In Shul on Rosh Hashana

I found this Jewish Ledger article interesting. I can totally relate to this sentiment:

"I remember attending a Rosh Hashanah service in college, at the University of Massachusetts, and singing Zochrenu L'Chayim' and trying to imagine what it might look like if I scored it on manuscript paper. That was not a particularly sacred' thought to be running through my head, but it was all I could imagine at that moment.  What meter would I use?  What would be a good key for it?"

I haven't heard Chevan's new recording, but it sounds intriguing.

Via Klezmer Shack

Shul-house Rock!

This week's edition of Jewsweek has an interesting article on "Shul house rock."

The article describes the phenomenon of live rock music in Conservative synagogue's on Shabbat.

Rabbi Mark Bloom, who directs the band at the Family Rock and Roll Shabbat at Oakland's Temple Beth Abraham says:

"Halachically, it's not that you can't play musical instruments," Bloom says. "It's that you can't carry them or fix them." Such restrictions were "gray anyway," he says, noting that many Conservative synagogues already have microphones and sound systems."

Apparently, he's never heard of hashma'as kol!

The best line in the article has to be this quote from self-described jazz fanatic Rabbi Alan Lew of San Francisco's Congregation Beth Sholom.

"Shabbat is supposed to be about not having rock and roll."

Although it is not halachically allowed, there are some great music resources for those who do permit music in shul on Shabbat.

The recording "With Every Breath: The Music of Shabbat at BJ"
has interesting musical arrangements of some of the songs they play and sing at their Friday night service in Manhattan which draws 1,500-2,00 people. It includes Sephardic melodies, Shlomo Carlebach tunes, Hasidic nigunim, and more. The lead vocals are by Rabbi Marcelo Bronstien, Rabbi J. Rolando Matalon, and Hazzan Aryeh Priven, with backup vocals by Lizzie Leiman Kraiem and Basya Schechter.

Craig Taubman's original "Friday Night Live" service, --the recording features Craig and Caren Glasser on vocals-- held monthly in California, attracts about 1600 people. Both services are being duplicated elsewhere, like in Lancaster, PA where the "Chopped Liver River Band" performs their adaptation of the "Friday Night Live" service.

Mark Bloom's "Jazz Shabbat" is also quite interesting. The recording features Mark and some female vocalists performing his jazz Shabbat service.

I'm opposed the turning of "davening" into entertainment as often occurs in "frum" shuls when they have "Carlebach davenings", but I do think that these original prayer services can have a tremendous impact on those who otherwise wouldn't attend synagogue.

With regard to the "Carlebach-style" davenings, I think that they can also be quite moving, but I've found that in many cases, the atmosphere in "frum" shuls featuring these is one of entertainment rather than worship. In general, I find that they tend to work better when they are spontaneous rather than when they are scheduled.

Music should be used to enhance the "tefilos" and not as a distraction from them.

Yentl's Sick of Herself

This article made me laugh!
"Barbra Streisand says she finds listening to her own songs is so boring that it was one of the reasons she gave up public performing three years ago."

Apple's OyPod!

Everyone should have an "Oy Pod" mp3 player.

Kiddush Levana?

We Like Tha Moon!

Stop, Thief!

Help stop music piracy!!!

Via Instapundit

Bye, Bye, Phil!

Here's an interesting post about the upcoming release of the Beatle's album "Let It Be...Naked" reviewed here.
Apparently, Paul McCartney hated the sweeteners that Phil Spector added to the album and is re-releasing it the way he always intended for it to sound.

I've always wondered what some of the Jewish albums would sound like if the cheesy arrangements were removed.

Culture Update!

Here's a treat for those interested in Jewish music oldies, here's a video clip of Leonard Nimoy singing the "Ballad of Bilbo Baggins." (Quictime player required.)

I've never been asked to play this.

Via Dave Barry's blog.

The Town Crier Discovers the Wheel

EphShap has discovered "Chassidic jazz."

This is nothing new. Jazz exploration of Jewish music has been going on for a long time.
There is also "Carlebach jazz," (click on the recordings page for a swinging jazz guitar version of Mizmor L'david), "Klezmer jazz," and jazz arrangements of traditional Jewish music. (Note: just a few of many possible links.)

There are numerous artists in many genres doing some really interesting stuff with Jewish melodies. I'm not even including the incredible body of new original Jewish music that's out there.

The Jewish music scene is much larger than the "Hasidisco" coming out of Brooklyn and Israel.

Dissed Again!

There's a passing reference to contemporary Chasidic music in this review of an avant-garde recording by Koby Israelite.

"Although Dance of the Idiots can veer dangerously close to cheesy Chasidic Casio Karaoke…"

Rate That Kugel!

Here's a kugel review by trombonist Jim Leff in which he describes his perspective on playing Orthodok/Hasidic weddings.

