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

Back to the Borscht Belt: Benny Bell Rereleased on CDs

Joel Samberg produced a new CD of the work of Jewish and Yiddish recording artist of Vaudeville and the Borscht Belt, the late Benny Bell. It s called Benny Bell: Lost Legend of Elton Street and is available by sending a check or money order for $11.00, made out to Joel Samberg, to Lost Legend, P.O. Box 144, Verona NJ 07044-0144. Postage and handling are included in the price. For other Benny Bell albums, see CD Baby:http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bennybell More... Benny, whose career spanned more than seven decades, recorded many Yiddish comedy songs, ceremonial tunes for weddings and bar mitzvahs, and ballads such as Brooklyn Bridge and the beautifully emotive Home Again in Israel, written in 1948. He died in 1999 at the age of 93.

The new CD contains 20 Yiddish and English recordings. Benny Bell had his greatest popularity between the mid-1930s and the early 1950s. In addition to Yiddish and Jewish ceremonial songs, he was also known for a series of bawdy tunes and novelty ditties, such as Shaving Cream, (a song frequently played on the Dr. Demento radio program) and Pincus the Peddler, which were jukebox hits throughout New York City. Even today, thousands of people coast to coast search for rare Benny Bell 78, 45 and 33 rpm albums and singles. There have been several Benny Bell fan clubs through the years, and industry pros have called for retrospectives of his work.

Benny Bell was Samburg's grandfather. Samburg writes: "he was one of the funniest, busiest, most resilient performers ever to come out of Vaudeville and the Borscht Belt. He was also passionate about his faith, and that shows through in his work. ... I m making this new CD of 20 of his Yiddish and English tunes available in one collection for the very first time. Taken from the actual original recordings, the new CD is an ageless, priceless time capsule into a very special category of Jewish-American music of the 20th Century. "

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,
Do