A Little Small Talk with Shira Kline

Here's a fun interview with Shira Klein (aka ShirLala), one of my favorite Jewish children/family performers, courtesy of Jewish Tampa.

A Little Small Talk with Shira Kline

Contemporary Jewish Music: More possible musicians for Detroit's JCC Stephen Gottlieb Music Fest

Hot from the camp, JCC, and synagogue circuit, Contemporary Jewish Music includes a wide variety of pop-liturgical musicians and styles. Here is a list of some of my favorites that I passed along to the JCC Stephen Gottlieb Music Fest committee. For more of an explanation see my earlier post about Yiddish singers. As always, this is just a intro list..there's lots more out there.

Mare Winningham
The Emmy award winning actress is a recent Jewish convert. She recorded a wonderful record of original Jewish themed songs over Appalachian American folk music melodies.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTeNF4tGQ3U
http://refugerocksublimebeta.blogspot.com/

Joshua Nelson
Nelson, an African American Jew (or Jew of Color), is the "king of kosher gospel." He mixes back and forth between Jewish, Christian and World music stages.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Be6LUKVvgsw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6qIO-Y2v28
http://www.joshuanelson.com/fr_home.cfm

Julie Silver
Popular pop-liturgical songleader with a folk-pop sound
http://www.juliesilver.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chrDPlmlvnE

Linda Hirschhorn's Vocolot
If Debbie Friedman is the queen of pop-liiturgial songleading, Linda Hirschhorn is the duchess.
http://www.vocolot.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MnFSmHxwlg

Craig Taubman
Major pop-liturgical singer-songwriter.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLpxoIbN9d0
http://www.craignco.com/index.php

Josh Nelson Project
Popular Pop-liturgical songleader with a college rock sound
http://joshnelsonproject.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCfd1pNegD8

Todd Herzog
Popular Pop-liturgical songleader with a folk-pop sound
http://www.toddherzog.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLhkGfvqA9s

Hazzan Richard Kaplan
Jewish Renewal hazzan mixes hassidic, eastern, and contemporary music into a deeply spiritual mix
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnz11WTDJ3Y (music starts around 4:20)
http://www.kaplanmusic.com/

Temple (Danya Uriel and Eyal Riulia)
"Eyal and Danya are dedicated to revitalizing Hebrew chanting as a form of meditation and ecstatic prayer on the path of the heart."
http://www.hebrewchanting.com
http://www.hebrewchanting.com/video/EyalMovie.mov?subaction=showfull&id=&archive=&template=

Andrew Hahn - Kirtan Rabbi
Jewish devotional chant based on Eastern vocal traditions. "Kirtan is fully participatory, call-and-response devotional chant. A live kirtan is at once ecstatic, contemplative and — most of all — playfully improvised."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfQh_LRbmDw
http://kirtanrabbi.com/

Sam Kay...Pop Cantor in training

Sam Kay is a high school student up in West Bloomfield, MI and is studying to be a Reform cantor with Temple Israel cantor Michael Smolash. Kay has stepped in to cover for Temple Israel soloist Neil Michaels and plays with the temple's Yom Sheini band. And now he's cut a music video. (Oh, and there's rumor of record label interest). Not too shabby.

Sam Kay - Raise Your Voice, of Temple Israel, West Bloomfield

I'll be honest that Kay's style is way too smooth pop for me. Not my speed. But he does it well and I could see him building a real fan base in the Rick Recht and Dan Nichols crowd. Or in the secular pop community, if he goes in that direction. I don't have any contact information on Kay yet, so if you loved the video let me know and I'll get you in touch with him once I get the info. Or, you can go check out this article on him written by Mitchell Barnett for Teen2Teen.

Teruah Teshuva - An Appology

Ok, folks. It's time for public teshuva (you don't get to see the private teshuva emails). One of the great things about writing this blog is getting to know a lot of the great musicians who are active in Jewish music. Sometimes I get a great CD in the mail. And while I've reviewed a lot of them, I haven't gotten to all of them.Which leads my my apology. I have a pile of CD's on my desk that have been sent to me for review. Some are brand new. Some are collecting dust. The challenge for me is that I take reviewing seriously and find it a bit intimidating. But that is my problem, not yours. If I accept your CD, I'm obligated to listen and review it.

