SINGER-SONGWRITERS, WORLD MUSIC, INTERFAITH, JAZZ, THEATER, CABARET
KLEZMER, CABARET & YIDDISH REVIVAL
NATIONAL YIDDISH THEATRE – FOLKSBIENE
JAZZ
VOICETheatre
– Widely admired singer/songwriter, international concert star Noa is one of Israel’s most gifted and charismatic superstars. She is a bridge-builder among cultures and nations. noasmusic.com
– Infusing his African American spiritual musical heritage with the traditions of his Jewish faith, Joshua Nelson is a thrilling interpreter of both legacies. Among his many offerings is Nelson’s concert tribute to the iconic singer and civil rights activist Mahalia Jackson.
– Mezzo soprano and trumpet player Magda Fishman has burst into national prominence as a Cantor and concert artist with a voice that consistently elicits awe and superlatives from her audience. She performs a unique blend of traditional and contemporary styles. Her repertoire includes Israeli songs (with her band Shorashim: www.shorashimmusic.com), jazz, liturgical masterpieces, musical theater and her own compositions.
– America’s leading Jewish Jam Band brings together rock virtuosity and intensity with Jewish spiritual tradition. The mix is an emotional harvest.
– Palestinian-Israeli concert & recording star presents an enchanting repertoire of Arabic fusion music which the NY Times described as “seductive… entrancing… passionate.”
– While living in Rajasthan India for 15 years, Israeli pop star Shye Ben-Tzur found musical commonality between the two cultures that has entertained and rocked audiences all over the world.
– Four generations of Bukharan Jews infuse the musical traditions of their Azerbaijan roots with the youthful energetic creativity of Israel’s popular music revival.
– Moroccan born Aaron Bensoussan has taken the exotic Moroccan Piyutim (poems) and sounds of his youth, along with his expertise as a world renowned Ashkenazic Cantor, to create his newest concert project: Shir Maghreb, featuring songs from his latest album ‘A New Journey’.
– “Hers is a voice that could easily raise the spirits of an audience…[she] will make you fall hard in love.” – Huffington Post
– Led by singer and vocal innovator Galeet Dardashti, Divahn’s bold all-woman power-house ensemble infuses traditional and original Jewish songs with a modern and edgy twist. Today Divahn has engendered an international following performing in venues ranging from top international concert halls and festivals to the most prestigious clubs in NYC.
– Dardashti reinvents the deep and reflective musical ritual of Selihot using digital technology to sing with her famed Iranian grandfather, composing original music to other sacred Jewish and Persian poetry, and performing with an acclaimed ensemble of Middle Eastern and jazz musicians. Audiences are enveloped into the ritual with Persian melodies, poetic Hebrew texts, electronic soundscapes, and dynamic video art.
– Israeli pop star Mika Karni has devoted herself to the Kol Dodi project which blends Northern African, Yemenite and Middle Eastern musical traditions with the sensuality and spirituality of the Song of Songs.
– Pioneers of the contemporary Jewish music scene PD interweaves world beat grooves with biblical and traditional cultural themes. Led by singer-songwriter Basya Schechter, PD’s newest recording “Water in Water” will be released in 2013.
– Gabriel travels the globe performing his music, leading sacred music workshops, interfaith and multicultural facilitation. He officiates alternative weddings in Israel, has three CDs out – Merkavah, Spirit Israel & Hateva Skin of God. Gabriel just released his first solo album: The Human Project.
– Greek born musical arranger, lead guitarist, and bouzouki virtuoso Avram Pengas is a versatile performer who, with his NY based Noga Group, plays popular Israeli hits, exotic Arabic melodies, pulsating Persian and Turkish rhythms, Armenian dances and traditional Yiddish songs.
– Singer-songwriter Julie Silver is one of the top stars of the Reform Jewish music revival that was inspired by the legendary Debbie Friedman. Julie is celebrating her 25th year as a singer-songwriter, recording artist, Cantor and concert headliner. Silver’s Silver anniversary will be celebrated with concerts and Shabbatons throughout 2014.
– Udi Spielman performs in a wide range of styles. His pop music beginnings made him and his band the most requested event group for many years in Israel, until his interest turned to Chazzanut. The mix of old-world Chazzanut, traditional and contemporary Hebrew and Israeli music and pop make him a diverse and dynamic performer, a role he relishes alongside his tenure as Chazzan in one of the largest synagogues in the Southeast United States.
– Based in Berlin, Detroit native Daniel Kahn is an internationally acclaimed radical Jewish poet and troubadour, whose interpretation of old Yiddish revolutionary songs turns them into cutting edge and eternally relevant works. Painted Bird’s latest album Bad Old Songs captures Kahn’s restless social commentary.
– An idea born on a plane from Tel Aviv to Warsaw, is made possible by many of the connections he has forged in the international Jewish music world. It builds on his previous collaborations with Psoy Korolenko, Michael Alpert, and Jake Shulman-Ment, bringing the anarchic power of traditional Yiddish simcha music into the 21st century.
– Basya Schechter’s tribute to the late civil rights leader Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel consists of her musical settings to the Yiddish poetry he created in his 20’s while still in Warsaw.
