studio takes. Also included on the collection are a number of Ladino Songs. The CD is available through CD Baby.

Jonah's Songs CD from Emil Skobeloff

Emil Skobeloff, serving as a cantor of Congreation Ohev Shalom in Wallingford, PA sends a CD dedicated to his son Jonah. It's a private publication produced with the help of studio musician Pete Huttlinger, who has played on Grammy nominated projects and is a veteran Nashville session player. It shows. The arrangements and instrumentation are professional. The repertoire are all standards of Yiddish, Ladino and Hebrew such as Eli Eli and Quando El Rei Nimrod and My Yiddishe Mama. Contact the cantor at: 225 South Chester Road, Ste. 5, Swarthmore, PA 19081 about obtaining copies.

Alexandria Kleztet Releases new CD

The Alexandria Kleztet announces the release of their new CD "Close Enough for Klezmer". Samples and purchase info on their website at http://www.kleztet.com/.

Klezmer Brass All Stars release Carnival Conspiracy

Frank London is interviewed for World Music Central about the new album Frank London's Klezmer Brass All Stars. Carnival Conspiracy: In the Marketplace All Is Subterfuge. http://www.worldmusiccentral.org/article.php/20060116111349755 The album is available, of course, through amazon.

String Quartets by Milhaud, Zorn, Secunda, Schonthal and Binder Released on CD by Milken Archive

The Milken Archive of American Jewish Music Releases Its 40th CD-- Jewish String Quartets by Darius Milhaud, Sholom Secunda, John Zorn, Ruth Schonthal and Abraham Wolf Binder on Naxos American Classics.
Jewish String Quartets [8.559451]
is a unique collection of Judaically inspired, 20th-century string quartets. Written by five highly individual and stylistically diverse composers, this latest CD features the imaginative intersection of Jewish melodies, motifs or historical sensibilities with one of the cornerstone genres of the Western musical canon, the string quartet. This intimate medium has historically been a prism for a composer's most personal musical statements, and that tradition is upheld in the pieces heard on this new disc.
Featuring:
Compositions by Darius Milhaud, Sholom Secunda, John Zorn, Ruth Schonthal and Abraham Wolf Binder with performances by the Juilliard String Quartet, the Bochmann String Quartet, the Bingham String Quartet, and a quartet formed specially for the Zorn composition.
To read more > about this CD

Asefa new CD is 'Jewish Poly-ethnic Fusion'

Asefa's new CD by Samuel Thomas is available on CDbaby.com. It's getting lots of rave reviews. The Jerusalem Post called it "new-school Jewish poly-ethnic fusion at its best." It's definitely east meets west in an entertaining way if you like clarinet with oud. http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/samuelthomas

Mike Boxer CD Erev Chaim

Pianist/singer/songwriter and public school music teacher, Mike Boxer released Erev Chaim as a way to introduce Jewish music to teens not familiar with any. Boxer hopes that it results in some Jewish youth who emerge more enthusiastic about the music of their faith. This "independently marketed concept album brings the face of cutting-edge mainstream pop to today's Jewish music." The track list contains -- heimish, liturgical-oriented classics like Shalom Aleichem, Bilvavi, and Acheinu -- but a good portion of the music features sounds typically from the forefront of modern pop, rock and R and B. Seven songs are revamped covers; seven are Boxer's own original material.
http://www.mikeboxer.com/

Boxer, who grew up in Spring Valley, NY and attended Binghamton University where he served as music director of Kashkeshet, a collegiate Jewish a cappella group,-- has perfect pitch and plays a myriad of instruments. He went on to work for Open Studios in Vestal, NY, and then started his own company, Halfway Coherent Productions. He also sings with a group Six13 a cappella group and teaches middle school in NYC. The website contains purchase information.

Sarah Nadav Singer-Songwriter

Sarah Nadav has a new blog with some audio clips, links to some of the hip hop music, jewlicious, and a lot more. She seems to be linking to the newest and coolest. Sarah's been writing her own music and has a CD Sarah Dahlia. available at CD baby and elsewhere. http://www.sarahnadav.com/?page_id=33

Amid the Jasmine CD Release

The Gerald Edery Ensemble's
newest recording, Amid the Jasmine is finished and will be available on the website,
www.sefaradrecords.com, on February 9th, 2006.



The Ensemble will be in the New York/New Jersey area, on Saturday, February
11, 2006. There will be a CD release concert at the Jewish Community Center of
Greater Monmouth County in Deal Park, New Jersey. The event will feature The Gerard
Edery Ensemble performing music from the new release as well as appearances by guest
Cantors. You can expect an evening filled with a multi-cultural spirit conveyed
through an eclectic mix of songs in Ladino, Spanish, Arabic and Hebrew from the
Sephardic and Middle Eastern traditions, as well as original songs by Gerard Edery.

The concert starts at 8:00 p.m. and tickets are $25, $20 for seniors and students.
To order tickets or for more information, call Lisa Goldfarb at (732) 531-9100 Ext.
142.

DANCING ON THE EDGE OF A VOLCANO

DANCING ON THE EDGE OF A VOLCANO, (which was released a couple of years ago) is currently being sold olnline by Cedille Records at https://www.cedillerecords.org/ with a sale through mid January. (for $12) Some people who want to add this to their collections for a relatively inexpensive price, may want to know.
Jewish Cabaret, Popular, and Political Songs 1900-1945
CDR 90000 065 (2 CD set)
New Budapest Orpheum Society
Philip V. Bohlman, Artistic Director
Ilya Levinson, Music Director & Arranger
Stewart Figa, baritone -- (SF)
Julia Bentley, mezzo-soprano -- (JB)
Deborah Bard, soprano -- (DB)
Ilya Levinson, piano
Peter Blagoev, violin
Stewart Miller, bass
Hank Tausend, percussion
Elizabeth Ko, flute
Jon Steinhagen, American lyrics
There's more to traditional Jewish popular music than klezmer clarinet and Broadway-style fiddling on the roof. Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano revives the lively genre of Jewish cabaret and music hall songs from early twentieth-century Vienna and other vibrant centers of Jewish life.
Based on new scholarship from the University of Chicago, the CD entertains with songs of self-deprecating humor, political and cultural commentary, and social idealism (made all the more poignant by the unthinkable catastrophe soon to unfold).
You'll discover unfamiliar works by familiar names -- Weill, Milhaud, and even Schoenberg -- plus gems by once-prominent songsmiths such as Friedrich Holländer, a cabaret compatriot of Weill in the intimate cellar nightspots of Weimar Germany, and the inventive and gifted Hanns Eisler, closely associated with the cutting-edge political theater of Bertolt Brecht.
The songs offer vivid storytelling set to music drawn from varied sources including waltz, tango, and jazz. Featured singers are two Chicago cantors, exuberant soprano Deborah Bard and idiomatic baritone Stewart Figa, and mezzo-soprano Julia Bentley, a sublime and highly sought interpreter of 20th century music. Cabaret-jazz accompaniment is by the (all-American) New Budapest Orpheum Society, an ensemble of violin, double bass, piano, and percussion.
"Philip V. Bohlman (Artistic Director) is Professor of Music and Jewish Studies at the University of Chicago. An ethnomusicologist whose fieldwork has taken him to Jewish communities in central and eastern Europe, and in Israel, Bohlman undertook the research responsible for uncovering much of the repertory for Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano. His diverse scholarly projects concentrate on recovering forgotten or destroyed Jewish musical traditions. When the New Budapest Orpheum Society goes on the road, he plays the role of "Herr Ober." The author or editor of many books, Bohlman has most recently published The Folk Songs of Ashkenaz (with Otto Holzapfel, A-R Editions, 2001) and World Music: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2002)."

Italian Music Judaica 20-CD on Holocaust music

Musica Judaica is a twenty CDs containing the music written from 1933 (when camps such as Dachau and Börgermoor were opened) to 1945 in all concentration, internment, extermination and POW camps, both of the Axis' and Allies' countries. It is the result of a 10-year, huge historical and musicological work by the Italian pianist and conductor Francesco Lotoro.

Musica Judaica represents a "Musical Dictionary" of concentration camp music during WWII. It contains all the music written in Terezin by Gideon Klein (Piano Sonata, Strings Trio, Czech and Russian Folk Songs, etc.), Viktor Ullmann (5th, 6th, 7th Piano Sonatas, the unknown Don Quixote tanzt Fandango, the opera The Emperor of Atlantis, etc.), Pavel Haas (4 Songs on texts from Chinese Poetry, Studio for Strings Orchestra), Rudolf Karel (Pankràc's Musicbook, Nonet, the opera The 3 Hairs of the Wise Old man), Ervin Schulhoff (Piano score of 8th Symphony) Hans Kràsa (Rimbaud-Songs, the famous children opera Brundibàr), Karel Berman, Zikmund Schul, Jiri Kummermann, Szymon Laks, Frantisek Domazlicky, Ilse Weber, etc. Musica Judaica contains the Chansons written in the Westerbork and Terezin by Otto Skutecky, Karel Svenk, Martin Roman, Adolf Strauss, etc, more than 200 Songs from Auschwitz, Buchenwald, Mauthausen, Sachsenhausen, Treblinka (an authentic Mankind heritage) written by Jozef Kropinski and Alexandr Kulisiewicz, music from Puppets' theatre in Dachau, the precious music scores written in the Star Camp of Bergen-Belsen by Josef Pinkhof (Hebrew religious Songs) and Robert Heilbut, the famous Quatuor pour la fin du temps written by Oliver Messiaen in the POW Camp of Goerlitz and all the music written in many unknown Camps of French, Italy, Lattvia, Lituania, Nederland, Ucraine, URSS, etc., and an anthology of Songs from the Ghettos (Krakow, Kovno, Vilna, Warsaw, Lodz, etc.).

Musica Judaica also contains music written by Berto Boccosi, an Italian officer, in the French Camp of Saida (Algeria), Jewish Songs from the camps of the collaborationist government of Vichy, the beatiful transcriptions for female choir of famous classical pieces (Ravel's Bolero, 3rd movt from Dvorak's Symphony From the New World, etc.) by Dutch prisoners in Japanese Camp of Belalau (Sumatra) and performed in the movie Paradise Road (with Glenn Close), the Mass written by Zdenko Karol Rund for the Catholic prisoners in the Camp of Targoviste (Rumania), the Hymn Fest Steht written in Sachsenhausen by Eric Frost and the Songs of Gypsies.

Contact for information about (sales, dossiers about the project, collaborations, etc.) at the following mail info@musicajudaica.it or visit the website www.musicajudaica.it (the website is in Italian)

Kalan Website carries Judeo Turkish music

For those interested in obtaining music from the Jews of Turkey or the Judeo-Sufi connection, the Kalan music website at http://www.kalan.com carries several recordings of Jewish music interest. Recordings such as Jewish religious music, in the Turkish Jewish traditions, Rabbi Isaac Algazisinging Ottomon Jewish music, or such as or Janet and Jak Esim Antik Bir Huzun Judeo-Espanyol Ezgiler folk music are just a few examples. The JMWC has no experience in purchaing items from this website.

Yerachmiel" Ziegler Releases CD A'Hava V'Achva

Yerachmiel "Rocky" Ziegler has released his debut CD A'Hava V'Achva. Mixing up hasidic, rock, folk, klezmer and bluegrass, he's on the H and H circuit in NY's meeting place between Williamsburg and Greenpoint. Check out the website: www.yerachmiel.com and you'll hear some of the unique sounds from the new blending of Jewish cultures.

Rabbi David Zeller releases "Goodnight My Sweetest Children"

Rabbi David Zeller has released a CD of music for children and adults entitled "Goodnight My Sweetest Children". Zeller is a singer, teacher and counselor based in Jerusalem. These songs utilize the melodies of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach and are based on Jewish bedtime prayers. Songs are intended to be relaxing and soothing to help children fall asleep. The CD can be purchased at: www.davidzeller.org/music

Morah Music for Women and Children

Surie of Morah Music in Brooklyn, NY has produced a new double CD and Songbook 'Around The Year' for women & children. You may check it out at the website www.morahmusic.com where you can listen to some of her songs. The lyrics in Hebrew and English.

Close Enough for Klezmer CD

The Alexandria Kleztet has released its third full-length CD, Close Enough for Klezmer. It is available for purchase directly through their website at www.kleztet.com Close Enough for Klezmer features 13 tracks, including some original compositions as well as creative re-imaginings of traditional and well-loved Israeli, Hebrew, and Yiddish material. This album marks the klezmer recording debut of violinist, Helen Hausmann, as well as the final appearance of fiddler, Claire Cardon with the kleztet. Accomplished jazz pianist Sean Lane also joins in for a pair of jazz-influenced original compositions.

You can also order by mail.
Send $15 per CD and $2 for shipping (regardless of the number of CDs) to:
The Alexandria Kleztet
P.O. Box 32615
Baltimore, MD 21282
Checks are payable to: "The Alexandria Kleztet"�
Include your name and address.

Bruce Chalmer releases Berakhot: A Midrash Cantata

There is a new CD release of Berakhot: A Midrash Cantata by Bruce Chalmer, performed by the Fyre and Lightning Consort with guest tenor soloist Roger Grow. The CD, on the Rootstock Recordings label of Multicultural Media, is available at www.worldmusicstore.com.
"Berakhot: A Midrash Cantata is a work of Jewish music consisting of 26 musical pieces, each a midrashic interpretation of a particular prayer or text on the theme of berakha (blessing). The forms of the pieces include original poetry set to music, musical settings of liturgical texts in Hebrew, English, or both, and musical compositions without words. The music is scored for voices (SATB) and a variety of early and modern instruments (varying among the pieces), and includes medieval- and renaissance-like polyphony, klezmer, blues, doo-wop, barbershop quartet, a touch of reggae, and many other styles. A major part of the work is the program notes and commentary booklet, which includes a page for each piece laid out in Talmudic fashion, with the text of the piece in the middle, and the composer's commentary around it. This commentary is, in turn, surrounded by visual midrash in the form of art by internationally known artist (and Beth Jacob member) Diane Sophrin."

Gavriel Kahane releases CD

Gavriel Kahane (former member of Miami Boys Choir) has released a CD "Guide Us Home" with Reva Lesheva

Visions CD available for download

The Visions CD by Yehuda Solomon and Eli Nathon is available for download from the web at Mostlymusic.com

Gershon Kingsley CD from Milken

Gershon Kingsley [8.559435]
This new recording of four works by German-born American composer Gershon Kingsley reveals the influence of American idioms and contemporary musical developments-in this case jazz and electronic music-on the work of Jewish composers, and confirms the openness of both composers and Jewish institutions to expanding the boundaries of traditional liturgical practice. In addition, the CD illustrates the continuing affect of the Holocaust in provoking response by creative artists, and points to the upcoming observance of the 60th anniversary of the allied liberation of the concentration camps in the spring of 1945.For details about this CD, go to http://www.milkenarchive.org/cds/cds.taf?cdid=32

Gershon Kingsley has described his creative world as one in which "Mozart dances with the Beatles and Carl Jung struggles to reconcile the opposites of our human soul." This versatile composer has combined classical, jazz, popular and electronic idioms in his works, most of which have a marked theatrical bent. The opening composition on this new CD is Kingsley's haunting musical-theater piece for voices and chamber ensemble, Voices From The Shadow, which is based on intensely personal poems from the Holocaust written in six languages by 14 concentration camp victims and survivors.
This is followed by three sacred pieces: Jazz Psalms-vibrant prayer settings for singers and jazz combo that combine jazz rhythms, sonorities and vocal styles with echoes of traditional liturgical melodies; and excerpts from two choral compositions that combine the enduring spirit of the Sabbath liturgy with electronically synthesized sounds: Shabbat for Today, a spirited setting of the Sabbath evening service, and Shiru Ladonai (Sing to God), a more lyrical approach to that liturgy. Both services utilize Moog synthesizers to provide the instrumental parts. The composer conducts all four works; noted actor Harry Goz is the narrator in Shabbat for Today; and the vocal soloists include Cantor Howard M. Stahl, Amy Goldstein, Mary Catherine George, Larry Picard, Matthew Walley, and Lisa Vroman, performing with the Kingsley Singers.