"The dark side of the current klezmer music craze is that a musician who's learned the style finds himself qualified to make plenty kesh playing Jewish weddings. I don't mean swanky affairs at Great Neck catering halls with chopped liver sculptures and toupeed high school band teachers warbling Wind Beneath My Wings; I mean the hard-core stuff, Orthodox and Hassids dancing sweaty ecstatic circles while the band blares a nonstop succession of identical-sounding oom-pah tunes in snakey D-minor. Same-sex dancing and long curly sideburns. Blow your brains out for six hours of cacophonous mayhem in exchange for enough kesh to pay half your rent: it ain't bebop, but it's hard to resist."

"And thus I found myself--stylishly tricked out in yarmulke and polyester tux--playing for a particularly frum (religious) crowd. They were too pious to drink much, though a bottle of Old Williamsburgh (I kid you not) Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky was passed among the elders."

Here's the part about the kugel. Based on his description, I'm guessing that this was at either the Continental or Concord Plaza.

"At the head of the dance floor, in a position of supreme authority, was a table bearing three large rococo silver trays. I watched, fascinated, as all attention came to focus on this setup. With a flourish, the top of one vessel was opened to reveal a kugel. The second lid was removed, kugel again. Third...kugel kugel kugel. There followed a feeding frenzy, as yours truly jumped off the bandstand to try to salvage a morsel amidst the kugelly commotion."

"These, in truth, were not great kugels, but that's not the point. Kugel is intrinsically a Craved Thing: potato, egg, salt, grease. That's four of the Major Food Groups; you simply can't go wrong."

"The Three Sacred Offerings had nearly been forgotten when, as we started another set, I detected the wafting aroma of fresh kugel. There was even more being brought out. Amazing."

"We later stood around the starchy relics, debating the merits of the second kugel (eggier) versus the much-loved fifth kugel (very dense), when a waiter, with the earnest sense of duty and pride of purpose of a rabbi carrying the Torah, presented yet another tray."

"I was deeply moved by this elevation of kugel--a dish far too homely to be served in restaurants or at less earthy soirees. My head spun at each new serving until I was overcome, thrown into such an emotional tizzy that I found myself screaming--from my spot between a horrified trumpeter and a bemused tenor saxophonist--"By Golly, I'm PROUD to be Jewish!" I was having one of those life-changing moments, catalyzed by the dizzying procession of Bottomless Potato Puddings."

I never thought I'd see a professional food critic review the fare at the low-rent Kosher catering halls. What's next… a review of the chopped liver platter at

This isn't me III

This isn't my fan club website.

What's He Talkin' 'Bout???

Here's an essay from 2000 titled "The Power of Jewish Music"
by Cantor Paul S. Glasser, the former National Executive Director of NCSY.

"Jewish music affects the soul of the individual. Often it is the music of the Jewish people which motivates an individual to take a look at himself and grow from one stage to the next. Often it is Jewish music which, at a simcha, creates such excitement for the benefit of the baalei simcha that we become totally enveloped in its vibrancy and vitality. The power of Jewish music is substantial; in NCSY it has been a critical component of our message and has been used as such in our programs for over four decades."

"Can you imagine a Shabbaton or Yarchei Kallah which did not have Shabbos ebbing away with the traditional songs which move us at the end of Shabbos? Could you imagine a kumzits where the music did not play an essential role in the message of the Shabbaton theme? Music is used to motivate NCSYers to speak about themselves and their experiences. Jewish music has been paramount in the NCSY experience and the NCSY Shabbaton model."

"So why is Jewish music Jewish? Well, technically we use a particular solfeggio scale in which we have come to define Jewish music, both through its scale and its intonation."

Sounds good, right? The reason the Jewish music at an NCSY Shabbaton affects us in such a powerfull way is because of those magical "Jewish scales." (There are actually three common Jewish modes, not one.)Well, a look at the NCSY music poll results for the year the essay was published shows that not one of the songs nominated as best Jewish song of the year uses the "Jewish scales."

In point of fact, a quick look at websites for Midwest NCSY, New Jersey NCSY, and Southern Region NCSY shows that none of the songs typically sung at NCSY Shabbatonim uses the "Jewish" modes.

There are songs in these Jewish modes that may get played at an NCSY Shabbaton from time to time, but they are not an integral part of the Shabbaton experience. Tunes like T'hei, Moshe Emes,V'nisgov, and Mizmor L'Dovid are sometimes played, but aren't used in the same way as songs like "Someday" or Ya'aleh V'Yavo.

A look at the song selections on the liner notes of the recent "Shabbas Comes Alive" CD which attempts to present the songs one would hear at a typical NCSY Shabbaton shows that the CD doesn't contain any songs that use the Jewish modes.

Clearly, whatever the "magical" element of the Jewish music used at NCSY Shabbatonim is, it's not because of

Useful Info!

bagpipes assembly instructions.

