Prodezra Beat's "Proud To Be"

Prodezra Beats is best know for doing the production work on Y-Love and Describe's "Change" video. He dropped a new track "Proud to Be" recently. Good stuff. I wasn't keen on his first solo outing but this is definitely on the right track.

Proud To Be



Even better than Proud to Be, though, is the track Shofar Calling that he did for the ever awesome G-dcast website last year. I missed it when it came out so here it is...

Shofar Callin': The Rosh Hashanah Song

Love the detail in the lyrics and the shofar break. Get more info on Prodezra and his new album at Shemspeed.

Israel Philharmonic Orchestra...US-wide live on July 28th

The Israeli Philharmonic will be doing a cool live concert on July 28 that will be broadcast live* to movie-theaters around the US. To promote the show, the sponsors are doing a free ticket giveaway. See below for details.

On July 28th, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and Zubin Mehta join the extraordinary talents of soprano Renée Fleming and tenor Joseph Calleja to honor the legacy of the great American tenor Richard Tucker. Although the concert takes place in Jerusalem, we are pleased to be able to extend you an invitation through Fathom Events, who will be presenting a live* broadcast in theatres across the country. Fathom is giving away a pair of tickets per participating theatre, which means over 1,000 tickets will be given away to this event! To enter to win, just write the name and location of the participating theater where you plan to attend the live broadcast, along with the phrase “Free ‘Live from Jerusalem’ Tix”, on the Fathom Events Facebook wall (here: http://on.fb.me/FreeFathom Tix You must click “I am Attending” in the upper right to access the event wall). One winner per theater will be randomly selected from the qualifying entries to receive a pair of tickets.

To find the closest participating theater in your area, visit the ticket order page: http://bit.ly/LiveFromJerusalem (no purchase necessary), and enter your zipcode in the “buy tickets” field. You will be directed to a list of the closest theaters. Simply copy+paste the theater name and address into your entry.

*Broadcast will be delayed to play at 7pm in all time zones around the United States.

Sponsors of this event include EL AL Airlines, (who are sending me additional prizes soon), The American Friends of the Isreal Philharmonic, The Richard Tucker Foundation, and Mod 3 Productions.

Enter the contest to get free tix: http://on.fb.me/IPO-tix

Watch a video about the event: http://youtu.be/qIQBiusOdpg

Buy a ticket/see more info: http://www.fathomevents.com/performingarts/event/reneefleming.aspx

Who are we that dream and what is that dream? Kutiman, Lawrence Dermer, and the perils of making music about Israel

Music about Israel is tricky thing. And I don't mean music from Israel. Israeli musicians can grab a guitar or an oud and have at it with no complications. Just do their thing. But music about Israel is fraught with all the tensions and complexities of Israel itself. If the music is written by a non-Israeli, it also comes with all the tensions and complexities of our Diaspora perceptions. Which ends up with writers like me thinking much to hard (or not hard enough) about what it all means.

Israeli mashup-phenom Kutiman recently released a brand new track called "Thru-Jerusalem." Like his previous collection of "Thru-You" videos, "Thru-Jerusalem" stitching together fragments of found sound and video into something brand new. Unlike T-Y, which featured video clips that Kutiman discovered on YouTube, T-J features video clips that Kutiman shot himself. What was found was the musicians and the moments, which Kutiman discovered walking around Jerusalem. Stitched together by Kutiman, they become a moving sonic landscape of a hopeful multi-cultural city. If you dig it, like I do, the track can be downloaded for free from SoundCloud.

Thru Jerusalem



Lawrence Dermer, an American BMI Award winning & Grammy nominated Songwriter and Producer (and Cantorial Soloist) released "We are Strong" back in 2008. I missed it then, but got pointed to it recently. We Are Strong has an upbeat 'We are the World" kind of 'unity through music' vibe and contemporary world-beat sound. This is an earnest, big anthem stuff. If you dig it, which I don't, you can get the track or album from CD Baby.

We are Strong



Of the two I find Kutiman's "Thru-Jerusalem" the more compelling effort. Partially this reflects my personal taste... I'm not a big fan of Dermer's smooth, radio-friendly anthem sound and wish he'd lose whatever effects processing he's using to obscure his voice, but I love Kutiman's sensibility. Kutiman has a great ear for the texture of sound and makes surprising sound combinations fit together beautifully.