"Dus gezang fin geto Lodzh/Song of the Lodz Ghetto"

The new Brave Old World CD has been released: "Dus gezang fin geto Lodzh/Song of the Lodz Ghetto," on the Winter & Winter label. The CD is now available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and should be in the stores across North America. The program has been evolving since 1990, and it reflects BOW's own experiences over 15 years of performing Jewish music. This album represents a step over into new form of Jewish music--a 'yiddish song suite' and is not only of high musical performance quality, but may set precedents for future art forms in Jewish music. I'm calling this new Jewish art form, a 'bernian suite' in honor of Alan Bern. For more information read on: Alan Bern writes: "The core material consists of songs collected from Lodz survivors by Dr. Gila Flam back in 1985 and presented in her book "Singing for Survival" (U. of Illinois Press). These songs are already amazing in themselves, incredible evidence of people's ability to resist spiritually when every other form of resistance was impossible. Especially the songs of Yankele Herszkowicz are filled with learned and biting double-entendre, black humor, and stubborn resistance. But our CD is not a "historical" CD, instead we weave our own music in and out of the Lodz repertoire to create a kind of collage/montage like an audio film. The music as a whole makes a kind of suite which moves back and forth between pre-War Poland, the present, the Lodz Ghetto, and so on, like a dream-filled night when you're obsessed with something and keep coming back to it over and over again. It's why the CD is called "Song" and not "Songs" of the Lodz ghetto - ultimately it is Brave Old World's song of and to the Lodz ghetto. The recording itself is typical of Winter & Winter's famous high sound quality and the cover design is beautiful and chilling. I believe that this CD captures Michael Alpert's singing better than any other I know of, and the rest of us play pretty well on it, too, if I may say so myself (even though I had just come down with whooping cough the day of the recording!) All in all, this is our most ambitious CD yet, and, as I already said, I'm extremely proud of it. I hope that many of you will check it out and help spread the word. We've updated the BOW website and you can download 30-45 seconds of all the titles, although that will give you only a glimpse of what happens on the CD. Thanks to all of you for reading my long message about this! Best wishes to all, Alan Bern

Jewish Music Distribution in London announces new titles

JMD sends information about their new release holdings. JMD charges �1.50 shipping per order up to 10 CDs anywhere in the world. They now have a USA line that rings us in the UK. The number is 1-508-2753742. You can read more about new releases...

New Releases from JMD 2005
Shirat Israel Choir
Live concert from Jerusalem, with guest cantors - Israel Rand, Yitzchak Meir
Helfgot, Chaim Eliezer Herstik and Asher Heinowitch. Musical Director Raymond
Goldstein. Including Av Harachamim, Tal, Hineni, Rachem nah (Rosenblatt's
version sung by Herstik) and more. CD �15.49

Wisdom, Understanding, Knowledge - Andy Statman
For more than thirty years, internationally acclaimed clarinet and mandolin
virtuoso Andy Statman has surprised fans by constantly breaking new ground in
multiple styles and mixed genres. This CD might be described as the
instrumental equivalent of real Chassidic singing at its best - but performed
in an eclectic musical language of his own invention. The result is one of the
most profound and expressive examples of Jewish instrumental music on record.CD
�16.49

Bloch - Violin Sonatas
Hagai Shaham: violin; Arnon Erez: piano.
Those of you who have been following this young Israeli duo (Joseph Achron's
music and late 2004 release of Viennese Jewish composers) will find this new
release for January 2005 most exciting. Bloch: Sonata no 1 (written soon after
World War I), Sonata no 2 (Po�me Mystique), Melodie, Nuit exotique (dedicated
to Joseph Szigeti), Abodah (originating in a biblical opera Bloch was in the
process of writing).CD �16.49

Prayer and Songs without Words
Gemma Rosefield, cello; Yvonne Behar: piano
A Programme performed at "A Sephardi Celebration" Bevis Marks Synagogue, London
2005. CD includes Bruch Kol Nidre, Bloch Prayer from Jewish Life, no 1, and
Mendelssohn, Song Without Words in D op.109. The CD also includes arrangements
for cello and piano by Yvonne Behar: Seven Judeo Spanish Songs, Yigdal and
Bendigamos. (playing time 40 minutes).CD �13

Oh, Lovely Parrot
On the Hebrew University label in the Anthology of Music Traditions in Israel
series (vol. 18) this CD brings us the music of the Jewish women of Kerala,
south-west India.
A 125 (!!!) page booklet in Hebrew and English includes explanations and the
texts to all the music (43 songs). CD �16.49

Lieder fun Boydem vol 5- Haben mir a Nigunale - Sing me a melody
In Spring 2004 we told you about the first releases in this series of Lieder
fun Boydem - Songs from the Attic (all available from us: vol 1 A letter from
Mother; vol 2 see below; vol 3 Papirosen; vol 4 Potatoes). Now more have been
issued. Volume 5 - Haben mir a Nigunale - Yiddish children's songs and
lullabies sung by Sol Meizels, Masha Benya, Isobel Walters and Izak
Gladstone.CD �14

Lieder fun Boydem vol 6- Comical Duets
Includes Anna Hoffman and Betty Jakobs in Ladies night in a Turkish Bath and
Yente at the dentist; Silverbusch and Miller in The Zadik goes to The Theatre;
Abe and Gussie Karp in The Jewish Policeman and many more. CD �14

Lieder fun Boydem vol 2 - Ich Liebe Dich - I Love You
Yiddish love songs with William Schwartz, Avraham Moskovitz, Simon Osevitzky,
Mildred Rosner, Iza Kremer, Max Brun, Sara Gorby, Niko Feldman, Solomon
Stramer, Herman Yablokof and Diana Blumenfeld.CD �14

Tu - Los Desterrados (UK based)
The fantastic new Sephardic flamenco album from Los Desterrados, who represent
a new wave in Sephardic folk music. Blending flamenco, tango and passionate
Gypsy rhythms with the exotic harmonies of traditional eastern instruments and
Mediterranean
beats, they create a captivating musical experience.CD �15.50

Caelestia - Fortuna
A first DVD release for the most acclaimed Ladino singer from Brazil. Fortuna
performs a unique selection of Ladino songs and Gregorian chants together with
a choir of Benedictine monks from Brazil, recorded live in the Monastery in San-
Paulo. This is an unusual recording of cross-culture music. DVD �17.50 also
available on CD �15.50

New Pesach Recordings:

Brother Moses Smote The Water - Klezmatics
Centred around the theme of Passover and its story of liberation from bondage,
the one and only Klezmatics, "the best Klezmer band in the world" perform with
renowned gospel artists Joshua Nelson and Kathryn Farmer as special guests.
Recorded live in Berlin. Together they breathe new life into songs from both
the Jewish & African-American heritage: Released January 2005.CD �16.49

Pesach DVD
45 minutes long with English narration, this DVD tells the Passover story,
explains its traditions and the customs around the Seder table. It also
includes all the songs from the Hagadah. Produced in Israel. DVD �16.50

The Western Sephardi Liturgical Tradition - as sung by Abraham Lopes Cardozo.
Vol 16 of the Anthology of Music Traditions in Israel series, produced by the
Hebrew University Jerusalem. Released 2004. Includes music for Sabbath, High
Holidays, Three Festivals, Ninth of Av, Simhat Torah, Circumcisions and
Weddings.CD �16.49

Delicatessen - Klezmer Nova
Klezmer at its best with piano, trombone, trumpet, violin, saxophone, bass and
of course clarinet. Joyful and striking French ensemble explores with humour
the repertoire of Jewish food in music. Klops Dance, Latkes, Tsimes Mazurka,
Pickel Fleish Hora and more. I found this little note at the bottom of the
text: "Warning - in some very rare cases, this CD may cause rapid and
irreversible weight-gain". . CD �16.49

And for Purim: Esther - The Salvation of Israel by Esther, Hebrew Oratorio in
three acts (1774). Libretto by Rabbi Jacob Raphael Saraval of Mantua and
Venice, composed by the Italian CG Lidarti. In the summer of 1998 an extensive
and hitherto unknown Hebrew manuscript score of this 18th century oratorio was
discovered in the Cambridge University Library. It was performed for the first
time in Europe at the Montpellier Festival in 2003, where it was also recorded
with the Orchestre National de Montpellier and conductor Freidemann Layer.
Esther Double CD �27

Re-releases for 2005

Music of A People
Digital remastering of two recordings dating back to 1965 and 1974: Spirit of A
People and Music of A People. Now at last available on CD. Stanley Black with
the London Festival orchestra and chorus, including Tzena Tzena, A letter to my
mother, Raisins and Almonds, Hava Nagila, My Yiddishe Momme, Sunrise sunset,
Kol Nidre and more.
Music of A People Double CD �19

Yiddish Golden Hits - Moishe Oysher
A selection of 14 of his all-time hits such as Greene Bleter, Yankel Der Shmid,
Dos Kisinever Stikale and many more. CD �14.99

20 Yiddish Swinging Hits - The Barry Sisters
A new selection of 20 songs, 17 of which have never been released on CD -
including Halevai (duet with Moishe Oysher!), Patch mit di hant, Noch a glezl
and many more. Released January 2005 Also available Best Selling CD in USA -
Our Way, the Barry Sisters sing Bei Mir Bist Du Sheyn. CD �14

Genia Feirman sings Mordechai Gebirtig - A song is born
A beautiful selection from the famous tunes of Mordechai Gebirtig. Including
narration by Michael Ben-Avraham, reciting some of the poems and anecdotes
about Gebirtig's life.
CD �14.99

Klezmer-Yiddish Swing Music
A new compilation of old klezmer music, mainly from the earlier part of the
20th century , including such talents as Abe Ellstein, Dave Tarras, Naftule
Brandwein and Abe Schwartz.CD �14.99

New to JMD - 2005

Yiddish Tango
A foot tapping collection of songs featuring Zully Goldfarb, Benzion Witler,
Rosita Londner, Henri Geroo, Jacob Sandler, and others. Including songs such as
Papirosen, A Bisale Glik, Yiddish Tango, Friling, Ich hob Dich Lieb, Tango
Margarita and many more.
CD �14.99

Yiddish New York - Paris - Varsovie 1910-1940
Released 1994, this is a most fascinating double CD featuring recordings of
Sophie Tucker, Aaron Lebedeff, Joseph Szigeti, Benny Goodman,Molly Picon and
many many more. Winning many international prizes, this CD uses the latest
technological methods to restore the recordings. Double CD �19

Machaya Klezmer Band
This New York band has recreated that authentic sound of the early twentieth
century klezmorim, from the shtetls of Eastern Europe to the Lower East side
of New York - the spontaneity, the drive, the expressiveness, the freestyle
arrangements and the old fashioned sound. CD �14.99

Sefaradis de dor en dor - Musical Comedy in Ladino
Arrangement by Hayim Tsur, with words by Matilda Koen-Sarano. Act 1 set in
Ismir 1906, Act 2 in Milan 1938, Act 3 in Israel 1960. Singers include Yehoram
Gaon, Nurit Henig, Yasmin Levy, Lolik and others. The true story of a Jewish
Sefardic family of Spanish origin, spanning three generations, telling a love
story while the family struggles to reach at last at their final destination,
Israel. CD �14.50

Jewish Liturgy: Seven Great Cantors
Double CD including archive recordings of Pierre Pinchik, Berele Chagy, Zavel
Kwartin, David Roitman, Yossele Rosenblatt, Mordecai Hershman and Gershon
Sirota. Tracks include Rozo D'Shabbos, Burkas Kohanim, Kol Nidre, L'Dovid
Mizmor, Tka B'shofar, Aneinu, Psalm 55, Avinu Malkenu and many more. Over 120
minutes of superb cantorial music.Double CD �19

Milken Archive Recordings - UK release January 2005
The most comprehensive collection of musical works pertaining to Jewish life
and culture ever assembled (see also Milken Archive leaflet, or contact us for
a copy).
All details on our website, UK price for CDs is �6.99 each.

DVD New Releases 2005
We want the Light - BBC
The double DVD version of Christopher Nupen's award-winning film about freedom,
survival and the extraordinary place of music in the Nazi concentration camps.
With Vladimir Ashkenazy (conductor), Daniel Barenboim, Evgeny Kissin, Zubin
Mehta, Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman; music by Mahler, Bloch, Bruch, Bach,
Schubert and others. "This is profoundly moving and compulsive" The Observer.
We want the Light DVD �18
All the following DVDs (�17.50) are also available as Videos (both Pal and VHS)
and on CD
3 Cantors Sing Yiddish
With cantors Adler, Heinovitz and Naftaly Herstik
The Rosenblatt Memorial Concert
Recorded live in Jerusalem. With cantors Adler, H.E.Herstik ,Binyamin Muller
and others
The Rosenblatt Memorial Concert
Cantor Joseph Malovany live in Jerusalem
With the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. Performing a selection of famous
synagogue tunes.
Cantor Joseph Malovany live in Jerusalem
Cantors From The Golden Age
A beautiful selection of rare footage of famous cantors caught on film.
Including cantors Rosenblatt, Oysher, Waldman, Malavsky, Hershman and many
others
The Most Famous Cantor of all Times
A rare documentary about Yossele Rosenblatt. Including rare footage of his
visit to Israel in 1933.
Shlomo Carlebach - Motzai Shabbat Nachamu
Released 2005, this is a rare live performance from The Jerusalem Great
Synagogue, filmed in 1973. Including Al Eileh, Nachamu, Eliyahu, Va'ani,
Mimkomcha, Krakov Nigun and more.
Night on the Sea of Galilee, Israeli Folk Dances Festival.
With English narration, a colourful and delightful filiming of the folk dance
Festival that takes place as the shores of the Sea of Galilee and includes
dancers from around the country.

JMD charges �1.50 postage to anywhere in the world per order up to 10 items!

Visit our web-site at: www.jewishmusic-jmd.co.uk where you can now buy on-line!
And www.judaica-rimmon.co.uk where you can order all your Judaica on-line, free
postage!

"The London Girls Choir"

Their CD "Silver Lining" made it to the top of the next selling Jewish Music CD's of the month (Country Yossi magazine) Their website is http://www.theshiracentre.com

The Klezmatics with Joshua Nelson

Yiddishkayt Los Angeles & Spaceland Productions
present
The Klezmatics with Joshua Nelson
Monday, April 4 at 8:00 PM (doors open at 7:00 PM)
Barnsdall Gallery Theatre
4800 Hollywood Blvd. (between Vermont and Edgemont)
Hollywood, CA 90027
General Admission: $25

Only in America could Jewish slaves in Egypt inspire White Southern Christians who in turn stirred Black Christians to sing about emancipation who in turn inspired an African-American Jewish gospel singer named Joshua Nelson.