So, to every musician who has sent me a CD for review and has been disappointed that I haven't made good on my promise. I'm sorry. I will try to get your review done soon and in the future will try to be more timely with the review.

Here's a list of the albums I've received that I haven't gotten reviewed yet. Every one is an interesting listen and well worth checking out.

	Pitom. "PunkAssJewJazz" by the fantastic jazz guitarist Yoshie Fructer, on the Tzadik Radical Jewish Culture label. JazzReview.com review
	All Hell, by Can Can a great punk band led by Patrick Aleph, who also does the Punk Torah video blog. Forward review.
	Yiddish meets Gaelic on Saints & Tzadiks, by Lorin Sklamberg of the Klezmatics and Irish vocalist Susan McKewon. BlogCritics.org review
	Sam Glaser's Rockin' Chanukah Revue Upbeat Chanukah pop from one of the hardest working guys in contemporary Jewish music. Jewcy review
	Hebrew School, by New York indie-pop musician and Six Points Fellowship grant winner, David Griffin. Featured on my second podcast. Review.
	FleytMuzik in Kontsert! is Adrianne Greenbaum, world class Klezmer flutist, and her ensemble performing live. Absolutely wonderful. Rainlore's World of Music review
	Brian Bender and the Little Shop of Horas eclectic klezmer / world-beat album "Eny Velt" . Klezmershack review
	Melech B'n Arieh's piano and electronica album "Lech Lecha" Interview on Jewish National Radio
	Polish combo Klezmafour's heavy klezmer/jazz/rock debut should get snapped up by Radical Jewish Culture fans everywhere. Klezmershack review. Hit their website contact and album info. (The website is hard to navigate, I've got their contact info too.)
	American/Israeli pop singer Nomi Teplow's new album "Like a Rushing Spring". Big pop sound to deeply felt Jewish lyrics. Reviews
	St. Louis Jewish rock project, Zeda's Beat Box's first full album "Seven".
	Wonderful Mexican klezmer jazz combo Sherele's Oy Mame Shein Pickles Chiles and Jrein Interview (in Spanish).

I'll do my best to review each and every one of these albums over the coming weeks. Just making this list has reminded me how wonderful many of these disks are. This should be great fun.

Oh, and if you've sent me an album and it's not on this list...double apologies. Email me and give a smack on the head.

Just Plain Folks

Ari from KlezmerShack sent a note around today that Just Plain Folks had posted their 2008/2009 Album Award nominees. And, drumroll, it include a section of klezmer albums and a separate section of Jewish albums. JPF self-describes as "a community of over 51,500 Songwriters, Recording Artists and Music Industry Professionals — and host to the world's largest independent music awards." Ok. Not exactly plain you and me folks, more like "just plain music industry folk." This made me doubly interested. Who have the fine folk of the JPF annointed this year in these categories that I love. Would I recognize them? Have I written about them? (Do I even like them?) Adventure!

So here are the lists, in the order presented on the website. I've inserted links to the respective artists web-pages and links to my blog posts, when appropriate.

Jewish Album Nominees

1. Todd Herzog "Bridging the Gap" -(Teruah Post, CD Baby) I'm happy to see Todd Herzog on the list. I don't typically enjoy sappy Reform post-songleaders (sorry to fans of the genre) but somehow he turns it into something gripping. His album was in heavy rotation for a while.

2. Rebecca Teplow. "Kaveh-Hope" - (Teruah Post, CD Baby) Yay Rebecca. Another album that was in heavy rotation for a while. Teplow's got a fantastic voice and her alterna-rock-cabaret arrangements are both genre-defying and intensely satisfying.

3. Lisa Miriam Silver "Mosaic" -(CD Baby) I wasn't familiar with Silver, though evidently she's been around a long time doing Nashville session work and scoring a Grammy nomination. Her album, Mosiac, showcases her work as Music Director/Cantorial Soloist of Congregation Micah in Brentwood (Nashville), Tennessee. Honestly, on my quick listen it didn't grab me. Nicely executed but pretty standard pop-liturgical fare.

4. Rebecca "P'tach Libi - Open My Heart" (CD Baby) Another new one for me and another fairly straightforward influenced pop-liturgical album. Rebecca's got a better voice and better execution than many but the arrangements are straight out of the 70's with not much distinguish them. I think this one might grow on me, though. I'll have to give it another listen later.