On Respect and the Hasidic Rebel

Here’s an interesting blog post about Chassidim and classical music.

The author, Hasidic Rebel (no relation :)), also writes about the beauty of the older Jewish music recordings by Ben Zion Shenker, David Werdyger, and Yossele Rosenblatt.
There is something about the music and singing on those recordings that is just missing from today’s commercial Jewish music .

This post raises the issue of respect towards a community’s values with regard to music. The self-declared Hasidic Rebel turns off his classical music rather than offend a fellow Jew who views it as inappropriate. This is despite the fact that he can see no harm in it; the reality that a fellow Jew finds it objectionable is a good enough reason for him to turn it off while they are driving together.

Would that the purveyors of much of today’s music like this, this, and this had the same respect towards the community’s values.

Note: I’m not criticizing the music, for the most part, just the marketing towards segments of our community who find it objectionable. Additionally, the organizations who promote concerts featuring these groups need to think about their responsibility towards the communities whose Tzedakah dollars they are soliciting. The lifestyle these bands are promoting is not appropriate for the Yeshiva community .

Also, why are “seforim stores” in Brooklyn selling rock CD’s simply because the lead guitarist has also recorded some solo guitar albums of Carlebach? (I mean actual rock recordings, not the rock influenced Jewish music ala MBD and Avraham Fried that is coming out of Brooklyn.) Ditto for the YU Seforim Sale! The people in charge of the music department really ought to rethink some of their purchasing decisions.

More great JM PR

Which are you… an alien or a cave dweller?

“By now, if you haven't heard of Mendy Wald, you've either been on another planet or have been living in a cave!”

Way to turn a phrase!!! Must run out and buy this... wouldn't want to be uncool!

In Which the Chevra Get Caught Out...

This post on the Yahoo Jewish Music Board describes yesterday’s concert by the Chevra in Chicago.

The interesting part:

Then, after intermission the Chevra came on stage with Yehay, followed
by Lev Tahor, then Ki Malachov, Mi Bon Siach, Then they claimed to do "something they’ve never done in concert, special just for Chicago..." and did an acapella Shema Hashem, But they did the same thing at the Silver Spring concert I was at!!! Then they did a Carlebach Medley, same thing as the Silver Spring concert!!!!(Text slightly edited for ease of reading.)

This reminds me of the camp concerts I regularly play with various “stars” in the music business who invariably announce at some point during the concert that this is the most “ruach” filled camp they’ve performed at all summer. They make the same announcement at every single concert. This announcement is part of the de rigueur stage patter they use; the statement’s truth –or lack thereof-- doesn’t really appear to matter.

(I could go on about the stage patter in general, but I’ll leave that for another post.)
I think that too many Jewish Music artists have a very condescending, cynical view of the audiences they perform for. They feel as though they can spout bromides and platitudes, both in their advertisements (sorry, exclusive interviews;)) and at public appearances without being held to account.

I think that this dishonest behavior is wrong and wish that they would cut it out.
There’s no reason why they can’t tell a camp that they have a lot of energy without lying and saying that it was the liveliest crowd ever, especially, when the group at last night’s show had more energy.

Here too, there’s no reason for the Chevra to be introducing an acapella version of Shema Hashem as “something they’ve never done before in concert, special for Chicago” when they’ve done the same thing elsewhere in the past. A simple intro saying here’s something new we’d like to perform for you would have given the same info and feeling to the audience – that they’re going to hear something they haven’t heard before – without being dishonest.

More on the Fringe

Here’s an interesting review of the new Blue Fringe album.

Best line:

“And the vocals are all breathy and sultry, like singer Dov Rosenblatt is serenading a girl on his cordless phone while walking up and down the halls of Rubin Hall. G-d! What imagery!”
(For those who don't know, Rubin Hall is one of the Y.U. dormitories.)

Let's see... breathy, sultry singing of pesukim... sounds like Dov Rosenblatt is channeling Neshama Carlebach.

This isn't me either!

Music of the singing Rebbe!

P.S. And he paints too!

More Reader email

One reader emails in response to my post about the music volume at weddings:

"There was one point in time where every single gig I played, this one annoying woman always was always in attendance...and it was her personal mission to complain about the volume.  Even during the shmorg when there was NO amplification and the drummer played with brushes, she would walk by the band holding her ears and give us a look.  I had HAD it! So one time during a dance set, when the volume is obviously a bit louder...she came up to me and yelled, "CAN ANYTHING BE DONE ABOUT THE VOLUME!!"  So I yelled back, "I'M SORRY..IT'S TURNED UP AS HIGH AS IT CAN GO!!"

There are some people who like to complain about everything. Perversely, the more they find to complain about, the happier they are. Not to stereotype, but there's usually at least one of these people at the weddings I've played in Brooklyn.