The Klezmatics, known for their unique blend of melodic mysticism and improvisational activism, have once again turned their music inside out, exposing the complexity of Jewish identity, Black identity, and human identity. Brother Moses Smote the Water, their March 2005 release on Piranha Musik (distributed by Harmonia Mundi), teams them with Nelson and jazz singer/organist Kathryn Farmer. This first live Klezmatics recording alternates between age-old Hebrew Passover songs, Nelson's own brand of kosher gospel, and traditional Yiddish Klezmatic anthems.

The Best of... from Krakauer

A great article by Elliott Simon on the website all about jazz reviews "music from the winery" album. It's really something of a "best of" album from the Tonic Sunday brunch concert series... lots of amazing performers included. Here's the review http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=16019.

Jewish Music Available through Smithsonian Folkways

Smithsonian Folkways music available for download online... The complete catalog of Jewish recordings on the Folkways label, seems to be available through:
http://www.folkways.si.edu/search/SearchResults.aspx?BrowseBy=genre&Param=Judaica
The site allows you to listen to small excerpts of most tracks, and to order the material on cassette or cd. These samples will allow people to know what they may wish to purchase and get a taste for the sound of the music... also to see "what's in the catalog" in the way of Jewish music

Let My People Go! A Jewish & African American Celebration of Freedom

Let My People Go! A Jewish & African American Celebration of Freedom
www.appleseedrec.comAppleseed Recordings APR CD 1084, 2004
Reviewed by Ari Davidow: http://www.klezmershack.com/bands/misc/people/

Appleseed Records, 29 Betsy Lane, Ambler, PA 19002. Tel: 215 628-4562. Web: www.appleseedrec.com

Hodu: Jewish Rhythms from Baghdad to India

�Hodu,� in Hebrew, means both �India� and �Praise God!�--an appropriate double entendre for a community that thrived in the most benevolent of diasporas. This compilation of songs for Shabbat and holidays features a blend of ancient texts, authentic melodies and contemporary rhythms. Hebrew texts and English translations included.
The cost of the CD is $15 plus $4 shipping, available through Ms. Musleah's website, www.rahelsjewishindia.com, or by calling 516- 829-2358. .

Oh, Lovely Parrot! - Jewish Women's Songs from Kerala

A New CD was released by The Jewish Music Research Centre in Jerusalem on the music of the Jewish women of Cochin, India. For centuries, the Jewish women of Cochin have been singing Jewish songs in the Malayalam language of Kerala, their ancient homeland on the tropical southwest coast of India. Here's the info to buy it and more descriptions below:
Title: Oh, Lovely Parrot! - Jewish Women's Songs from Kerala
Editor(s): Barbara C. Johnson
Publisher: The Jewish Music Research Centre, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Place: Jerusalem
First Edition Year: 2004
Language: Malayalam
Tradition: Cochin
Country: India
Category: Folk Songs
Price: NIS 60 / $ 20
for more info....

The 42 songs on this CD represent just a fraction of their traditional repertoire as preserved in more than 300 written texts, though the melodies of most of the songs have been forgotten. Until recently, the performance of these songs was in danger of being lost altogether with the immigration of almost all the Cochin Jews to Israel, where younger generations no longer understand Malayalam. Fortunately, a collaborative project is now under way, with a team of international scholars, studying and translating the songs, and a group of Cochin women dedicated to reviving their performance. This CD is one result of this collaboration.
http://www.jewish-music.huji.ac.il/GetDetails-green.asp?id=57&TableName=CDs_T

Old Country

Steve Newman sent in his CD labeled 'Old Country'. He's a British Jewish guy, but living in Manhattan and writing songs for pubs in the Big Apple. Hmm, A bit odd and quirky but some good tunes too. Available on CD Baby.

Charles Davidson music released from Milken

Including a Jazz and Blues Sabbath Service
[8.559436] This new Milken Archive CD of music by Charles Davidson-one of the most frequently commissioned composers by synagogues, cantors and Jewish institutions, as well as by secular choruses across the country-illustrates the influence and vitality of three enduring aspects of the Jewish experience: the timeless Sabbath liturgy, the literary legacy of the "Golden Age" of Spanish Jewry, and the vibrant folklore tradition of Eastern European Yiddish culture.

The disc, released by Naxos American Classics, also demonstrates how Jewish composers have embraced indigenous American idioms, expanding the expressive boundaries of traditional synagogue music by infusing the ancient texts with contemporary musical language.
In A Singing of Angels, Davidson vibrantly evokes the lost world of eastern European Jewry in English-language settings of Yiddish folksongs for children's choir that are both charming and sophisticated. Baroque Suite, also scored for children's voices, celebrates the works of Yehuda Halevi, the best-known medieval Spanish-Hebrew poet, with musical settings inspired by 17th-century stylized dance forms. Also included is Cantor Davidson's trailblazing 1966 choral work, ...And David Danced Before the Lord, a Sabbath evening service sung in English and Hebrew-the first artistically unified, full-length Jewish service to be composed in the jazz idiom. Davidson is is perhaps best known for his celebrated composition, I Never Saw Another Butterfly, a setting of children's poetry from the Terezin concentration camp in Czechoslovakia that has been performed throughout the world more than 2,500 times, has frequently been recorded, and was the subject of two award-winning PBS documentaries. Participating artists on this disc include Amy Goldstein, soprano; Douglas Webster, baritone; the Ramon Ricker Quintet; the Finchley Children's Music Group; the Jewish Heritage Youth Chorus (London); the Buffalo Vocal Ensemble; and conductors Nicholas Wilks and Brad Lubman. For details about this CD, go to http://www.milkenarchive.org/cds/cds.taf?cdid=31 To read an article about ...And David Danced Before the Lord, go to http://www.milkenarchive.org/articles/articles.taf?function=detail&ID=83

Jewish music for Classical Guitar

Fred Fastow has a new book and CD called "Jewish Songs for Classical Guitar" which has 25 Sabbath, holiday and folk songs arranged in it. Various pieces are arranged for beginning, intermediate and advanced guitarists. Fred Fastow is a native of Brooklyn and grew up in New York. The book is available through Transcontinental music at www.etranscon.com.

Lazer Lloyd and The folk spirit blues

Lazer Lloyd, who grew up in Connecticut, (not too far from here) playing blues guitar, now lives in Israel. Well, the distances he's traveled in miles don't compare to distances he's traveled in life, but he hasn't lost his interest in playing guitar, especially blues guitar,... except that now, he applies this music to Jewish themes. His band, The Folk Spirit Blues have released a new CD, Higher Ground. Lloyd writes and sings his own material. His music is basically in the American tradition folk/country/blues...with a twist of rock Yiddishkeit. For info, consult his website: http://www.lazerlloyd.com/index.html.

SOLELUNA CD LAUNCH at THE BOITE WORLD MUSIC CAF�

December Saturday 11th 8.15pm
Melbourne, Australia
www.boite.asn.au
1 Mark St Hall, Nth Fitzroy, 9417 3550
Light meals from 7.30pm, mulled wine, delicious snacks $15 full, $10 concession, smoke free, no bookings needed.

Music of the Jews of Spain, Greece, Turkey & The Balkans performed by leading Australian folk, early music, jazz and Jewish musicians. Members of SpielAzoi, Klezmeritis, Adana, Gong & more. Sarah Mandie - Vocals in Ladino & English.
Harry Williamson - Angel Guitar, 6 string & 12 string acoustic guitars, tiple, piano, hammer dulcimer, percussion, backing vocal.
Ernie Gruner - Violin, mandolin, viola, backing vocal.
Kate Neal - Recorder, backing vocal.
Martin Mackerass - Clarinet, backing vocal.
Percussion for Launch : Karen Berger - darabouka, frame & talking drums.
on CD : Tunji Bayer - Zarb, Tavil.
Recorded, mixed & mastered by Harry at Springstudios, Melbourne 2004 www.springstudio.com.au.

Chanukah Feast CD for Charity

Chanukah Feast. This brand-new CD features 20 different traditional and original Chanukah songs performed by a variety of musical acts from the Washington/Baltimore area and around the nation. The Alexandria Kleztet contributed three brand-new tracks. In addition to Kleztet, this CD features contributions from George Winston, Chuck Brodsky, The Robyn Helzner Trio, Flory Jagoda, Jinny Marsh, Honky-Tonk Confidential, The Hip-Hop Hoodios, Lox and Vodka, Klezcentricity, and more! It's all for a good cause! All proceeds from this album benefit Hungry for Music, a DC-based charity that promotes music and music education for disadvantaged youth. Can you think of a better gift this holiday season than that? To order A Chanukah Feast go to www.hungryformusic.com or call their toll-free order line at 1-888-843-0933.

"Millie and the Mentshn"

"Millie and the Mentshn" is a group that performs music along with stories of jewish immigration to the US. New CD released and available at: http://holdthatthought.ws/ The group is based in Washington State.

Yossele Rosenblatt rerelease

The Cantors Assembly, the Conservative Movement's cantorial professional organization, has recently released a 6-CD set of digitally remastered recordings of Yossele Rosenblatt (including his Yiddish recordings). The set comes with Hebrew and English texts, and indications of original recording dates. In addition, the out-of-print Rosenblatt biography by his son Samuel Rosenblatt has been reprinted. The six CDs are being sold for $89.95 or the set of CDs and Book for $109.95. http://www.cantors.org/sys-tmpl/door

"Shir Delight! A Journey Through the Song of Songs"

Rabbi Shefa Gold has just released a new CD: "Shir Delight! A Journey Through the Song of Songs" which can be ordered through her website: www.rabbishefagold.com

From the liner notes: "To our brother and sister Journeyers: We have felt so incredibly blessed to bring Shir Delight! into being. This journey of Love is a moment-to-moment passionate, sensuous, Nature-revealing, wondrous, awe-filled, ecstatic encounter with the Divine. Shir HaShirim is a jewel at the heart of Jewish wisdom. We offer it to all peoples of all religions or no religion, of all spiritual traditions that call us to the path of Love and Presence. This path is about the cultivation, strengthening and deepening of our own personal relationship with the Great Love, the Divine Mystery. May every relationship in our lives be a reflection of that Great Love."

Kiss the Beloved: Kabbalistic Kirtan

KABBALISTIC KIRTAN is a new Jewish musical experience, a fusion of East andWest inspired by chant from India (kirtan) and music of the Middle East. Musicians on the recording include:
Yofiyah (vocals)
Lenny Seidman (tabla, frame drum)
Roger Mgrdichian (oud)
Joe Tayoun (doumbek, riq)
Amira Dvorah (bansuri flute)
Andrew Bleckner (harmonium)

Blending inspiring melodies, driving drum beats, and call and response chanting of short Hebrew prayers and names of God, Kabbalistic kirtan inspires a sense of Oneness and unity with all, marked by deep joy and even ecstasy.
for information, contact:
Yofiyah at: 215-242-6677
cd@hebrewkirtan.com
www.hebrewkirtan.com

FREDERICK JACOBI CD released

A new CD from Naxos, (Naxos ID 8.559434), has the music of Frederick Jacobi.
Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra (1932)
Sabbath Evening Service (excerpts) (1931)
Hagiographa (1938)
Ahavat olam (1945)
Two Pieces in Sabbath Mood (1946)

Artists include Alban Gerhardt, cello; Barcelona Symphony/National Orchestra of Catalonia, Karl Anton Rickenbacher, conductor; Patrick Mason, baritone; Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chorus, Joseph Cullen, conductor; Brian Krinke and Perrin Yang, violins; George Taylor, viola; Stefan Reuss, cello; Joseph Werner, piano; Cantor Robert Bloch; New York Cantorial Choir; Aaron Miller, organ; Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Samuel Adler, conductor

more...

This Milken Archive disc presents five works by Frederick Jacobi (1891-1952), one of the first 20th-century American composers to successfully unite authentic Jewish melodic and harmonic materials with the European classical-romantic tradition. Championed by such conductors as Koussevitzky, Stokowski, and Monteux, his compositions reflect two principal ethnic-historical musical sources: the motifs, rhythms and sonorities of American Indian culture and the biblical, liturgical and rabbinical wellsprings of his Judaic heritage, which would eventually dominate his creative life.

Included on this CD are three instrumental works of Jewish inspiration: the Cello Concerto, an introspective work inspired by the Book of Psalms; Hagiographa: Three Biblical Narratives for Piano and String Quartet, a rhapsodic evocation of three major biblical personalities; and Two Pieces in Sabbath Mood, an orchestral tone poem that depicts the spiritual qualities of the Sabbath in Jewish life and tradition. Also heard are two liturgical pieces: excerpts from the Sabbath Evening Service, a restrained setting for baritone and a cappella chorus that was commissioned by New York's Temple Emanu-El; and Ahavat Olam, an independent setting of the Sabbath evening prayer for cantor and choir that is infused with echoes of traditional cantorial chant.

For details about this CD, go to http://www.milkenarchive.org/cds/cds.taf?cdid=30

Golem--Homesick Songs

Homesick Songs. New album features songs about old-world cities, towns and countries. It features gypsy songs sung by Annette Ezekiel.... but this is music for the younger generation, being edgy, sexy and very vibrant. The Washington Post said "GOLEM produces the sort of music you'd expect if the shtetl were filled with punks instead of peasants."... That gives the idea pretty well... it's Jewish, it's cool, but even though it's about Europe, probably not for your bubbe. A look at the website will tell more info about music stores where the CDs are being carried. http://www.golemrocks.com

Baltimore Niggunim of Rabbi Menachem Goldberger

The niggunim of Rabbi Menachem Goldberger are now available on CD from his congregational website. http://www.tiferesyisroel.org/ in Baltimore, MD. For anyone who has not heard these tunes, you will be especially pleased at the good quality of both the musicianship and the excellent new melodies. There are music clips on the site for sampling the recording.

