Monday, July 29, 2013

Off the Review Stack...

"Hear, O Israel - A Benefit Compilation From the Artists of the 4th Annual Boston Jewish Music Festival."

This disc is a fundraiser for the Boston Jewish Music Festival, and features seventeen tracks contributed by artists who participated in the 2013 BJMF.

The disc includes a nice cross-section of Jewish music, ranging from klezmer to electro-pop, solo guitar to chorus, and Yiddish song to contempo-Reform rock.

The artists on this album are Shura Lipovsky, Lerner & Moguilevsky, Guy Mendilow Ensemble, Noah Lubin, Dan Nichols and Eighteen, Tim Sparks, Ezekiel's Wheels, The Tarras Band, Daniel Kahn & the Painted Bird, The Josh Nelson Project, Peter and Ellen Allard, Stereo Sinai, Mazal, Mika Karni's Kol Dodi, The Epichorus, Zamir Choral of Boston, and Andy Statman.

It includes both previously released tracks and new/unreleased material.

Artists I had not heard before that resonated for me included Shura Lipovsky (Yiddish song), Noah Lubin (Singer/songwriter), and Mika Karni's Kol Dodi (Middle-Eastern).

As in any collection of this sort, there are bound to be artists whose work resonates, and those whom don't appeal. Overall, the collection is a nice snapshot of the recent festival offerings, and the proceeds go towards ensuring that the BJMF can continue to offer diverse programming of Jewish music.

You can order the album here: bostonjewishmusicfestival.org/donate