5. Jacob Balshan "Queen of the City" (CD Baby) Another new one. Balshan's album is a set of gravely-voiced Israeli Hebrew folk-pop ballads. I found it engaging and may have to pick a copy.

6. Yaakov Chesed "Rise Above" (CD Baby) Here's a surprise. After a string of 1970's veterans, comes a young Orthodox rock band. Not my favorite (which would be Blue Fringe) but not bad.

7. Sam Glaser "Sam Glaser's Rockin' Chanukah Revue" (Teruah Post 1 and 2, CD Baby) Sam Glaser is one of the hardest-working guys in Jewish music these days. I've got a stack of albums on my desk and have I've included his videos a number of times. I don't love his music (hmm, I'm detecting a theme here), it runs a bit to much to parody and big, easy, feel-good rock chords and sing-along lyrics for me. But no doubt he's got a big fan base out there. His Chanukah album is fine, though it doesn't (ahem) hold a candle to the recent and more spirited Shiralala Chanukah.

8. The Shirettes "Sunny Days with the Shirettes" (CD Baby) Here's another new one for me. This is a fun kids album. Without my junior reviewers (ages 4 and 6) to give it a listen, I'm not sure how it compares with their favorite Shiralala Chanukah or Craig Taubman's Newish Jewish Discovery, but it sounds good enough to give it a try.

9. JEWMONGOUS "Taller Than Jesus" (CD Baby) This is "Jewish Hipster" comedy by Sean Altman of Rockapella and the GrooveBenders. It includes one of my all time favorite songs "They Tried To Kill Us (We Survived, Let’s Eat)" (Though I like version by ex-Altman collaborator Rob Tannabaum better) and the satirical faux-Irish drinking song "Christian Baby Blood."

10. Trio Helene Engel "Voyage" (CD Baby) I was sure I'd writen about Helene Engel at some point, but I can't find the post. Regardless, I've known Engel's work for a while. She's a well known Canadian vocalist who sings Jewish folklore songs in Yiddish, Hebrew, and Judeo-Spanish, English, and French. I love this album am delighted it made the list.

It's been fun going through this list. I'm not sold that this represents the best of Jewish music from the last two years, not by a mile. But there are some solid albums on the list, with Rebecca Teplow and Trio Helene Engel leading the way. Given that artists need to be aware of the contest and submit their music, it's not surprising that Orthodox / Chassidic groups are poorly represented and that the urban labels (JDub and Shemspeed) didn't participate. I felt bad being underwhelmed by the pop-liturgical recordings. I really love good liturgical work, it was just this crop that didn't grab me.

Anyway, it's midnight. I'll have to tackle the klezmer albums tomorrow.

Lights: Celebrate Hanukah Live - Coming to a Television Near You!

While I'm pretty passionate about the renaissance in Jewish music that's happening right now, let's face it...I've got a cozy seat in the press box but Craig Taubman is up on the stage making it happen. After years of recording his own music, including the ground-breaking Friday Night Live, and producing the popular Celebrate compilations, Taubman has given us all a Hanukkah present that will be remembered a long time. This year Taubman produced a performance called Lights: Celebrate Hanukkah Live In Concert that will be aired on your local PBS station sometime in the next few weeks. For us up here in chilly Michigan, it will be a prime time spectale airing at 8:00pm on Thursday, Dec 11 on Michigan Public Television. My kids are already primed and are asking daily if tonight's the night. Not yet girls, but soon.

Lights includes a range of performers that will be familiar to fans of the Contemporary Jewish music scene in general and the Craig 'n Co label in particular: Craig Taubman, The Klezmatics, Mare Winningham, Josh Nelson, Michelle Citrin, Caren Glasser, Cantor Alberto Mizrachi, Joshua Nelson, Dave Koz, and Laurence Juber. The performances mix uptempo takes on well-worn favorites, with a few new pieces mixed in. Citrin does a fine freshening up of Peter Yarrow's Light One Candle. Taubman and Juber give an earnest Maoh Tzur. Most notable of the new songs are the Klezmatics arrangements of two Woody Guthrie Hanukkah songs and Winingham's marvelous, if a bit off topic, Convert Jig.