Woody Guthrie's Happy Joyous Hanuka

Announcing the new Klezmatics cd - just in time for your holiday pleasure!
The Klezmatics: Woody Guthrie's Happy Joyous Hanuka (Klezmatics Records, 2004)

In 1942, Woody Guthrie moved to Brooklyn and soon, through his mother-in-law, the renowned Yiddish poet Aliza Greenblat, he became involved with the Coney Island Jewish community. He wrote songs about Hanuka, about Jewish history and spiritual life and about World War II and the antifascist cause. After his death in 1967, these songs sat forgotten in archives. Lost for almost thirty years, Guthrie's Jewish lyrics were discovered in 1998 by Woody's daughter, Nora Guthrie. She was so inspired by what she found, she asked the Klezmatics to write new music for the lyrics. "Woody Guthrie's Happy Joyous Hanuka" is the first recorded release of this amazing material. Deftly intermingling klezmer with American folk and bluegrass, "Woody Guthrie's Happy Joyous Hunaka" is destined to become a holiday classic for generations to come. This delightful collection of songs, "Hanuka's Flame", "Hanuka Gelt", "The Many and the Few" and others, is among the best of Guthrie's work, and the Klezmatics' playful renditions cast a new light on the Hanuka tradition. This limited edition collectors release comes in a jacket, hand printed at the Chicago Print Museum, that folds into a dreidel!
Available only via the internet at http://www.tamizdat.org/rpm/?page=shop/flypage&product_id=KLE-1&ps_session=917471223271b9e703c9f41873dde1ab
Visit the Klezmatics website, www.klezmatics.com

Lazer Lloyd & The Folk Spirit Blues-Higher Ground

Blues Folk Music from Israel in English? That already sounds wild. Add to it the fact that it's coming from a Chassidic Orthodox Jew with a long beard and now you know why its turning heads and opening ears. Lazer Lloyd & The Folk Spirit Blues-Higher Ground is the first CD in English from Israel's #1 Blues Guitarist---Lazer Lloyd....more... Released October 2004 for worldwide distribution Higher Ground is already being praised by the likes of John Mayer, Blues For Peace, Artimis Records, Jerusalem Post, Shlomo Gronick�"The cool combinations of acoustic and electric blues set the scene for the soulful-universal messages that are given over on this album. If I didn't know I would say that's the most creative guitar soloing [since]I've heard Eric Clapton play. Wow what a tone!" Gary Lefkowith-(Chubby Checkers Manager). Lazer is known worldwide as the lead guitar and harmonica player for the only Jewish Jam Band-Reva L' Sheva. Lazer hosted this summers Tel Aviv Bluesfest, has just returned from a tour in Berlin and is now presently touring in America and Canada. In February he will be touring in Texas. Lazer Lloyd at www.lazerlloyd.com or www.cdbaby.com

JACK GOTTLIEB CD from Milken Archive

JACK GOTTLIEB (Naxos ID 8.559433)
World Premiere Recording of Love Songs for Sabbath and Other Sabbath Compositions
Two Choral Psalm Cycles: Shout for Joy and Psalmistry
Featuring Narration by Tony-Nominated Actress Tovah Feldshuh

"...varied in mood, from joyous to serene."

� Dallas Morning News

This CD of works by award-winning contemporary composer Jack Gottlieb illustrates the fascinating interplay between Jewish religious texts and American musical idioms so emblematic of the Jewish experience in this country. Mr. Gottlieb, who served as Leonard Bernstein's assistant at the New York Philharmonic and is considered a leading authority on Bernstein's music, has woven elements of his Jewish heritage, American popular music, and the Western classical tradition throughout his creative endeavors.

For details about this CD, go to http://www.milkenarchive.org/cds/cds.taf?cdid=29

This new CD features seven works in two contrasting styles: contemplative settings of Sabbath prayers for home and synagogue balanced by lively choral pieces based on Psalm texts that celebrate life. These compositions embody Jack Gottlieb's eclectic musical style, which is marked by pungent rhythms, inventive harmonies and a typically American directness and, at the same time, reflects the influence of Jewish musical traditions and the cadences of the Hebrew language. Scored for vocal soloists, choir, organ and a variety of brass, percussion and jazz ensembles, they are sung in English and Hebrew, with readings in English.

Included is the world-premiere recording of Love Songs for Sabbath, a deeply personal setting of the Sabbath liturgy that combines the spoken word with music. The speaker is celebrated actress Tovah Feldshuh, winner of four Tony nominations for Best Actress, four Drama Desk, and numerous other awards, who is also heard in Three Candle Blessings�traditional prayers to welcome the Sabbath. A third Sabbath work, Shalom Aleikhem with Candle Blessing, combines the traditional blessing with a beloved Sabbath hymn.

Jack Gottlieb's embrace of classical and popular idioms is apparent in Psalmistry and Shout for Joy�animated, jazz-influenced choral works based on Psalm texts. Also included on this October Milken release are Set Me as a Seal, with text from the Song of Songs, and Y'varehk'kha, a setting of the Priestly Blessing.

In addition to reader Tovah Feldshuh, other featured artists are Cantor Robert Abelson, Rachel Gottlieb and Cheryl Bensman Rowe, sopranos; Kirsten Chavez, mezzo-soprano; Karl Dent and Neil Farrell, tenors; John Haspel Gilbert, violin; Harry Huff, organ; Carolina Chamber Chorale and the Southern Chorale, University of Southern Mississippi, Timothy Koch, conductor; Metropolitan Brass Ensemble, the New York Motet Choir, Stephen Sturk, conductor; and Choir of Texas Tech University, Kenneth Davis, conductor.

'Oyfn Sheydveg' & more

The release of, 'Oyfn Sheydveg,' a new CD by the Boston-based KHEVRE is happening now.
To celebrate the new recording, Khevre will be playing a show in New York.
Sunday, October 24th.
Lefrak Concert Hall, Queens College.
2:00pm
Admission is $10.
Opening, is comedian 'Modi,' who's a riot.
You can pick up tickets by visiting the Colden box office, or by phone:
718.793.8080
You can also visit: http://qcpages.qc.edu/Jewish_Studies/
KHEVRE is:
michael winograd- reeds, flutes
dana sandler- vocals
eylem basaldi- violin
carmen staaf- piano, accordion
jorge roeder- bass
richie barshay- drums, percussion
For more information on KHEVRE, please read out latest review by Ari Davidow at :
http://www.klezmershack.com/archives/001625.html
For our fans in boston, KHEVRE will be playing a Halloween show, with a number of other bands. MORE INFO BELOW:
Khevre Halloween event will take place at the Zeitgeist Gallery in Cambridge
(http://www.zeitgeist-gallery.org) on Halloween
Sunday, October 31st
starting at 7:30pm
On the bill are:
-KHEVRE
" like watching the Jefferson Airplane on the tiny Matrix stage back in 1966 in San Francisco."- ari davidow (http://www.klezmershack.com/archives/001625.html#001625)
-THE ROCKY HORA DYBBUK ORCHESTRA
-SMACKIN' THE BRASS (NEC Balkan Brass Band)
-MICHAEL MCLAUGHLIN AND THE JUMBO KNISH FACTORY
-THE HARVARD FOLK BAND
-and more!!!

Admission is $15 (dontation,) $10 for students
help the zeitgeist!! all procedes to help this great venue
cheerfully fun refreshments will be served
please come in costume!
limited seating! doors open at 7:10pm

zeitgeist gallery
1353 Cambridge street
Inman Square
617.876.6060
http://www.zeitgeist-gallery.org

for more information on "Halloween Festival of Jewish Music",
visit: http://www.klezmershack.com/calendar/001542.php#more

Golem blog CD release

Please check out the Golem blog ("the megillah") at http://www.golemrocks.com/html/megillah/ Counting down to CD release show on Sunday, Oct 24th at the Knitting Factory, with Juez, the Sarah Aroeste Band and special guest Frank London sitting in with Golem. 8pm - don't miss it!

An Evening With Dave Cash

We just received notice of a new CD, "An Evening With Dave Cash." This is the only CD ever released featuring the great Yiddish singer known for his humorous songs. Though he was world famous on the Yiddish theater circuit, he was a huge star in France. The selections on this CD are more representative of Yiddish Cabaret than 2nd Avenue. Selections include a hilarious "Der Shere Fun Seville" - based on the "Barber of Seville", "S'fallen Die Bletter" ("Autumn Leaves"), "La Mama (by Charles Aznavour), "Tzures Mit Hula Hoop" (Trouble with Hula Hoop), "Arain, Arous" (In and Out) and 15 other selections. Available through online record stores, such as Hatikvah music in LA.

So Hip, It�s Not Just For Bubbe!

Klezmer and Yiddish Music: So Hip, It�s Not Just For Bubbe! Announcing the release of "Celebrate Klezmer and Celebrate Yiddish!" To find out more about these releases or to order your copies, http://www.craignco.com

For those who love the genres, you can�t ask for a more eclectic mix of music. For those new to this exciting music, it is the perfect introduction to some great artists. From the people who brought you the best selling Celebrate CD�s for Hanukkah, Passover and Kids�we bring you Celebrate Klezmer and Celebrate Yiddish, two new releases representing the ultimate collection of Yiddish and Klezmer songs. Produced for Craig �n Co. by Frank London and Lorin Sklamberg these volumes feature some of the best and brightest artists in the field including, Khupe, The Klezmatics, Pete Rushefsky, Shtreiml, The Klezmer Conservatory Band, Theodore Bikel, Chava Alberstein, Avraham Fried, Adrienne Cooper, Wolf Krakowski, Nekhama Lifshitz, Brave Old World and many more.

Genesis Suite [8.559442] & Vienna Choir Boys: A Jewish Celebration in Song [8.559419]

New CD Releases from the MILKEN ARCHIVE OF AMERICAN JEWISH MUSIC and NAXOS AMERICAN CLASSICS

GENESIS SUITE (Naxos ID 8.559442)

Featuring music by Igor Stravinsky, Arnold Schoenberg, Darius Milhaud, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Ernst Toch, Alexandre Tansman, Nathaniel Shilkret. Orchestrations reconstructed by Hollywood orchestrator Patrick Russ (Far from Heaven, Gorillas in the Mist).
Narration performed by Tovah Feldshuh (Golda's Balcony), Barbara Feldon ("Get Smart"), David Margulies (Wonderful Town), Fritz Weaver ("Holocaust") and Isaiah Sheffer (Symphony Space). Music performed by the Ernst Senff Choir and the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Gerard Schwarz.
This Milken Archive disc celebrates the rediscovery and rebirth of an audacious 20th-century work that resulted from a unique collaboration by seven renowned composers, most of them European exiles living in Los Angeles during World War II. Performed only once, in 1945, before most of the score was lost in a fire, the Genesis Suite has been fully restored from recently discovered original manuscripts, and is heard here in its first new recording in 60 years. The work is based on seminal bible stories including the Creation, Adam and Eve, Noah's Ark, the Flood, and the Tower of Babel, which are narrated on this disc by celebrated actors accompanied by full orchestra and chorus. An important historical document that epitomizes the transplantation of European musical culture to this country during the 1940s, the Genesis Suite also reflects the fascinating interplay between "high" art music and American popular culture�especially Hollywood film�that characterized this period.
� For details about this CD, go to
http://www.milkenarchive.org/cds/cds.taf?cdid=27
� To read an article about the Genesis Suite, go to
http://www.milkenarchive.org/articles/articles.taf?function=detail&ID=69

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VIENNA CHOIR BOYS: A Jewish Celebration in Song (Naxos ID 8.559419)

With performances by Vienna Choir Boys, Chorus Viennensis, Cantor Naftali Herstik, Cantor Shimon Craimer, Vienna Chamber Orchestra conducted by Gerald Wirth.
This is the very first recording of American Jewish music by this world-renowned ensemble, which for more than 500 years has been associated with the Roman Catholic Hapsburg Imperial Chapel. Its release will coincide with the Vienna Choir Boys� October-December 2004 North American tour, during which they will perform selections from the disc. Singing in Hebrew, and joined by the Chorus Viennensis (Choir Boys alumni), the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Chief Cantor of the Great Synagogue of Jerusalem Naftali Herstik, and Cantor Shimon Craimer, they sing late 20th-century, four-part settings of some of the most enduring and powerful of all Jewish texts. Sholom Kalib's The Day of Rest features prayers from the Sabbath liturgy and is written in a style inspired by the stirring eastern European cantorial-choral tradition of the 17th-19th centuries. Psalms of Abraham is a cantata of 12 psalm settings by noted choral director and composer Abraham Kaplan that includes the familiar 23rd, 121st and 150th Psalms and reflects the full range of emotions expressed in this biblical poetry.
For details about this CD, go to
http://www.milkenarchive.org/cds/cds.taf?cdid=28

Homesick Songs by Golem

"Golem's new CD, Homesick Songs, is a party in a box. A snapshot of shtetl life through the filter of a much younger generation.

CD RELEASE PARTY:
OCTOBER 24th at the Knitting Factory, Tribeca, NY, 8pm
Golem presents its new album, with an exciting bill of all new-generation Jewish music: Juez, the Sarah Aroeste Band, and special guest Frank London sitting in with Golem! "HOMESICK SONGS" will be in stores nationwide on OCTOBER 19th. Each track on the album evokes old-world cities, towns and countries longed for by homesick immigrants. It's Jewish music that rocks - not just for your grandma!" BUY IT NOW EXCLUSIVELY AT www.golemrocks.com

THE FIRST S'LICHOT and PAUL SCHOENFIELD

THE FIRST S'LICHOT and PAUL SCHOENFIELD... two more CDs from the Milken Archive!

THE FIRST S'LICHOT (Naxos ID 8.559428-29)
Fulfilling a long-held dream of Jewish music-lovers, the landmark recording on this double-CD set features the complete s'lichot (penitential) service that according to Orthodox and traditional practice is held at midnight on the Saturday before Rosh Hashana (Jewish New Year). The purpose of the s'lichot service is to prepare congregants for the solemn period of repentance and renewal known as the High Holy Days, which begins with Rosh Hashana and culminates in Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). The Milken Archive recording presents the entire service as it would actually be experienced in the synagogue. It demonstrates the integration of formally composed liturgical settings within the overall context of the prayers, in conjunction with cantorial chanting and improvisation, in the continuous flow of the service from beginning to end. Performed by celebrated cantor Benzion Miller and the Schola Hebraeica, the world's only fully professional male choir devoted to Judaically related music, this s'lichot service includes liturgical settings by legendary figures including Yossele Rosenblatt, Israel Schorr and Joshua Lind. It is conducted by Neil Levin, music director of the Schola Hebraeica and artistic director of the Milken Archive, and was recorded in London's historic orthodox New West End Synagogue according to the highest standards of liturgical and musical authenticity. Also included are four celebrated cantorial pieces for other services throughout the year, performed by Cantor Miller with the London Synagogue Singers. Comprehensive commentary and new English translations of the prayers accompany the set. A two-hour radio program entitled "Music for the High Holy Days: A Season of Forgiveness," featuring the complete midnight penitential service as recorded on the new Milken Archive CD, will be distributed by the WFMT Radio Network to radio stations throughout the country during the first two weeks in September, prior to Rosh Hashana September 16-17 and Yom Kippur September 25. This special program, produced by Larry Josephson, will include commentary by Neil Levin, artistic director of the Milken Archive, and Rabbi Ismar Schorsch, Chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary. For local stations and times, please visit the Milken Archive Web site after mid-August at www.milkenarchive.org. For details about this CD, go to http://www.milkenarchive.org/cds/cds.taf?cdid=26

PAUL SCHOENFIELD (Naxos ID 8.559418) Features world premiere recordings of music by Paul Schoenfield, whose works are drawn from an eclectic amalgam of sources-popular, vernacular, folk and classical art music. It features three compositions that celebrate the richness of traditional Jewish melodies, dances, and folklore: the Concerto for Viola and Orchestra, commissioned and premiered by Robert Vernon, principal violist of the Cleveland Orchestra, who performs it on this disc as well; Four Motets, a haunting a cappella choral work in which Renaissance counterpoint is infused with 20th-century harmonic sensibilities; and scenes from the mystical opera The Merchant and the Pauper, in which a supremely beautiful maiden stranded on an island wilderness is reunited with her betrothed-an allegory of the Jewish people vis-�-vis ultimate cosmic repair and messianic redemption-as related in an old Hassidic tale. Yoel Levi conducts the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin; Avner Itai leads the BBC Singers; and Kenneth Kiesler directs members of the University of Michigan Opera.
For details about this CD, go to http://www.milkenarchive.org/cds/cds.taf?cdid=25
Read an interview with conductor Kenneth Kiesler at http://www.milkenarchive.org/articles/articles.taf?function=detail&ID=63

Streams in the Desert

Cantor Aviva Rosenbloom, cantor for 29 years of Temple Israel of Hollywood, CA (www.tioh.org) just released a new CD. It is a collection of songs written and adapted by Aviva, and available through SoundsWrite. Cantor Rosenbloom writes: "The songs are uplifting and empowering, especially for Jewish women." :
Contact: cantor@tioh.org or write to:
Cantor Aviva Rosenbloom
Temple Israel of Hollywood
7300 Hollywood Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90046

Tot Shabbat This album of traditional and updated songs is for young children Aviva is accompanied on guitar, keyboard and organ, and sings with a small children's choir. Also available at soundswrite.com or at the above address.