– The exciting high spirited sounds of Klezmer Rock have made Golem a popular band at danceable events, like outdoor festivals, rock clubs, university campuses and, of course Jewish weddings. golemrocks.com
– Pioneers and leaders of the worldwide revival of Klezmer music, these virtuosos – violinist/accordionist/singer Deborah Strauss and guitarist/mandolinist/vocalist Jeff Warschauer – are a dynamic duo of musical Yiddishkayt and have mentored generations of younger klezmorim all over the world. klezmerduo.com
– The band brings to life the often overlooked Belarusian and Litvak (Belarusian-Lithuanian) Jewish musical heritage through the prism of their research of North-Eastern Europe’s music and the wide variety of their own cultural backgrounds.
– Of late, the great clarinetist and saxophone virtuoso Howard Leshaw has let the Golden Land Klezmer Orchestra since its founding in 1989 when it was the “pit band” for the Broadway musical Those Were the Days. His concert “Klezmer & Yiddish Soul” featuring vocalists Wendy Kimball and Sean Mahoney, and a stellar musical ensemble is an emotional whirlwind of sophisticated Yiddish and American music
– Just back from singing Yiddish and playing Klezmer in Japan, Zalmen Mlotek is a charismatic conveyer of Yiddish song and its impact on American popular culture with his illustrated musical concert/talk which traces the history of Yiddish music from the shtetl to the American stage.
– A concert tribute to the common journey of African American and Yiddish Cultures.
– Songs created as spiritual resistance in the face of Nazi brutality during the Holocaust gave communities dignity and hope. Originally recorded by the late Adrienne Cooper and Zalmen mlotek, this powerful and uplifting program, performed by Zalmen Mlotek, Lisa Fishman and Avram Mlotek is well suited for universities, world music series, and themed events.
– A musical Chanukah celebration for the whole family, featuring an ensemble of young musical theater stars, accompanied by a hot Klezmer ensemble under the musical direction of Zalmen Mlotek. Starring Joanne Borts, Rachel Yucht, Avi Fox-Rosen with special guest Avram Pengas with the exciting Folksbiene Klezmorim.
– A riveting concert featuring the “Farbotene Lider” (Forbidden Songs) which were clandestinely shared from Jewish family to Jewish family behind the iron curtain. Music Direction by Zalmen Mlotek, featuring members of the electrifying Klezmer band Golem, Inna Barmash, Phyllis Berk, Elmore James, and Yakov Yavno.
– As a group of Jewish immigrants pass through the gates of Ellis Island, the land of opportunity awaits. Streets are paved with gold they’ve been told, but soon learn this is not nearly the case. Bold and heartwarming, THE GOLDEN LAND is a story we all share regardless of creed or religion. It is the story of all Americans, past, present, and future, chronicled in a musical journey like no other.
– The Jazz world has begun to take note of the brilliant flutist and composer Hadar Noiberg, who has performed with her trio throughout Europe, North America and Israel to great critical and audience acclaim.
– Composer, erhu player and premiere jazz violinist Meg Okura leads a group of virtuosi, Pan Asian Chamber Jazz Ensemble, inventing and defining “world chamber jazz” today. Hailed by The New York Times as “vibrant” and“sophisticated,” the ensemble is not just pretty faces, but rather “…mixes a classically trained mastery of strings, piano and drums with quick-witted compositional twist performed with high energy” (Down Beat Magazine).
– World renowned Israeli multi-culti jazz artist, masters more than 20 different woodwinds from all over the world as a one-man band called Inhale–Exhale. Gwirtzman infuses Inhale-Exhale with a combination of R&B, Jazz and rhythms of Cuban Jazz, along with Middle Eastern, Gypsy, Jewish klezmer, Armenian, Irish Celtic and Native American influences.
– Described by the Jerusalem Post as “A rising star in today’s jazz music world”, Itamar Borochov brings a unique sound with him wherever he goes. Deeply immersed in the Jazz tradition, Borochov’s search for his personal roots resulted in an ever-expanding love for Arab and Pan-African musical sensibilities – a natural palette for a trumpeter-composer raised in Jaffa, an integrated Muslim-Jewish-Christian city.
– “Nobody told Tali what could and could not be done with a recorder” (Roger H. Brown, president, Berklee College of Music) talYtali are Tal Even-Tzur (piano) and Tali Rubinstein (recorder), two unconventional Israeli musicians. Their original instrumentation and musical aesthetics stand out in the global jazz music scene. Tal and Tali’s original music, heavily influenced by Israeli traditional songs and by their classical backgrounds, is complex yet accessible; putting strong rhythms alongside simple, beautiful melodies.
– Jazz and Blues guitarist and singer Dida is a rising star of the New York City music scene. In the few months since arriving in New York, Dida has performed at Birdland, Smalls Jazz Club, BBKings, Dizzy’s at Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Highline Ballroom (opening for Yemen Blues), The Living Room, Rockwood Music Hall, Fat Cat Jazz club, Pianos, and other notable music landmarks.
Neil Ganzlinger, The New York Times
– This award-winning music theatre company, founded in Paris, presents three plays directed by Shauna Kanter, that unite communities and deliver excellence – Master Class, Birds on a Wire and Legacy. Website: voicetheatre.org
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