Lights does have a few clunkers. As much as I admire Alberto Mizrachi, his take on Flory Jagoda's Ocho Kandelikas is ponderous and over-wrought. And I can't imagine what Taubman was thinking when he approved Dave Koz's elevator music cover of Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Musically and thematically it breaks the flow of the program.

All in all, it's a spirited, if uneven, program. It's easy to say I could imagine a stronger line-up and some better song choices (Lori Cahan-Simon singing Ven kh’tsindt di likhtlekh on, di akht – When I Light the Eight or The Leevee's singing Latka Clan), but like I said, I'm just in the press box. This is Taubman's show and he made it happen. And I can't wait for it to air.

Josh Nelson Project - Lift

I'm driving quickly on snowy highway at dusk, the music swirling to match the rising snow. A vocal crescendo, over a wailing guitar. Adonai tzuri! Yeah.

I've been waiting for this album a long time. Since high school, really. I've been waiting for someone to let it rip like this, with well crafted sung from the heart and Jewish sentiment in every lyric. I wanted this badly when I was a kid. Now that I have it, though I'm not sure what to make of it.

This is a review of the Josh Nelson Project's album Lift, so let me start by saying that somewhere in your life is a Jewish teenager who needs this album. This album will hold it's own against pretty much anything on pop radio right now. Nelson's a fine instrumentalist and singer with a sure sense of how different pop genre's work. His songs mix and match styles, with a gentle groove underscoring an anthemic vocal style. Unlike a lot of music coming out of the Contemporary Jewish Music community you can tell these songs did not start life as happy clappy sing-alongs, though I'll be there's a lot of singing at his concerts. I don't have any tracks to link to, but go listen to the sample tracks on his website or myspace page.

Right now I have the title song Lift cranked, loving the faux-middle eastern shimmy, the pounding drums, and the popcorn sounding riff that ends each main phrase. But I also have some misgivings. First off, for a rock album, I find it way too well mannered. Nelson has a great voice, but it's passionate in a well-scrubbed, well-satisfied, sort of way. Nelson's guitar is the same, he's got some good licks but they're polite, safe. Is that wrong? Of course not, it's perfect for it's material. But at the same time, it leaves me wanting. The lyrics as well.

from Lift
In this tired world, in this broken peace
I am not afraid, I am not afraid
In the darkest hour, I will find my way
On this narrow bridge

Lift me up and lift my eyes, far above these falling skies
Give me hope and give me love, and I will sing Your praises
Days of wonder, days of peace, times of blessing, love released
Give me hope, and give me love, and I will sing Your praises

These are good lyrics, earnest and heart-felt. But at the same time I find them shallow and bland. It reminds me of hearing a young, earnest, folk singer sing in college. Her closing song lauded the sound of peace. I remember talking to her after the concert and complaining that I still didn't know what peace sounded like. Her song made it clear that she was hearing it, but refused or didn't know how to share the sound with me, even though I wanted to hear it. Lift is inspired by Esa Einai, Psalm 121:1-2, but doesn't make it connect. Days of wonder, days of peace, times of blessing, love released is a great line. But I still don't know what love has been released, and even if I want to guess, the song doesn't help me feel that release. I want to feel it. I want it. But, once again, I didn't get it.

But this is all secondary to the main point. Nelson has raised the bar, showing the kind of album a musician serious about his Jewishness can make. And I'm sure my frustration is not shared by the fans that pack his concerts and will make this album fly of the shelves. Some of whom will probably take me to task for being a grump or a snob. (It's true, I'm both. The first riff of Yih’yu L'ratzon is about a note off of the main riff in the Dada song Dizz Knee Land, a not nearly so polite song.)

Oh, I almost forgot, the Josh Nelson Project will be appearing on the Craig Taubman PBS special lights! Celebrate Hanukkah Live in Concert, which should begin airing at the end of November and on the album of the concert, which I just got in the mail and will be reviewing soon..

A happy-slappy time machine: Kol B'seder singing "A Tree of Life"

I can't resist passing this on. From Jeff Klepper's Blog:

"Here's a blast from the past. Kol B'seder from 1979. Somehow Dan and I were recruited to add our happy-slappy campy kid songs to a couple of episodes of one of the original New York City Jewish cable TV shows, Shalom Corner. ... While terribly dated, the shows are kinda cute, and here's a sample: Kol B'seder singing Richard Silverman's classic, 'It is a Tree of Life,' complete with the requisite puppets, kids, and Shalom Corner host, Carol Sterling. ... "

I remember singing this in Hebrew School when I was a kid and I think my daughter is singing it in hers.