Kenneth Kiesler on Milken Archive

A new interview with Kenneth Kiesler is featured on the homepage of the Milken Archive Web site. Also, the CDs page now features the Paul Schoenfield CD and the The First S'lichot - Midnight Service Naxos CD. For more information about the CDs, please click on the following link: http://www.milkenarchive.org/cds/cds.taf

"On the Paths: Yiddish Songs with Tsimbl"

On Thursday August 5, 2004 the "Kavehoyz" of the Congress for Jewish Culture will host a CD release concert for Rebecca Kaplan and Pete Rushefsky's new recording, "On the Paths: Yiddish Songs with Tsimbl".

Rebecca Kaplan sings rare Yiddish folksongs in an authentic folk style and Pete Rushefsky is one of the best tsimblers on the Jewish music scene today.
7:00 PM at 25 E. 21st. St. in Manhattan, between Park and B'way.
Information: 212-505-8040. Coffee and kosher pastries will be served.
Admission:$5.

To purchase this wonderful CD go to:
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rushefsky

CD by Congregation B'nai Jeshurun in Manhattan

A new CD by Congregation B'nai Jeshurun in Manhattan called TekiYah: Echoes of the High Holy Days at BJ. For those of you familiar with the experimental and spiritual nature of B'nai Jeshurun services, this will provide a wonderful way to get into the mood of the High Holidays. There are some traditional melodies as well as some experimental sounds. And shofar sounds you may have never heard before. You can hear clips of the music at www.bj.org/music_bj.html.

Seeds of Sun Promotion

Seeds of Sun from Israel has a special promotion. You can click to see the pdf .

2 Clarinets & Piano

A new CD of unknown music of beauty and wide appeal, early 19th century to the present! Original Music from Finland, Malta, Israel and points in between clarinetists Eva Wasserman-Margolis (Israel) and Luigi Magistrelli (Italy) with Claudia Bracco, piano

The Artists: Ms. Wasserman-Margolis, main instructor at the Conservatory of Givatayim and Petach Tikva, was formerly principal clarinetist of the Haifa Symphony and principal instructor at the Music Center in Tel Aviv. Luigi Magistrelli, professor of clarinet at the Milan Conservatory, is widely known for his recordings and solo work. Claudia Bracco has won 16 first prizes at competitions. Leonarda's web site has bios for all the artists and composers. http://www.leonarda.com
Composers: Cavallini, Crusell: virtuosic music by legendary 19th century clarinetists; Amit-Kalev, Camilleri, Feigin: music with a Mediterranean twist; Mastalir: Czech Philharmonic pianist and prize-winning composer; Schweinsberg: bandsman with 400 works; Mendelssohn songs arranged by Pamela Weston.

Leonarda Productions is a not-for-profit educational organization based in New York. Best known for its series featuring women composers from the 11th century onward and it's double CD "Women Composers: The Lost Tradition Found", used in college courses, Leonarda also champions other little-known music. Audio samples for all of Leonarda's 28 CDs may be found online at http://www.leonarda.com Leonarda takes Visa, MasterCard and American Express. You may also send a check in U.S. dollars drawn on a U.S. bank to Leonarda, PO Box 1736, New York, NY 10025-1559. Telephone +1-212-666-7697.

The World is a Narrow Bridge

Craig Taubman announced the seventh release in the award winning "Celebrate" Series. The CD features 14 songs that celebrate hope and healing. Comes with a companion book of 50 essays. Essays from writers including, Theodore Bikel, Sherri Mandell, Leonard Fein, Jacob Pressman, Harold Schulweiss, Kirk Douglas, William Cutter, Rachel Remen, Rodger Kamenetz, Naomi Levy, Amy Eilberg, Joel Ben Izzy, Wendy Mogel, Amichai Lau-Lavie, Balfour Brickner, Shira Milgrom, David Wolpe, and Jack Reimer. For a limited time, both the book and CD The World is a Narrow Bridge will be available at the special pre-release price of $30 (plus shipping). To place your order send an e-mail including your name, address, credit card number and expiration date to Debbie@craignco.com . This special offer ends August 1, 2004.

Songs Include:
Neshama Carlebach   Nachamu Ami
Todd Herzog   If I Only Had The Words
Debbie Friedman   Mi Shebeirach
Craig Taubman   Journey
Shirona   Mimaamakim
David Paskin   Job's Niggun
Beth Schafer   It's In You
Dana   Seraphim and Seagulls
Elli Kranzler   Gam Ki Elech
Sally Fingerett   Private Plenty
Sheryl Braunstein   Y'varech'cha
Alberto Mizrahi   Ana Adonai
Mare Winningham   Gone Gone Gone
Caren Glasser   Heaven and Earth

Ethiopian Music CD

The Jerusalem Post, May 19, 2004 reported that the Chief Rabbinate Released an Ethiopian Music CD: "A Collection of Songs for our Brethren, the Immigrants from Ethiopia", contains 14 tracks. This is an effort to reach out to the Ethiopian immigrant community in Israel, and is being distributed by the Rabbinate to Ethiopian immigrants there.

The JP also reported that "According to Rabbi Eliyahu Maimon, Director of the Chief Rabbinate's Conversion Courts, the production of the CD is aimed at "reconnecting Ethiopian immigrants to contemporary Judaism as it is practiced in Israel and preserving the very important traditions they brought with them from Ethiopia." The Jerusalem Post went on to write: "Past experience, particularly from the 1950s and 60s," he added, "shows that when attempts are made to erase the old traditions of an immigrant group, it can impair their successful absorption in the country, and that is something we wish to avoid at all costs ...We very much hope that this will help, in some small way, to improve their absorption here in the country."

JEWISH OPERAS, Vol. 1 from Milken

New CD Releases from the MILKEN ARCHIVE OF AMERICAN JEWISH MUSIC and NAXOS AMERICAN CLASSICS
JEWISH OPERAS, Vol. 1
and
HUGO WEISGALL

JEWISH OPERAS, VOL. 1 (Naxos ID 8.559424)
HUGO WEISGALL (1912-1997) (Naxos ID 8.559425)

JEWISH OPERAS, VOL. 1 (Naxos ID 8.559424)
This release features scenes from three mid-20th-century operas by American composers that are based on enduring Jewish legends, the vanished world of eastern European Jewry, and unforgettable dramatic characters. The Golem by Abraham Ellstein retells in 20th-century harmonic language the centuries-old tale of a creature fashioned from clay and brought to life by kabbalistic spells who ultimately threatens the very people he was intended to serve. A second ubiquitous Jewish folk legend provides the subject for David Tamkin's The Dybbuk, which transforms the popular story of demonic possession into a compelling drama, set in a lush neo-Romantic idiom, wherein the fate of two star-crossed lovers becomes a mystical allegory. Finally, Robert Strassburg's comic opera, Chelm, which draws upon Yiddish folklore and folksong, and evokes eastern European Jewish life, offering a series of satirical vignettes based on the na�ve, bumbling inhabitants of a "village of fools." Heard on this CD are soloists and ensembles conducted by Kenneth Kiesler, Paul Hostetter and Stephen Gunzenhauser.
For details about this CD, go to
http://www.milkenarchive.org/cds/cds.taf?cdid=21
Read an article about this CD at
http://www.milkenarchive.org/articles/articles.taf?function=detail&ID=56

HUGO WEISGALL (1912-1997) (Naxos ID 8.559425)
This release features four works by Hugo Weisgall, one of the 20th century's most imaginative and independent composers, who combined an affinity for the musical aesthetics of the Second Viennese School of Schoenberg, Berg and Webern with a lifelong commitment to and artistic fascination with his Jewish heritage and its musical and liturgical traditions. His symphonic masterpiece, T'kiatot, is based on a central section of the traditional Rosh Hashana service in which the shofar (ram's horn) is sounded three times. Weisgall sets the awe-inspiring blasts of an actual shofar against a richly chromatic orchestral texture. The song cycle Psalm of the Distant Dove, based on biblical and medieval Hebrew-Spanish poetry, celebrates the mystical, age-old relationship between God and His loving but suffering people Israel, represented by the image of a dove. Also inspired by the Golden Age of Spanish Jewry is the rhapsodic vocal and orchestral composition, A Garden Eastward, which the composer once called his "most beautiful work." Featured artists on this recording include Ana Mar�a Mart�nez and Phyllis Bryn-Julson, sopranos, the BBC Singers; The Seattle Symphony led by Gerard Schwarz, and the Barcelona Symphony/National Orchestra of Catalonia led by Jorge Mester. For details about this CD, go to
http://www.milkenarchive.org/cds/cds.taf?cdid=22

Hasidic Niggun As Sung By

2-CD set & book. The 80 pages of informative liner notes are "a valuable resource on the sociology and musical practices of contemporary Israeli Hasidim and, by extension, those worldwide." Simon from Hatikvah writes: Besides elucidating the recordings, the text can be enjoyed independently of listening to the recordings, especially as a complement to the 1971 article by the same authors in the Encyclopedia Judaica (vol. 7, cols. 1421-32)." The entire project is built on the foundations of the 1976 LP & booklet "Hassidic Tunes Of Dancing And Rejoicing," also published by The Jewish Music Research Center in Jerusalem. Indeed, nine of the forty-seven selections (along with much of their commentary) also appear in the former anthology. Much of the introductory text to the current volume also derives from the first collection, but even the older material has not been cut-and-pasted; rather, every paragraph shows signs of careful editing, freshening and cross-referencing, so that there is little repetition and much information packed inside the 80 little pages (which also appear in the original Hebrew). As one who has long enjoyed the original Hassidic anthology (and relied on it in teaching the subject), it was good to reacquaint myself with the poignant voices of Mendel Britchko and Shmuel Zalmanoff and hear additional Nigunim which didn't make the cut on the first album. Britchko? Zalmanoff? Not exactly household names, but therein lies the principal charm of this album: a wide variety of Nigunim pure and simple (and not-so-simple), sung principally in the late 1960's and 1970's by individual singers and gatherings of Hassidim whose ears had not yet been polluted by the Ortho-Pop soundtracks. Just Hassidim singing their souls in a variety of settings; it almost feels like eavesdropping. The value of these field recordings extends beyond the strict boundaries of Hassidic music. As living exponents of a continuous East-European Jewish song tradition, these singers have a lot to teach Jewish musicians in the areas of melodic phrasing and rhythmic subtleties. Exploring these prayers, Nigunim and Yiddish songs and will help contextualize many components of the Klezmer repertoire, and even shed light on a number of issues,such as the Jewish waltz, the singing ofHassidic girls, and "quartertones" in Jewish music."

Voices for Israel CD and Video

Voices For Israel: Chazak Amenu double CD/video has been released. Proceeds go to relieve the victims of terror in Israel. The CD contains the Solidarity Anthem, "CHAZAK AMENU: WE STAND AS ONE" and "SHIR LISMOACH (MALKI'S SONG)," written by Malki Roth, an Israeli teenager who was killed in the Jerusalem Sbarro suicide bombing. OVER 50 JEWISH MUSIC ARTISTS are on the album singing on behalf of Israel. In the video you will recognize the faces of Jews from the Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox branches of Judaism. The album contains more than 30 SONGS on the themes of Israel, Jewish unity, and the enduring hope for peace with arrangements by "Yehuda!" This is truly a solidarity effort. To get information to order the recordings, http://www.voicesforisrael.org/. This recording, and its charitable effort, is endorsed by JMWC.

On the Paths CD Released

On The Paths: Yiddish Songs With Tsimbl by Rebecca Kaplan & Pete Rushefsky is a unique album of vocal music accompanied by tsimbl, or Jewish hammered dulcimer. The enclosed booklet contains lyrics in Yiddish, Phonetic Yiddish and English. Becky Kaplan is an emotive interpreter of Jewish song and Pete Rushefsky has emerged as one of the nation's premiere tsimblists. The CD is available through Yiddish Land Records:
http://yiddishlandrecords.com/
and is on sale at Hatikvah Music
http://www.hatikvahmusic.com ...More...

At CD Baby Yet another way to get the album)... they say: "Rebecca Kaplan & Pete Rushefsky have brought to life rarely-heard gems of Yiddish music from collections by Moshe Beregovski, the Mloteks, Mariam Nirenberg, Joseph Moskowitz and Ruth Rubin, as well as materials learned from Soviet-born folk singer Larisa Novicheva and her mother Anna. Both artists additionally contribute original works, including "Shoyn fir yor," a new Yiddish song by Rebecca Kaplan.

Rebecca Kaplan (vocals, piano, buben [drum]) has created a vibrant performance style for Yiddish folk song which is grounded in Jewish sensibility. An elementary school music teacher in the Boston area, she holds degrees in music from the University of Rochester and Indiana University. She has performed as a vocalist and instrumentalist with klezmer bands in Massachusetts, Indiana, and New York State.

Pete Rushefsky (tsimbl) is a leading revivalist of the tsimbl, or Jewish hammered dulcimer. He performs with some of the finest practitioners of traditional klezmer music including Adrianne Greenbaum, Steven Greenman, Rebecca Kaplan, Joel Rubin and Alicia Svigals. He won much critical acclaim for his CD with violinist Elie Rosenblatt entitled "Tsimbl un Fidl: Klezmer Music for Hammered Dulcimer & Violin" and he appears with Michael Alpert and Deborah Strauss on Yiddish poet/songwriter Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman's CD "Af di gasn fun der shtot - On the Streets of the City" (Yiddishland Records). A popular instructor at KlezKamp and KlezKanada, Pete is also the author of a pioneering instructional book on adapting the American 5-string banjo for klezmer." http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rushefsky

YEHUDI WYNER Music on Naxos

Yehudi Wyner, a beloved teacher here at Brandeis University, has a new CD released as part of the Milken Archive project on the Naxos label.
Naxos ID 8.559423

THE MIRROR SUITE, from music for the play by Isaac Bashevis Singer (1972-3)
PASSOVER OFFERING (1959)
TANTS UN MAYSELE (1981)

Featuring: Richard Stoltzman, clarinet; Carol Wincenc, flute; Daniel Stepner, violin; Jennifer Langham and Ronald Thomas, cello; James Guttman, double bass; Bruce Creditor, clarinet; David Taylor, bass trombone; Robert Shulz, percussion; Carol Meyer, soprano; Judi Brown Kirchner, mezzo-soprano; Matthew Kirchner, tenor; Richard Lalli, baritone; Yehudi Wyner, speaker and piano.

