Lana Ross: Jewish Classical Guitar

Here's what I know. Lana Ross plays classical styled guitar and has three recordings on CD Baby, two of which are Jewish themed. Lana Ross based out of Canada and is associated with married to Russian - Canadian classical / flamenco guitar player Andrei Krylov. That's it. That's all I've got. Which is very weird, normally musicians go to great lengths to provide all sorts of bio material and contact information. Ah well. We can just enjoy the music.

Variations on themes of Odessa, Klezmer, Sephardic, Hasidic, Jewish Folk Songs and Dances for Classical guitar, (2011) and Fantasy on Themes of Sephardic, Hasidic, Odessa Jewish Folk Song and Dances (2009) are sprawling series of finger-picked folk and classical style guitar pieces that, as the title suggests, cover a lot of territory through Jewish music. Which in itself is a small wonder. I rarely see that much specific knowledge of Jewish music repertoire in single recording. Ross plays beautifully, with a lot of bounce and humor, weaving classical and folk sounds in a manner that reminds me a bit of John Fahey style 'primative guitar." Not quite at Fahey's level, but very solid.

To get a feel of her work, check out these tracks. From Variations, the lyrical and lush Bessarabia Romance sits next to aptly named Klezmer Guitar - Funny And Sad. From Fantasy, her Fantasy to theme of Jewish folk song Avinu Malkeinu and Variations to theme of Jewish folk song Lo Jisa showcase her classical and folk styles.

Bessarabia Romance


Klezmer Guitar - Funny And Sad


Fantasy to theme of Jewish folk song Avinu Malkeinu


Variations to theme of Jewish folk song Lo Jisa

If anyone knows more about Ross, please let me know. I'd love to track down a live recording or video or, even better, to catch her performing live. I've contacted Krylov and will report back if I get more information.

Update: I was able to reach Krylov, who confirmed that Lana Ross is his wife and that they live pretty far out in the country and don't use the internet much. Anyone interested in Ross's work can grab the albums from CD Baby or get in touch with her through Krylov's website.

Jewish Roots Music

chang chang bump-changity chang, di di di, chang chang bump-changity chang, di di di chang chang bump! It doesn't take much. The strumming of simple low rhythm (chang chang) under the soft keening of tight high melody (di di di). Sitting with my back against a brick wall with my headphones on, looking up with an easy vertigo as clouds extrude from the building top. chang! A whole world in a chord.

Recently I wrote about Wolf Krakowski and the idea of a music that swaps Yiddish folk melodies with blues and country licks to create something uniquely American and Jewish. I've been listening to another album that is helping to map out the possibilities of this music. Jewish Roots Music, Tzvi Gluckin, calls it. A name for an album and for a genre. This album doesn't have the crazy brilliance of Wolf's albums or the technical sophistication of Tim Sparks, but the warm dialogue between Tzvi's guitar and Jared Sims clarinet is gentle and strong. And they remind us that the possibilities for this music are endless.

Alei Asor


Yerushaliam

Do You Know The Words?

I was just catching up on the Life in Israel blog and caught a great pointer to a new Jewish music blog. It's called Know the Words and it wants to help us, well, know the worlds. Specifically, know the words to a repertoire of religious Hebrew language songs that get sung at traditional Jewish simchas. The lyrics are provided, many have audio clips, and lots of commentary on the spiritual qualities of the song. There's some serious work going into this blog, so I hope folks find it and take advantage if it.

For example, the author posted the song "Yamim Al Ye'mei Melech" (which, for the record, I don't know) as follows...

"יָמִים עַל יְמֵי מֶלֶךְ תּוֹסִיף, שְׁנוֹתָיו כְּמוֹ דֺר וָדֺר
Yamim al ye'mei melech tosif, sh'nosav kemo dor va'dor

"Days onto the days of the king may You add, may his years be like all generations." (Tehillim 61:7)

The Pashut explanation given by Rashi on this passuk is that Dovid Hamelech is asking Hashem that even if it has been decreed that he die young at the hand of his enemies, Hashem should remove that decree and grant him the full 70 years of every generation...."

The audio clips are turned off right now because of the Sefira period, but they'll be back up soon. I'm looking forward to it.

As an added bonus, the blog has a link to Yutopia.Yucs.Org's "Jewish Guitar Chord Archive."

Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco

Continuing this week's theme of Jewish music from Florence, Italy, today's find is Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (hereafter abbreviated MCT). According to a Milken Archive press release for the recording, Naomi & Ruth / Sacred Service for Sabbath Eve, MCT was "born in Florence to an Italian Sephardi Jewish family with roots in Tuscany dating back 400 years, the composer himself identified three primary inspirations at the core of his musical expression: his Tuscan background, his fascination with Shakespeare, and the Bible--not only its narratives, but the Jewish spiritual and liturgical heritage developed over the centuries." According to his Wikipedia entry, while MCT was born in Florence, he emigrated to the US in 1939 to escape the pre-World War II race laws that had cut short his Italian career. Once in the US he quickly became a successful and influential film and opera composer.

Amazon.com has the CD and plenty of sound samples for Naomi & Ruth / Sacred Service for Sabbath Eve as well as many of his secular compositions including the Tarantella played here by Giulio Tampalini.

GIULIO TAMPALINI - M. Castelnuovo Tedesco: Tarantella

You can find more info about MCT at the Milken Archives biography page and his wikipedia entry.

Betzalel Edwards

Betzalel Edwards is a Chassidic musician and scholar from Boston (US) now living in Jerusalem. I'm pretty taken with this video, but haven't been able to find out yet whether he has any recordings, or if he just performs live. reHe's translated 'Mei HaShiloach', the teachings of the Rabbi Mordechai Yosef of Isbitza, into English. You can listen (online or download) to Edwards giving a shiur (lecture) on the topic at Reishet.Org.

Betzalel Edwards

sigh. I really need to get my guitar out again.

Stacy Phillips & Paul Howard -Klezmer Medley

One of the good folks on the Klezmeshack Jewish Music mailing list contributed a link to this video a couple of days ago. I got excited because I don't hear a lot of guitar in Jewish music (other than in the Chassidic pop groups). I used to play guitar a bit. While I haven't picked it up in years, ever since staring this blog I've been looking ideas about how I could play Jewish music on the guitar. This is one example.

Stacy Philips is "Dobro player, a fiddler, and the author of thirty books about these instruments." I became aware of his playing from his work on David Chevan and Warren Bryd's "This is the Afro-Semitic Experience" CD. Paul Howard is a "Connecticut-born guitarist, singer and songwriter" that plays with Stacy Philips and with the American roots band, Last Fair Deal. From the other Phillips and Howard videos available, it looks like this is their one Jewish recording.

Stacy Phillips & Paul Howard -Klezmer Medley

"Stacy Phillips & Paul Howard in Washington state in 2001. The tunes are Shalom Aleikhem, Khupah Tanz and Andy Statman's Slivovitz"