Kol B'seder sings 'Tree of Life' (1979)

Adon Olam, Arnie Davidson style

It's hard to start thinking about Shabbat when I'm already starting to look to Yom Kippur, but Shabbat it is. It's a serious week, so I thought I'd lighten it up for a minute with Arnie Davidson and his Friday Night Music Project. Shabbat Shalom

Adon Olam - Arnie Davidson - FNMP

I've written about Arnie and his Project Ben David album before. Check it out.

Sorry Arnie, Project Ben David is great. Please tell my mother I'm not a jerk. Ok?

Ok, Arnie. I get the message. Now even my mother is telling me that I'm an opinionated jerk and that your album "Project BenDavid" is great.

This is what happened. One of my brother's is getting married in California in a couple of weeks. A couple of weeks after the wedding, my parents are going to throw an east coast reception for the family and friends who couldn't make it to out west. And they want music at the reception. So I did a little digging and it turns out that Arnie Davidson, in addition to being a talented composer and musician, happens to live about 10 miles from my parents. Perfect!

Last weekend Arnie, my brother, and my folks got together to talk about the reception and listen to a demo tape of Arnie's. And he was a hit. My folks and brother loved him and booked him for the gig. Perfect!

And then Arnie mentioned (with a grin, I'm sure) that it's too bad that Jack doesn't like Arnie's music. uh oh.

Now I'm in trouble with my mother, who thought that Arnie's music was wonderful and what what were you thinking Mr "I'm so clever because I've got a blog."

So let me take this opportunity to straighten out any misconceptions, Arnie. While it's true that I didn't love the album, it's also true that I loved the track "Esa Einai." I think many of the compositions are fine, I just personally have a hard time with some of the performances. Just not my thing, ok? But everyone else should check out the album's music samples and decide for themselves.

In the meantime, here's Esa Einai

Arnie Davidson & Project Ben David

A couple of days ago I go turned on to Project Ben David, a new album of songs composed by Arnie Davidson and arranged/produced by Beth Schafer. PBD is "10 prayer based melodies will hook you and quickly get under your skin and into your soul. These songs will soon become the new 'standards' for this generation." PDB is an album out of the Contemporary Jewish Music scene, which means almost by definition I'm not too keen on it. (Some of you might remember my non-complimentary review of Beth Schafer's album a while back. I've still got bruises from the drubbing I got in my comments section over that one.) But I figure I'd go give it a listen.

I wish I could say I liked it, but I mostly didn't. Like most of the music I associate with CJM, it seems to derive largely from Debbie Friedman's music which came out of the 1970's easy listening pop guitar world. On his personal website, Arnie Davidson lists "James Taylor, Steely Dan, Phil Collins, Randy Newman and a touch of Michael McDonald and Todd Rundgren" as his influences. While each of these musicians were talented and well loved, I personally find their music tepid, timid, and tedious. (Just my taste, folks.) That's mostly how I react to the tracks on PBD. Pretty, but musically and lyrically uninteresting. (again, just my taste).

But then I heard Davidson's "Esa Einai." Davidson voice has a strong, understated, sincerity. The lyrics are simple and sublime. The guitar playing lifts them and me up. I'm not sure why, but I believe this one lives up to the "new standard" claims. I'll remember it for a long time. I've listened to the full track about 5 times already (Davidson's made it freely available) and expect I'll listen to it 5 more times tonight and play it for my wife when she gets home.

Totally unexpected. Totally wonderful.

So, go listen to the song clips on the Project Ben David website. Maybe there one of the tracks I didn't like will hit you like Esa Einai hit me. I'm willing to believe one might.

(by the way, Esa Einai's full emptiness reminds me of some of the tracks I love on Mare Winingham's "Red Rock Redemer." Definitely check that out as well.)