This release features world-premiere recordings of three evocative works by leading contemporary composer Yehudi Wyner. The Mirror, a play by Isaac Bashevis Singer, explores the interior life of a Jewish woman living in a small eastern European town. The surrealistic plot, which in terms of religious orthodoxy could be considered subversive, mixes themes of sexual repression and fantasy, presided over by a demon who haunts the woman's mirror. Wyner's atmospheric music for this drama is inspired by various Jewish traditions, including secular folk and religious song, the music of klezmer bands, and modal echoes of Sephardi and Near Eastern Jewry. Also included on this CD are two instrumental works: Passover Offering-a reflection on the biblical story-and the folklore-inspired Tants un Maysele (Dance and Little Story).

NEW INTERVIEW ON THE MILKEN ARCHIVE WEBSITE

A new interview with composer Yehudi Wyner and clarinetest Richard Stoltzman is featured on the homepage of the Milken Archive Web site.

Please visit the Milken Archive website at www.milkenarchive.org

CANTOR BENZION MILLER SINGS CANTORIAL CONCERT MASTERPIECES

Milken Archive Releases
CANTOR BENZION MILLER SINGS CANTORIAL CONCERT MASTERPIECES
Naxos ID 8.559416

Featuring: Cantor Benzion Miller, Barcelona Symphony Orchestra/National Orchestra of Catalonia, conductor Elli Jaffe, Vienna Boys Choir, Chorus Viennensis

This recording of cantorial concert masterpieces celebrates a unique genre of Jewish sacred music that embodies the virtuoso cantorial tradition. With a blend of brilliant vocal technique and deep spirituality that is a prerequisite for performance of this demanding repertoire, tenor Benzion Miller, a renowned fourth-generation cantor dedicated to perpetuating this legacy, brings to life treasures from the "Golden Age" of cantor-composers in America (1920s-1940s), in completely new recordings with full symphony orchestra. Such legendary figures as David Roitman, David Kusevitsky, Moshe Ganchoff, Leib Glantz and Israel Schorr, among others, are represented by these sophisticated settings of liturgical texts that were intended for concert performance rather than rendition of prayer in the synagogue.

PSANTERIN CD set

PSANTERIN is the first Israeli music anthology published on CDs (2003) by the Israel Composers League and the Israeli Music Center. The set has 9 CDs of Israeli Music from the 1920's through the end of the 20th century with 72 works for piano composed between 1923 and the end of the previous century.

The League website states: "The collection opens with works of first generation of composers in Israel: Joel Engel, Paul Ben-Haim, Menahem Avidom, Yehoyachin Stutchewsky and others. It continues with first generation composers of statehood (Mordechai Seter, Oeden Partos and others) going as far as the younger generation of today's composers (Yoram Meyuchas, Gil Shohat and others).

All works included (except one) have been studio-recorded. Each CD features one of the following pianists: Liora Ziv-Li, Allan Sternfield, Ora Rotem-Nelken, Herut Israeli, Tomer Lev, Michal Tal, Natasha Tadson, Yuval Admoni and Astrith Baltsan. (The last CD includes pianists Allon Goldstein and Allan Sternfield.)"

The Anthology can be purchased at the Israeli Music Center (IMC), 55 Begin Rd. Tel Aviv, Israel.
For Mail order please call or fax to: 972-(0)3-562 1282
Email: icl@zahav.net.il
Price for the complete 9 CD set is $95 (with additional $5 mailing charges).
Price for a single CD is $15 (with additional $3 mailing charges).

Golden Age of Chazzanut new CD set

2 CDs set of Rare Cantorials on sale through the month of May for $17.98 . through Hatikvah music http://www.hatikvahmusic.com This 2 CD set features some of the greatest cantors from the Golden Age of Chazunot. Most of these cantors have been available on CD only on compilations, and many have NEVER been available on an any CD until now. This 2 CD set consisting of approximately an hour and a half features the following Cantors: Kapov-Kagan, Alter Yehiel Karniol, David Roitman, Shlomo Rothstein, Moshe Surkis, Zvee Aroni, Herman Borenstein, Shlomo Pinkasovitz, Leon Cortilli, Alexander Sirota, Leib Glantz, Berele Chagy, and Shlomo Kupfer.

First CD by SUKKE

World Music Network in London will release the first CD by SUKKE, a European klezmer band, on June 28, 2004, worldwide. SUKKE is:
Merlin Shepherd (England) clarinet, mandola and backing-vocals
Sanne Moericke (Netherlands) accordion and backing-vocals
Heiko Lehmann (Germany) upright bass, guitar and vocals

The CD contains traditional and new original instrumental repertoire as well as new original songs with Yiddish and English lyrics by Toronto-based avantgardist Michael Wex. For more details please visit www.sukke.de

Chava Alberstein at 92nd Street Y

May 19 at 8:00pm is the Chava Alberstein concert featuring music fro her new CD "End of the Holiday", which is her 54th recording. It is a collection of musical sketches reflecting life in modern Tel Aviv. For more info go to www.92Y.org The Y announces that ...

"Two days before the concert at the 92nd Street Y, Alberstein is scheduled to receive a lifetime achievement award from the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research in New York. Yediot Aharonot, Israel's largest daily, named Alberstin the most important female musician in Israel's history. She is a six-time winner of the Kinor David prize, Israel's Grammy Award. She also has established herself as a world-music performer whose influences range from Pete Seeger and Jacques Brel to the music of Greece, North Africa, the Middle East and South America."

Yoel Ben-Simhon and The Sultana Ensemble CD

Thursday May 13th @ 8PM
Satalla on 37 West 26th Street (b/t 6th Ave. & B'way)
$12 at the door (no minimum cover)
Yoel Ben-Simhon and The Sultana Ensemble CD Release Party !!! A night full of music and dance!!! Yoel's music is greatly inspired by childhood memories from the Moroccan Synagogue in Israel and incorporates some traditional hymns. He sings in Hebrew and Arabic.

Creating an innovative and rich sound that interweaves East and West into a fascinating musical experience; combining the many strands of Mediterranean music with new world Jazz, flamenco and other exciting sounds and rhythms, they bring to the stage a powerful performance. Featuring: Yoel Ben-Simhon, Jay Rodriguez, Leane Darling, Hicham Chami, Yossi Fine, Tomer Tzur and Ramzi Eldlibi. And special guests: Smadar Levi, Shai Bachar, George Mordechai, Carlos Revollar, Gisele Revollar and Dorit Konig.
SULTANA MUSIC
www.sultanamusic.com
yoel@sultanamusic.com
Tel. 917-952-2544

GOLDEN HORN RELEASES "VERETSKI PASS"

Cookie Segelstein: Violin, scordatura violin, viola
Joshua Horowitz: Chromatic button accordion, tsimbl
Stuart Brotman: Bass, basy, baraban

Golden Horn Records is proud to announce its release of Veretski Pass, Traditional East European Jewish Music by the trio of the same name made up of klezmer veterans Cookie Segelstein, Joshua Horowitz and Stuart Brotman. Much of the music on this recording comes from and near the region of the Veretski Pass (after which the group is named) in the Transcarpathian region of what is now Ukraine, the main crossroads through which the Jews traversed the Carpathian Bow. Some melodies were passed on to Cookie by her father who was born in the town of Nizhni Veretski, at the base of this pass. Others were collected by the members themselves in their travels throughout Eastern Europe. Much of the music on this CD is recorded for the first time. The instruments used on this recording are largely 19th Century versions of the violin, viola, 3 stringed bass, basy (3 stringed polish folk cello), bayan (early chromatic button accordion), tsimbl (Jewish hammered dulcimer) and baraban (Jewish bass drum). Website: www.goldenhorn.com more about Veretski Pass...

There is a stunning suite of Crimean Tatar music which is both haunting and virtuosic. The Crimean Tatars are considered one of the three indigenous peoples of the Crimean Peninsula. Hoping to strip the Crimean Tatars of their ethnicity, Stalin eliminated close to half of their population and decimated their cultural institutions. The Tatars therefore viewed the German occupation of Crimea as their last hope of survival. The Nazis in turn saw this as a unique opportunity to turn other Russian minorities against Stalin, so they declared the Tatars a people and recorded their folk music on 78 r.p.m discs. These recordings were made available to Verestki Pass by Prof. Martin Schwartz (from the collection of Dr. Zev Feldman) and reappear here for the first time in a new interpretation.
There is also a rare Karaite song, followed by improvisations and a pyrotechnic fiddle song performed on a scordatura violin. The Karaite Jews accept only the written word of the Old Testament and reject the rabbinical Oral Commentaries. As a people, they have also been brutally subjugated by their neighbors and spurned by the Jewish Community at large. Their music has been kept close to their culture.
There are also original compositions, a suite with a bass and viola duet, traditional Jewish and Ukrainian dance tunes all accompanied by booklet with rich photographs and finely wrought essays by each of the members of the trio, making this album a treasure trove of sound and word. This is truly a creative and powerful use of a small group of players who make music reminiscent of raucous and confident village musicians, nothing short of a redefinition of the genre we now call klezmer.
GOLDEN HORN RECORDS is a World Music and Jazz label established in 1995 and based in California.
For more information on Veretski Pass, please contact GOLDEN HORN RECORDS.
Golden Horn Records
P.O. Box 5776, Walnut Creek, CA 94596
1-925-930-7184, Fax: 1-925-938-8447
E-mail: info@goldenhorn.com
Website: www.goldenhorn.com

Kabala by Matthew Fields

Turning elements from "Chad Gadya" interleaved with Rosh Hashanah themes in a trombone brass quartet canonic segment is only one of the many interesting twists of the compositions of Matthew H. Fields recording Kabala. Fields has several 'classical' music pieces all with extremely unusual uses of Jewish thematic content. The above description comes from "Call of the Shofar" (1992) which is set for tenor trombones, and bass trombone. And I'll bet you've never heard a carillon performing the Sh'ma as the base tune (cantus firmus) of a toccata. "A carillon is a frame of beams and girder to which 23 or more bells are bolted" ...so it's something like playing a xylophone and organ at the same time, only bells ringing...of course that's not the end... Then there's Kabala (1993) which is an intriguing composition for clarinet, viola and piano, and a mood piece I liked a lot for it's mystery and lyrical qualities. This is all available on MMC 2087 Recording http://www.mmcrecordings.com/detail.asp?id=87. To learn more about Matthew Field, visit the composer's website: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~fields/complist.html This is all pretty good music and especially for those who are fans of new compositions that's not too dissonant or pointillistic, but has strong interest, with an eye on beauty of sound, you will defintiely enjoy this composer's music.

Hodu Lashem by Devora Gila

Devora Gila
Israeli. Singer/Songwriter. Devora Gila, a frum vocalist, whose recordings are marked for "women only", has one of the hippest religious recordings around, Hodu Lashem (2003). Devora has a wonderful, sweet voice. Her co-producer, Naor Carmi also worked on the arrangements which utilize not only contemporary settings, but a variety of styles from Israel-- from modern, to Arab, to classical guitar and Spanish influenced, to contemporary-easy. Particularly nice is the original song "Beloved", based on Song of Songs. Devora's CD is accessible music for anyone and is available at CD Baby http://www.cdbaby.com/devoragila. She can be contacted at hodulashem@yahoo.com

'Mit der kale tantsn'

Khupe's first CD, a live recording from 1999, is available in the US. It's called 'Mit der kale tantsn'. Available through CD Baby. http://www.cdbaby.com/khupe2

CANTORS: A FAITH IN SONG.

TV Matters has a new production recorded live in Amsterdam's historic, 17th Century, Portuguese Synagogue. The concert features three of the world's greatest cantors in a program of inspiring Jewish secular and religious song. Performing with a 46 piece orchestra and 16 voice choir are Alberto Mizrahi of the renowned Anshe Emet Synagogue, Chicago, Naftali Herstik of Great Synagogue Jerusalem and Benzion Miller of Young Israel Beth-El of Borough Park, New York. To purchase the CD or DVD of CANTORS: A FAITH IN SONG on CD or DVD or to find out more about up-coming tours, please visit the cantors at http://www.thecantors.com

Nikitov - "Amulet"

Nikitov - "Amulet" (Chamsa Records) The Dutch/American band's first CD release. Beautifully sung Yiddish classics interpreted by Nikitov with pronounced Eastern Euorpean, Gypsy jazz and Turkish flavorings. This acoustic quartet delivers spot on rhythm with energetic improvisations to create a sound that is completely their own. Featuring: "Sha Shtil", "Mayn Rue Plats", "Di Krenetse", "Reyzele" and more...
Niki Jacobs (voice)
Adam Good (acoustic guitar)
Jelle van Tongeren (violin)
Jason Sypher (upright bass)

$15 + $3 shipping/handling
for ordering information:
http://www.nikitov.com
credit card orders taken at:
http://www.cdbaby.com/nikitov

personal checks, mail to: Adam Good
2801 Glenhurst Ave. So.
St. Louis Park, MN 55416
(checks made payable to Adam Good)

OFER BEN-AMOTS and DAVID DIAMOND CDs

NEW CD RELEASES from the MILKEN ARCHIVE OF AMERICAN JEWISH MUSIC and NAXOS AMERICAN CLASSICS: DAVID DIAMOND and OFER BEN-AMOTS For details about Diamond CD, go to http://www.milkenarchive.org/cds/cds.taf?cdid=17 To read an article about David Diamond's AHAVA-Brotherhood, go to http://www.milkenarchive.org/articles/articles.taf?function=detail&ID=48 To read an interview with narrator Theodore Bikel, go to http://www.milkenarchive.org/articles/articles.taf?function=detail&ID=46 For details about Amots CD, go to http://www.milkenarchive.org/cds/cds.taf?cdid=18

DAVID DIAMOND (CD #8.559412) Commissioned in 1954 for the 300th anniversary of Jews in America and recorded for the first time ever by the Milken Archive, David Diamond's AHAVA-BROTHERHOOD is a captivating work for orchestra and narrator that includes text from biblical prophets, medieval Spanish-Hebrew poets, Benjamin Franklin, and George Washington! AHAVA culminates in a universal appeal for "goodness, benevolence, and compassion" to be shared by people of all faiths, races, and nationalities. Also included on this CD are Jewish prayer settings by mid-20th-century American masters, all recorded for the first time.

OFER BEN-AMOTS (CD #8.559421) Four sacred and secular works by award-winning, Israeli-born composer Ofer Ben-Amots are heard on this recording. CELESTIAL DIALOGUES combines two great Jewish musical traditions: a klezmer clarinet solo - derived from the haunting virtuoso idiom typical of traditional eastern European Jewish bands - and cantorial vocal passages that emanate from centuries-old Ashkenazi liturgical ritual. Both mystical and worldly, the "dialogues" evoke timeless songs and dances of Jewish experience, as well as a striving for the spiritual purification of prayer. In SHTETL SONGS, the composer has created inimitable vignettes and character portraits of eastern European Jewry while preserving a rich folk heritage; and in the choral cycle HASHKIVENU-SONG OF THE ANGELS, he explores the mystical aspects of the Sabbath.

Yakov Chodosh new CD

A new CD is out, called "Straight Outta Squirrel Hill." (named after the Jewish area of Pittsburgh). It's about half swing tunes and half Jewish, with one video game theme thrown in there as well. It's all Yakov, all the time, on piano and vocals. You can download a few MP3s at http://www.yakv.com . Yakov recommends to "Start with 'Eatin' Kosher Chicken.' " For only $7, which includes postage.

Veretski Pass

The CD, officially released today, April 21st, by the group of the same name, with Cookie Segelstein (violin, scordatura violin and viola), Joshua Horowitz (chromatic accordion, tsimble) and Stuart Brotman (bass, basy, baraban) is NOW AVAILABLE at Golden Horn Records, www.goldenhorn.com.
This link takes you right to the page about the CD:
http://www.goldenhorn.com/display.php4?content=records&page=ghp020.html

Much of the music on this recording comes from and near the region of the Veretski Pass (after which the group is named)in the Zakarpatska Oblast (Transcarpathian region) of what is now Ukraine, the main crossroads through which the Jews traversed the Carpathian Bow. There is a stunning suite of Crimean Tatar music and also a rare Karaite song, followed by improvisations and a pyrotechnic fiddle song performed on a scordatura violin. There are also original compositions, a suite with a bass and viola duet, traditional Jewish and Ukrainian dance tunes all accompanied by rich photographs and finely wrought essays (and even some family recipes) by each member of the trio. The book, The Music of Veretski Pass, is the music of the record transcribed by Cookie with a forward by Josh. It is available for $20 plus $2.50 (in the US) shipping You can contact us through our website (www.veretskipass.com), click on BOOK, to find out how to purchase ( where to send the check or money order).

NEW CD RELEASES from Milken Archive

MILKEN ARCHIVE OF AMERICAN JEWISH MUSIC and NAXOS AMERICAN CLASSICS announce the release of two more CDs. The music of SAMUEL ADLER and ERNST TOCH.
For more information, go to http://www.milkenarchive.org/cds/cds.taf?cdid=15

SAMUEL ADLER (CD #8.559415) Samuel Adler, one of America's most respected composers, is equally known for his Judaic and general concert works. The selection of works on this CD embraces choral, cantorial, chamber, solo, and symphonic music, culminating in the Symphony No. 5, WE ARE THE ECHOES, which is based on Jewish poetry reflecting aspects of Jewish experience throughout history. The finale quotes the Jewish philosopher Heschel: "Now and then, high above me, I catch a glimpse of the faceless face of God."

ERNST TOCH (CD #8.559417)
"Fetters fell, the captive rose. Old is the memory of Israel's escape from Egypt. Told and retold for thousands of years, the story has given strength to the weary, hope to the disheartened." Thus begins Ernst Toch's CANTATA OF THE BITTER HERBS, a unique musical-dramatic work begun during the great German-Jewish composer's forced exile to the United States, and premiered in Los Angeles in the midst of World War Two. Toch's retelling of the Passover story is cast as an appeal for universal justice and liberation from oppression. The composer's ultimately triumphant vision is set to luminous late Romantic music and includes a solo quartet that recalls the beauty of the famous trio from DER ROSENKAVALIER. For more information, go to http://www.milkenarchive.org/cds/cds.taf?cdid=16

Winds of the Negev

"Israel's 2nd Exodus" is recorded with the B.B.C. London Orchestra, a 40 piece orchestra & chorus. Music composed & conducted by Bill Berle. Recorded in England. Available on C.D. or audio cassette. The recording features such titles as "Tel Aviv Horah" and "Holiday Cha-Cha." Those interested in the CD may send e-mail to: billberle@hotmail.com

VU IS DUS GESELE

The CD consists of old Yiddish songs, with new arrangements. It's recorded and arranged by composer, arranger and pianist, well known in Russia and Europe, Vitaly Barishnikov; vocalist Marina Rinkovska and Regina Fridbourg, Konstantin Miclashevsky and Alex Spektor. The group plans another cd of Yiddish popular songs performed by internationally acclaimed singer-super star Svetlana Portnyanskay, who is based in Los Angeles. She has had a singing role on the sound -track of producer Steven Spielberg's made for documentary on survivors of the Holocaust. for more information, contact:
Email:alex@ammusic.com.au Web: http://www.ammusic.com.au

Ron Shulamit Conservatory of Jerusalem

The Ron Shulamit Conservatory has released two CDs of instrumental collections.
"Shulamit Rythyms" - Accordian Orchestra, Instrumental collection of classical music ranging from Bisset to Strauss, with several pieces arranged by Israel Edelson, performed by Ron-Shulamit's accordion orchestra. The orchestra's repertoire includes Jewish melodies in the Klezmer, Hassidic, and Mizrachi styles, as well as classical and ethnic music from many nations.
"One thing have I asked" - Flute Quartet, Instrumental collection of traditional songs from Psalms, holiday prayers, and Jewish liturgy. Mail Address:
P.O.Box 43179 Jerusalem 91431
Har Nof Office: 30 Iben Danan St.
Tel:02-652-8531

Songs of R' Yom Tov Erlich

Aderet has just released a CD by Zeesha Schmeltzer, produced by Lipa Schmeltzer, called "the Songs of R' Yom Tov Erlich". Tracks include: 1Ahavas Achim 2 Ness Chanuka 3 Bituchen 4 Gemilas Chasodim 5 Kabbolas Shabbos 6 Teshuva

I Remember Klezmer-The Art of Klezmer Drumming

You're Invited! Come! Shmooze! Eat! Dance! Get your klezmer freak on!
Elaine Hoffman Watts and Susan Watts the dysfunctional mother-daughter duo proudly announce the birth of their CD I Remember Klezmer-The Art of Klezmer Drumming Please be our guest on Sunday, March 14, 2004, at 5pm at The Point, 880 W. Lancaster Ave., Bryn Mawr, PA 19010 610-527-0988 www.atthepoint.com and help celebrate this auspicious occasion. Musicians: Please bring your instrument as we will be rocking the hell out of Bryn Mawr the Philly Klezmer Way! Questions? E-mail OyveyKlez@aol.com

CD "East & West"

Renowned Cantor and oud player, Aaron Bensoussan, has a new CD "East & West", a lively mix of Sephardic and Ashkenazic musical styles. One can order this recording at, www.sefaradrecords.com.

Songs by Alexander Zemlinsky

CD with Songs by Alexander Zemlinsky (1871-1942), PAN CLASSICs PC 10162 (February 2004)
Songs by ZEMLINSKY (1871-1942)
Hermine Haselb�ck, Mezzosopran/Mezzosoprano
Florian Henschel, Klavier/Piano
PAN CLASSICS (PC 10162)
www.panclassics.com

Samples on website www.hermine-haselboeck.com

3 Liederzyklen aus dem Nachlass (2 Lieder sind Welt-Ersteinspielungen), "Walzerges�nge" op.6, "Maeterlinck-Ges�nge" op.13/ Three posthumous song-cycles (2 songs are world first recordings)/ Waltz-Songs op. 6 / 3 cycles des chansons- �uvres posthumes (2 chansons sont premi�res enregistre-ments mondiales), Valses chant�es sur m�lodies toscanes op.6, Six m�lodies d�apr�s des po�mes de Maurice Maeterlinck op.13 Songs/chansons by ZEMLINSKY Lieder vonAlexander Zemlinsky Hermine Haselb�ckMezzosopran/Mezzosoprano Florian HenschelKlavier/Piano PAN CLASSICS (PC 10162)MP3 Audiosamples:www.hermine-haselboeck.com Die CD konnte Dank gro�z�giger Unterst�tzung des Alexander-Zemlinsky-Fonds bei der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Wien realisiert werden/
This CD could be realised by generous support of the Alexander Zemlinsky Foundation at the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna/
Ce CD a �t� r�alis� avec le soutien de la Fondation Alexander Zemlinsky de la Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde de Vienne. Sieben Lieder 1889-90 aus dem Nachla� Seven posthumous songs/ Sept chansons- �uvres posthumes.

1.Die schlanke Wasserlilie (Heinrich Heine)
2.Gute Nacht (Joseph Eichendorff)
3. Liebe und Fr�hling (Hoffmann von Fallersleben)
4. Ich sah mein eigen Angesicht (Theodor Vulpinus)
5. Lieben und Leben (Carl Pfleger) Welt- Ersteinspielung-world first recording- premi�r enregistrement mondial
6. In der Ferne (Robert Prutz)
7. Waldgespr�ch (Joseph Eichendorff)
Sechs Ges�nge nach Gedichten von Maurice Maeterlinck op.13 (1910/13)/ Six Songs to Poems by Maurice Maeterlinckop.13/Six m�lodies d�apr�s des po�mes de Maurice Maeterlinck op.13

1. Die drei Schwestern
2. Die M�dchen mit den verbundenen Augen
3. Lied der Jungfrau
4. Als ihr Geliebter schied
5. Und kehrt er einst heim
6. Sie kam zum Schlo� gegangen
Walzer Ges�nge nach toskanischen Liedern von Ferdinand Gregorovius op. 6 (1898-99)/ Waltz-Songs on Tuscan Folk Lyrics by Ferdinand Gregorovius op. 6 /Valses chant�es sur m�lodies toscanes de Ferdinand Gregorovius op.6

1. Liebe Schwalbe
2. Klagen ist der Mond gekommen
3. Fensterlein, nachts bist du zu
4. Ich gehe des Nachts
5. Blaues Sternlein
6. Briefchen schrieb ich
F�nf Lieder 1895-96 aus dem Nachla�/ Five posthumous songs/ Cinq chansons- �uvres posthumes

1. Orientalisches Sonett (Hans Grasberger)
2. S��e, s��e Sommernacht (Aissa Lynx)
3. Herbsten (Paul Wertheimer)
4. Nun schwillt der See so bang (Paul Wertheimer)
5. Der Tag wird k�hl (Paul Heyse) Welt-Ersteinspielung-world first recording- premi�r enregistrement mondial

Zwei Brettl-Lieder aus dem Nachla� (1901)/Two cabaret songs-posthumous /Deux chansons de cabaret-�uvres posthumes

1. In der Sonnengasse (Arno Holz)
2. Herr Bombardil (Rudolph Alexander Schr�der)

MILKEN ARCHIVE OF AMERICAN JEWISH MUSIC NEW CD RELEASES

New Releases from Naxos: HERMAN BERLINSKI'S AVODAT SHABBAT (CD #8.559443) and
MARVIN DAVID LEVY'S MASADA (CD #8.559427)

================================================== HERMAN BERLINSKI'S AVODAT SHABBAT (CD #8.559443) "I don't think I can write a piece of music, no matter what I do and what I will try, that does not have the stamp of my Jewish existence," said Herman Berlinski during the recording session for his masterpiece AVODAT SHABBAT, one of only three complete Sabbath services ever written for soloists, chorus, and large orchestra. The eighty-nine-year-old Berlinski returned to his native Germany to attend the world-premiere recording of this major 20th-century sacred work, which he created during the course of many years in America. For more information, go to http://www.milkenarchive.org/cds/cds.taf?cdid=14

MARVIN DAVID LEVY (CD #8.559427) The legendary defense of the desert fortress Masada by a small band of Jewish Zealots against a massive Roman army inspires awe nearly 2,000 years after the historical occurrence. Marvin David Levy's dramatic retelling of the Masada story, originally written for the great operatic tenor and cantor Richard Tucker, here receives its world-premiere recording. Also recorded by the Milken Archive for the first time is Levy's haunting CANTO DE LOS MARRANOS, a dramatic scene for soprano (in four languages: English, Ladino, Hebrew, and Latin) that reveals the passions and conflicts of the 15th-century Spanish Jews who outwardly converted to Christianity while secretly practicing their Jewish beliefs "under penalty of death." For more information, go to http://www.milkenarchive.org/cds/cds.taf?cdid=13

MILKEN ARCHIVE OF AMERICAN JEWISH MUSIC

DAVE BRUBECK: Jazz icon, pianist and composer Dave Brubeck wrote this cantata in an attempt to heal the rift between the Jewish people and American blacks that emerged in the late 1960s, especially after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968...DAVE BRUBECK, BRUCE ADOLPHE, and more...

DAVE BRUBECK'S THE GATES OF JUSTICE (CD #8.559414) Based on biblical and Hebrew liturgical texts, quotations from Dr. King's speeches, Negro spirituals and the Jewish sage Hillel, with lyrics by Brubeck's wife Iola, it was intended to underscore and resurrect the spiritual parallels between Jews and blacks. For more information, go to http://www.milkenarchive.org/cds/cds.taf?cdid=12 BRUCE ADOLPHE (CD #8.559413) This disc features three works by composer, author, educator and performer Bruce Adolphe, currently the composer-in-residence of the Chamber Music Society of New York's Lincoln Center: (1) Ladino Songs of Love and Suffering, a virtuoso song cycle for soprano, guitar, and French horn based on folk poetry in Ladino, the Castillian Spanish/Hebrew vernacular of Mediterranean Sephardi Jews; (2) a scene from Adolphe's opera, Mikhoels the Wise, about the life and death of the most prominent figure of the post-revolution Soviet Yiddish Theater; and (3) Out of the Whirlwind, a six-movement oratorio based on Yiddish poems and songs written by members of the Jewish resistance in the ghettos during World War II, and by other Holocaust victims. For more information, go to http://www.milkenarchive.org/cds/cds.taf?cdid=11

Mit der Kale Tantsn

Khupe's first CD, a live recording from 1999, is finally available in the US. http://www.cdbaby.com/khupe2 Live klezmer music in the traditional manner.

NEFESH: SONGS FOR THE SOUL and more

Reviewing some CD releases of the last couple of years... and there are a few that might be mentioned. Here are some people might enjoy perusing... NEFESH: SONGS FOR THE SOUL The Music of Synagogue 2000 Sung by Merri Lovinger Arian Produced by Craig Taubman Published by Synagogue 2000 As sung by Merri Lovinger Arian, Synagogue 2000's Director of Programs, these thirteen joyous and inspiring songs have become a highlight of Synagogue 2000 conferences and seminars. Written by composers as Craig Taubman, Danny Maseng, Benjie Ellen Schiller and Debbie Friedman, "these songs express the inspiring dimensions of Judaism's spiritual journey." Complete details and an order form can be found at http://www.synagogue2000.org Or phone Rhonda Slater in our L.A. office: 310-440-1218. ********************************************** WHO AM I Neal Katz KatzMusic.com ********************************************** Sing to the Eternal The Gerard Edery Ensemble Sefarad Records Corp. 392 Central Park West Apt. 17Y New York, NY 10025 Phone/Fax: (212) 662-9712 email www.sefaradrecords.com **********************************************

Tanz mit mir - Yiddish Ballroom Dance

A double cd, packed with yiddish hits, all in ballroom dance rhythms...

Re-release of hits such as: shein vi di levone, belz, yiddishe mamme, zing feigale zing, oyfen preypechik and many others, 40 in total, all in tango, waltz, cha cha cha, rumba , passodoble and twist arrangments. The double c.d. is divided to a vocal c.d. including talents such as the Barry Sisters , Max Perlman , Israel Itzhaki , The Bursteins, and many others, while the second c.d. is instrumental Release date : January 11th 2004, Israel. CD price as single at �13.50 (that is $20) + �1.50 postage to anywhere in the world, from Noa Lachman Jewish Music Distribution PO Box 67 Hailsham BN27 4UW UK Free phone: 0800 7811 686 Tel/Fax: (44) 01323 832 863 Website: www.jewishmusic-jmd.co.uk email: email

Italian Jewish Musical Traditions

At the recent Jewish Studies conference in Boston, December, 2003, Francesco Spagnolo gave more insights into Italian Jewish music. The CD will allow you to follow this new important area of research. Selections and commentaries by Francesco Spagnolo (Yuval Italia, yuval@powerlink.it). 42 tracks.