Related Posts: 'Beth Schafer: Universal and Particular,' Music, Setting, and Grass Clipping,' Mare Winingham's Red Rock Sublime

Chanukah Day 2: Sam Glaser performs "I Remember Judah Macabee"

As I noted in last months post, the annual CAJE (Coalition on for the Advancement of Jewish Education) conference seems like quite a party. Here's Sam Glaser at the 2007 CAJE performing his "I Remember Judah Maccabee."

Sam Glaser @ CAJE 32


By the way, I had a great "middle age moment" because of this video. After hearing it the first time, I dragged my lovely and clever wife in to give it a listen. She's a big Beatles fan and cracked up at the first tinkling of the plastic ivorys. My elder wiggler immediately piped up with the obvious question..."Momma, what's so funny?" The middle age moment, though, isn't explaining pop song parodies to a 5 year old. That's just the daily joy of parental indoctrination. The middle age moment was realizing that some of my co-workers are young enough that they might not recognize that "I Remember Judah Maccabee" uses the melody from The Beatles "Let It Be." Now, I'm sure that all Teruah readers are brilliant, attractive, culturally literate, religious scholars and know all about Chanukah and about The Beatles and that I'm not getting old yet. If anyone knows anything to the contrary, they can kindly keep it to themselves.

Related Posts: CAJE Idol: Mark Samowitz & L'dor V'dor & Eight Nights, Eight Lights: the latest from Billy Ray Sheet

Hat tip to Shulerrobin for posting the Sam Glaser video.

Music, Setting, and Grass Clippings

It's about 6:00 AM and I just got in from hauling 20 or so bags of grass clippings from our shed to the curb. This involved rebagging about half of them because the bio-degradable brown paper bags were a bit over-enthusiastic. Sigh. Anyway, nothing like some mindless yard work to get my mind wandering.

What I was mulling was a section of the Hava Nashira (see yesterday's post) 'Guide to Songleaders'

First and foremost, the songleader is to fulfill this title precisely. Songleaders at [OSRUI] function in order to facilitate the musical preparation of the community. Anything less or more than that is an abrogation of the role. Therefore, a first conclusion is that the songleader never functions as a performer during sessions. Some good clues as to how you are being perceived are whether or not your [campers] are singing with you or just watching you. Secondly, regular applause is typically due of a performer, not an effective songleader.

I'm sure there is proper musical terminology for 'the place or context where a peice of music is expected to be performed' but I don't know what it is (yes, I'll look it up. It's 6:00am, bear with me). For the moment, call it the 'expected setting.' So, to the degree that the musician's associated with Hava Nashira consider themselves 'songleaders,' you (by you I mean 'I', you probably know this already) have to listen to them as though they were songleaders. That means you can't listen to a recording of one of them as if it was a popular record meant to be listened away from a sing-along crowd.

This is clearly a message I was being given by Beth Schafer's fans when I panned her record. A number of them described how meaningful the album was and the place where they sang along to it. And I fessed up that I had never sung along and only listened in isolation. I didn't realize, though, how big an issue that probably is. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not about to revise my review of the Schafer album. But it does give me some insight into it and some of the other Reform Jewish / 'Contemporary Jewish Music' performers to whom I've been lukewarm.

I'm familiar with this distinction about 'expected setting' from the klezmer community. There is frequent discussion about how klezmer, originally a simcha (party, wedding) music that was played live and danced to, is now as often played in concert halls to a seated, clapping, audience. The performers seem to be divided about whether that matters or not. Some performers suggest that the performances lose some of their vitality because of their disconnection from the dancing, others seem more comfortable with it.

The Orthodox / Chassidic music scence is also a simcha scence, but seems (by the posters and video's I've seen) to have a lot of sit down and clap concerts too. Liturgical music, including cantorial and niggunim recordings, are pretty linked to shul and home in the context of religious practice.

I'm not going to try to map out this whole space right now. I've got to go shower and get these stinky clippings of me and wake everyone else up. But I've got to think about this more.

Rick Recht - The Hope

I got a lot response to my review of Beth Schafer's new album, 'Build that Bridge'. I got 8 people telling me I'm an idiot for not loving it. Oh well. I can take my lumps. And I think I'll get them occasionally because I want to cover and present as many aspects of Jewish music as I can, even though I won't like all of them. Most of the time I'll just pass on the music without any judgement, but sometimes I'll fess up if something doesn't work for me. And I'll get smacked, but that's ok.