Italian Jewish Musical Traditions From the Leo Levi Collection (1954-1961)
Part of the Anthology of Music Traditions in Israel, No. 14, edited by Edwin Seroussi. Produced in Jerusalem - Roma, 2001, by The Jewish Music Research Center, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Roma. Scholarly edition.

The CD comes in a box with a booklet either in English/Hebrew or Italian/Hebrew, with an introduction to the traditional Italian Jewish music repertoires, and commentaries for each of the 42 tracks presented in the selection. Leo Levi (Casale Monferrato, 1912- Jerusalem 1982) was the first scholar who devoted his research to Italian Jewish oral musical tradition. "The recordings collected by Italian-Israeli ethnomusicologist Leo Levi throughout the 1950's constitute a unique testimony to the wealth of Italian Jewish musical traditions. The first and only extensive aural documentation of a fascinating cross-cultural world, these melodies take the listener on a musical journey across Jewish Italy, painting the portrait of a lost world. A large portion of this orally transmitted heritage was lost over the first half of the 20th century, and can only be heard in recordings." The CD is available through the Jewish Music Research Center at the Hebrew University jmrc@cc.huji.ac.il .

AF DI GASN FUN DER SHTOT

This is an extraordinary album with tremendous creativity at all levels. The poetry and music of Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman is a modern miracle. To have such splendid NEW YIDDISH SONGS in 2003, --in and of itself-- makes this album quite worthwhile....

AF DI GASN FUN DER SHTOT-On the streets of the city-
A new collection of Yiddish songs written by Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman
Featuring: Michael Alpert, Sharon Bernstein, Adrienne Cooper, Margot Leverett, Frank London , Peter Rushefsky, Binyumin Schaechter, Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman, Lorin Sklamberg, Deborah Strauss, and Theresa Tova.
In addition, special care was obviously taken to match the song with the performer, because each of the voices is especially fitted and suited to that selection, in their timbre, mood, and interpretations of the songs. Having heard numerous albums by each of the performers, I was highly impressed by the tight fit of selection to singer. New to me is the delightfully clear voice of Sharon Jan Bernstein. Adrienne Cooper and Theresa Tova were perfect in every nuance. This "all star cast" included Michael, Margot, Frank, Deborah and Lorin as listed above. The composer, Beyle Shaechter-Gottesman also sings her ballad to September 11th. With all the insight and weight of the Yiddish community's enormous losses, this song became especially poignant with the simple rendition of this memorial. One remembers that thousands of Americans attempted to express their feelings about this event in song, so it is fitting that a Yiddish song becomes such an effective conveyance to express the grief of New York. Of special note also is the maturity in Peter Rushefsky's playing. It's a pleasure to witness the growth of this rising artist in several recent albums. This album insert includes texts in Yiddish, transliteration and English translation. For more information: http://www.yiddishlandrecords.com/ This album is highly recommended by JMWC

"Light These Candles"

Debbie Friedman's first all Chanukah CD Consisting of traditional tunes and 5 of her classic Holiday songs. Included in the 14 selections is the popular Peter Yarrow tune, "Light One Candle" Other selections included: Maoz Trur, Yodim Atem, Y'mei Hachanukah, S'vivon, Hava Narimah, Not By Might, Al Hanisim, Neir Li, Mi Y'maleiel, The Latke Song, Light One Candle, Haneirot Halalu, The Dreidel Song, Light These Lights / Chanukah Blessings.

"Bless the Fire"

We heard much of this material at the conference in Yale last Fall. Now Brave Old World's recording "Bless the Fire" is out on CD... and one Jewish-music-lister had wonderful things to say when she encountered this music: "....Brave Old World takes us on an extraordinary and deeply moving exploration of the Jewish European Diaspora, sounding its emotional and musical depths, giving intricate and layered voice to its intense longing and the profound grace and resonance of the concept of home which sustained our ancestors for so many centuries.... This is a masterful album, exquisite and powerful in its musicianship, profoundly emotional (it moved me to tears in several places on first listening), that bears repeated playing. I continue to find new delights and musical intricacies on each repeat listening. A recording of such power demands your full attention..... and rewards that attention amply. .... This album brings us to a new place in our musical understanding of our Jewish/Ashkenaz heritage.

Vessel of Song: The Music of Mikhl Gelbart

Lori Cahan-Simon has new CD is called, Vessel of Song: The Music of Mikhl Gelbart, which is being extremely well received... Her new CD is called, Vessel of Song: The Music of Mikhl Gelbart, and the musicians on the recording are: Lori Cahan-Simon, Steven and Walt, Alex Fedoriouk, Henry Shapiro, and very special guest, Adrianne Greenbaum. The material, " ranges from Gelbart's yontef songs and shule songs to his incredibly beautiful art songs." Includes a 24-page booklet with bios of the authors and a biography of Gelbart in English.

Beged Kefet

Beged Kefet's new CD.... One Little Dot New CD Released. 15 Hebrew and English first-time tracks. In the spirit of tzedakah, SOUNDS WRITE PRODUCTIONS, INC. donates a portion from sales of Beged Kefet products to Myriam's Dream organization. www.soundswrite.com

Rashanim

Jon Madof CD out on the Tzaddik label.... Rashanim is out on the Tzaddik label. Jon Madof is the guitarist. Mathias Kunzli drums, percussion. Shanir Blumenkranz bass. http://www.jonmadof.com/projects.htm#rashanim

Sons of Sepharad:

Aaron Bensoussan, Gerard Edery and Alberto Mizrahi sing Sephardic standards. Sefarad CD. Available: Sefarad Records & Management 392 Central Park West, Suite 17Y, New York, NY 10025. Phone/Fax: (212) 662-9712.
www.sefaradrecords.com

Open The Gate

New CD of Lenka Lichtenberg, original "Jewish world beat" songs, in English and French.... Open The Gate songs embody Czech and other European influences, as well as a healthy doses of the Middle East. Accompanied by 7 instrumentalists, as well as 3 dancers doing a little Middle Eastern surprise presentation. banjitar: Levon Ichkhanian percussion: Rick Lazar drums: Wilson Laurencin flutes and saxophone: Ernie Tollar guitar and piano: Brian Katz fretless bass: Georger Koller accordion: Sasha Luminsky vocals, guitar and piano: Lenka Lichtenberg dance choreography and presentation: Roula Said and the "Roulettes"

THE COMPLETE BENSCHING CD

A simple, enjoyable way to learn the Bensching from the Jewish community in South Africa...

from South Africa. THE COMPLETE BENSCHING CD. Learn the Jewish Grace after Meals. Available in South Africa and in USA, UK and Israel. In South Africa: Available now at Kollel Bookshop, Chabad Bookshop (Jhb).
http://www.kalahari.net/mus/product.asp?isbn=BHLAYT1

Tefilati

Daniel ben Shalom has a new CD, "Contempory original musical artist from Israel combining jazz, blues, rock and more with the essence of spirituality and soul."

Daniel Ben Shalom The music is an interesting blend of Yeshivish orthorock with some cool jazz and a bit of blues and Calpop and even a bit of samba thrown in. The website has some very nice graphics and use of flash technology. A bio, photo and links included on the site. The music holds some parallels to recent WestCoast releases.
http://www.danielbenshalom.com/flash/index.html

David Glukh Klezmer Ensemble

David Glukh Klezmer Ensemble released their first CD, which was recorded live, in New York, in February 2003.

Glukh is a Julliard-trained trumpet player whose group has Ronn Yedidia, (a native Israeli) on accordion, and Dan Auerbach on violin (also Julliard grad). The group plays in the "fusion" style with music of Irish, Gypsy, Classical, Latin, Jazz, Georgian, Arabic, Chinese elements. Glukh also publishes klezmer sheet music for brass quintet. http://www.glukh.com

Baruch Mimakeheloth Amecha

The Dutch Jewish Community and the Amsterdam Synagogue Choir present two new CD Albums.

The two CD Albums: 1) Amsterdam Synagogue Choir Baruch Mimakeheloth Amecha (Blessed by the Choirs of Thy People) 2) Dutch Jewish Community (Chief Cantor Hans Bloemendal) Tefiloth Shebe'al Peh (Recitatives & Melodies from the Amsterdam Synagogue) an eight CD collection. email: info@nik.nl

A la Una: In the Beginning

Sarah Aroeste wrote: "I have a Ladino fusion band--you can check it out atwww.saraharoeste.com I began this project because there are so few young people working in Ladino. I grew up on the traditional music....

Sarah writes: Mmy family is from Salonika, Greece), but I am also influenced by other musicial styles. Not only am I a proud Sephardic Jew, but I am also a young, modern American woman! I wanted to find a musical style that could really incorporate my various identities. So I started a band a few years ago taking traditional sephardic songs from across the Mediterranean and combining them with American rock, blues and jazz. I have a 5-piece band, based in NY, and we've been traveling all over the country the past year sharing our interpretation of this exotic body of music. We just released our debut album, and invite you to check it out and listen to sound clips at www.saraharoeste.com

Soul Encounter

Arnie Singer, singer-songwriter has put together a website and CD.

Soul Encounter
Arnie is part of the Manhattan Jewish experience. Religous, liturgical. Music in the renewal-popular style, with some more "traditional" Carlebach tunes. Singer is soloists at the Manhattan Jewish Experience on the West Side. 137 W. 86th St. (between Amsterdam and Columbus) in New York City. http://www.soulencounter.com

Berakhot-- A Midrash Cantata

Bruce Chalmer is releasing a CD of Berakhot A Midrash Cantata

It was recently performed March 30, 2003, at Beth Jacob Synagogue, Montpelier, Vermont and elsewhere in Vermont. Information about the piece is available through his website. Bruce Chalmer

On Second Avenue

Hester Street Troupe's third CD is, consisting of Yiddish Vaudeville and the Lower East Side songs....

Hester Street Troupe Klezmer and other Jewish music consisting of Alan Sweifach, clarinet ; Jay Sweifach, keyboards(synthesizer); and Jim Bazewicz, drums. They have 3 CDs, first two: Generation to Generation and Sounds of the Shtetl. Contact x(908) 276-5245 or email: HSTroupe@aol.com

Sweet Return

The Flying Bulgar Klezmer Band just released their new CD, "Sweet Return", at Hugh's Room in Toronto May 10. For the first time ever, each band member has composed at least one tune for the project, which features special guest, the great Grammy-nominated saxophonist, Jane Bunnett.

"Sweet Return" is 13 tracks of some of the most unique music the Bulgars have ever produced, dancing between Eastern Europe, the Middle East, the Lower East Side and Downtown Toronto. The group has garnered rave reviews and international recognition for its joyful performance style, excellent musicianship and complex, far-ranging compositions through numerous European and North American tours and JUNO-nominated CDs. Far from the traditional Klezmer found at weddings and bar mitzvahs, the Bulgars are a dynamic force in Canadian contemporary music, combining a love for tradition with a fearless commitment to experimentation. They are the most prominent Canadian members of the international Klezmer fraternity, as well as being regarded as one of the most adventurous and accomplished Klezmer groups around. Rooted in Toronto, the Flying Bulgar Klezmer Band brings together the remarkable talents of six great musicians. FBKB leader and trumpeter David Buchbinder has been deeply involved with New Jewish music since forming the FBKB over 15 years ago. The other members are:
Daniel Barnes � drums and percussion
Andrew Downing � double bass and bass clarinet
Robert Stevenson � clarinet and bass clarinet
Marilyn Lerner � piano and accordion
and Dave Wall � vocals and alto saxophone.
Joining them on the CD and for the concert is special guest Jane Bunnett, an award-winning musician."

Love Your Neighbor

Beth A. Schafer announces Love Your Neighbor, a new CD. She also has a new blog about music. www.bethschafer.com

THE HEART'S ABODE

Eduardo Paniagua focuses on poems from the Golden Age of the Sepharad in Al-Andalus, with Sephardic melodies and contrafactum pieces from the Andalusian-Maghrebian music of the Sufi brotherhoods and from the Moroccan and Garnati nawbat.

This CD is released by PNEUMA Records and distributed internationally by the Spanish company Karonte Records. The poems, written by Moshe and Abraham Ibn Ezra, and Shemuel Hanaguid ibn Nagrella, are played with Medieval and North African traditional instruments such as qanun (Arabic zither), Arabic lutes, fidula (ancient viola), citola (Medieval guitar), flutes and percussion (dumbek, darbuqqa, riqq, tar, sistrum), and is sung in Hebrew. For more information, contact: Jorge Rozemblum, at: rozemblum@yahoo.es

Di Eybike Mame (The Eternal Mother

The first CD anthology of recordings featuring women of the Yiddish stage. This carefully edited production documents the enormous variety of music present during the period 1890-1930, from folksong to music hall and vaudeville, liturgical song to operetta and musical comedy. Di Eybike Mame (The Eternal Mother): Women in Yiddish Theater and Popular Song, 1905-1929. Wergo SM 1625-2 U.S. distribution: Harmonia Mundi USA. Wergo Records announces: to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Joel Rubin and Rita Ottens' Jewish Music Series for Wergo with "Di Eybike Mame". The booklet includes a detailed essay on Yiddish theater music and the role of women in Yiddish popular song.
Despite prohibitions in traditional Judaism against the singing of women in the presence of men, biblical figures such as Miriam and Deborah stand for a female contribution to music within Jewish history. In the 20th century, singers like Sophie Kurtzer, Shaindele and Batsheva dedicated themselves to the Jewish liturgy. Ironically known as khazntes (lit. "cantors' wives"), they were compelled to practice their art outside of the synagogue on vaudeville stages and remained exceptions to the rule despite a stylistic closeness to the great male cantors such as Yossele Rosenblatt and Gershon Sirota. Yiddish popular songs depicted a great variety of women's roles, including not only deceived girls, deserted wives and long-suffering mothers, but also suffragettes, adulteresses and eccentric spinsters. Its stars often singer, actress, dancer and impresario all rolled up into one charmed the Jewish world from Warsaw to Buenos Aires and played an important role in the expansion of gender roles. The singer and actress Bertha Kalish from Lemberg was compared favorably to the great actress Sarah Bernhardt, and Regina Prager�s voice could have held its own with that of a Wagnerian heroine. Isa Kremer set new standards with her art song interpretations of Yiddish folksongs, the tomboyish Molly Picon wrote her own lyrics, and melodramatic Jennie Goldstein managed her own theater at the age of 16. Even today one encounters the odd 80 year-old retiree who is still enraptured by the sex appeal of Nellie Casman.

Psaumes

AMJ produced their first CD by AMJ recorded live at a concert given at the Geneva Conservatory, Place Neuve....

AMJ AMJ, (L'Association des Amis de la Musique Juive, Friends of Jewish Music), is a non-profit organization located in Geneva, Switzerland. Three choirs: the choir of the Russian Orthodox Church, dir. A. Diakoff; the vocal ensemble "Henri Milstein", dir. H. Milstein; and the "Polhymnia" choir, dir. R. Szekelysang in their traditions as well as came together to perform music of Salomon Rossi. Some excerpts are available on the website in both Real Audio and MP3.http://www.club-association.ch/amj/WCD001-presE.htm