So, as long as I'm getting smacked, I'd might as well get it off my chest that I don't really like Rick Recht either. Like Schafer, he's part of the 'Contemporary Jewish Music' scene. I'm not going to bother getting into why I'm not into Recht's music, read my comments on Schafer's album and most of them hold true for Recht (at least for what I've heard).

But he's well loved. He won the recent JVIBE poll, has got a pile of albums, tours like crazy, writes some solid hooks and is very very positive in message. His website describes him like this:

"Rick Recht is the top-touring musician in Jewish music playing over 150 concerts a year in the United States and abroad. Recht is widely recognized for his appeal to youth and family audiences not only as an exceptional musician, singer/songwriter, and entertainer, but as a role model for involvement in Jewish life. He has become an icon for Jewish youth in the United States, elevating the medium of Jewish music as a powerful and effective tool for developing Jewish pride and identity among the masses."

Here's one of his best known tunes:

The Hope

WJEW: Jewish Teen Radio from the North Coast

One of the great things about the Internet is that, in many cases, ambition and endurance trump expertise and infrastructure. (that was a mouthful, don't forget that I'm a scientist and get paid to say things like that) What I'm getting on about is Jewish teens putting together media outlets that a decade ago would have required huge investments in capital. I posted yesterday about Oypod, a Jewish teen podcast from California. Today's post is about WJEW, Jewish Teen Radio.

WJEW is an Internet radio station launched recently by Temple Israel, a Reform Jewish congregation in Bloomfield, Michigan (The North Coast). According to an article in the Detroit Jewish News, the station was launched by the TI cantor and a high school student in the TI religious school. The student, Corey Berkowitz, put together the equipment and Internet package to get the radio station launched. Specifically, WJEW is broadcasting on Live365.com.

The result is mix of music, interviews, DJ banter, and Jewish programs. I listened in for an hour or two at work yesterday and was quite impressed. The music was, for me, hit or miss. As I've mentioned before, the 'contemporary Jewish' sound of folks like Rick "The Ultimate in Jewish Rock" Recht doesn't do much for me but I was quite taken by a Alisa Fineman track. The interviews, though, were very professional and very engaging. I half-heard a couple while I was working, but stopped work to listen to an interview with Rabbi Shmuley of the Discovery Channel's "Shalom in the Home" series. Some high school kids put that together? Whew. Nice work. Best of all though, and this will sound odd, were the station Id's and filler. A lot of the Internet radio stations I listen to are just playlists (The Sameach Music and SomethingJewish Show podcasts being happy exceptions). I miss the DJ voice and feeling that someone is having as much fun spinning records/cd's and as I am listening to them. The WJEW fills aren't as real-deal as the podcasts I mentioned, but it's still an improvement over a lot of the other feeds out there.

The folks at TI hope that this will just be the beginning and that other synagogues will be inspired to start stations. I do too. I felt pretty isolated as a kid in a small town with just my local synagogue. The current crop of Jewish blogs and podcasts would have helped me out a lot. 75 synagogue radio stations hosted, in part, by kids my age would have meant the world to me.

On a side note, while TI's claim that no other synagogue hosts a radio station might be true, Live365 does have a number of other excellent Jewish stations including Radio Free Klezmer, Nusach, Nusach2, and the B'nai Brith station.

Jewess Interviews Beth Schafer and Galet Dardashti

I ran into a new blog recently. (I should give credit to whichever blog or website pointed me to it, but I forgot which one it is. Sorry). Jewess covers Jewish women's issues and has done interviews with the Jewish women musicians Beth Schafer and Galet Dardashti. (Schafer interview here, Dardashti interview here) I'm a fan of Dardashit's group Divan. They play an idiosyncratic and compelling blend of Mizrakhi and Sephardi music.

I didn't know Beth Scafer, though. Reading her interview makes it clear why. She's part of the "contemporary Jewish music" scene that includes Debbie Friedman, Rick Recht, Craig Taubman, and Dan Nichols. I honestly haven't had much exposure to these folks. Part of it is the sound. What I've heard has been pretty folky, poppy, and (to me) bland. Part of it is religious. Most of these folks seem to come out of the Reform community. I don't have a problem with that, I just haven't been around it much. Another gap for me to fill, I guess. I'll make a point of listening to more of these folks over the next month or so and report back on what I find.