This also reflects my read on the song narratives. Kutiman is an insider. His assemblage of Jerusalem musicians reflects both a realistic portrayal of Jerusalem (these are real Jerusalem musicians, after all) and Kutiman's optimistic vision of Jerusalem (this varied group of musicians blending together into a unified, but not homogenized) whole. From the perspective of a Diaspora Jew who's never been to Israel, it sounds about how I'd hope Jerusalem would sound if I could visit and wander around as Kutiman does. I wonder how real and how constructed that vision is. Is it a better version of reality than news reports show, or a delightful fiction?

Dermer's song on the other hand feels jingoistic. When he sings "We are strong" it's unclear who "we" are. He could mean all Israeli's, but I don't think so. Instead it feels inclusive of Jewish Israeli's with only a passing nod at non-Jewish Israeli's. Where Kutiman's videos showing real musicans of different backgrounds being themselves, explicitly acknowledging the complexity of Israel, Dermer's repetition of vague and banal slogans such as "what we believe we will become" and the constructed reality of him mugging in front of children who sing his song on cue, leaves "We are Strong" feeling strangely out of touch. This doesn't seem to be a song for Israelis, instead it seems like a song to raise spirits of Diaspora Jews? If we're strong, all Israel's problems will just go away.

So who are we that dream and what is that dream? Do we (American Jews) fall behind Dermer's sentimental utopian vision of happy children of all (Jewish?) races singing in unison? What dream do this children really share? Or do we (Israeli Jews and Muslims) accept Kutiman's vision of Israeli adults existing together peacefully in a complex shared space? (Remember that this too is a dream. The collaboration of Kutiman's musician's only happen inside Kutiman's mind and computer...they never actually meet in real life).

Maybe the answer is that either way, all we can do for now is dream.

Di Niggunim & The Barons of Tang, a hot mess and a wild ride

This past Tuesday I bopped over Detroit to the anarchist art collective Trumbleplex to see San Diego based "anarcho-klezmer punk collective" Di Niggunim. I had a blast. Trumbleplex is my kind of place. Not a club. Not a bar. A place where happenings happen. Lots of independent minded folks with a lot of great energy. I spent a good chunk of the evening looking longingly at the mosh pit wishing I had left my camera in the car and could jump in.

The opening band, Detroit Party Marching Band, (not a Jewish band. duh.) was a riot. I don't mean they were funny. The gang of them (there at least 12. I lost count) were hooting and squawking in full marching band gear and marching band instruments and sounding like they were about to take to the streets. Shake something up. Burn burn something down. Riot. whew.

Di Niggunim, sadly, was a hot mess. They'd had gear stolen in Chicago. Their drummer had been sentenced (just that day) to three years in prison for "stuff." Their clarinet player couldn't make the tour and the guitar player'd gone home. The bass player was borrowed. The singer was sick. Life on the road folks. That said, they gave it their all and played the best they could and a fine time was had by all.

Here they are, sounding an awful lot better than they did Tuesday...

Fascist Degradation - Di Nigunim

I love these guys. They've got a lot of heart and I proudly threw some extra cash into the hat that got passed and added their sticker to the back of the Teruah-mobile before I went home.

The big surprise of the night was The Barons of Tang, from Melbourne, Australia. BoT is a "gypsy deathcore" band. Klezmer influenced, but really a melange of music styles. They were tight and talented and reminded me of Gogol Bordello or an early Pouges. Maybe not as good on the vocals, maybe not as strong on the songwriting, but they could get there. They'll be hitting Toronto's Ashkenaz tonight (Thursday). I didn't love them enough to drive to Toronto from here...but I thought about it the whole drive home.

Dogs of Rotterdam by Barons of Tang

hat tip to my buddy Noah for tipping me off to the show and to Youtube users commander and UndergrowthMagazine for the videos.

The Feenjon Group - Israeli music in 1960's NYC

NYC is a churning, transient city. In the 1960's, Israel had been around long enough for Israelis to find themselves part of that churn. Menachem Dworman, an Israeli ex-pat, started a folk club called the Feenjon Cafe and it's house band, the Feenjon Group. The group also contained Jewish-American musician Jerry Sappir as well as range of Greek, Turkish, Russian, and Arabic music and musicians. The Feenjon group recorded 4 or 5 albums, the only one of which that is still easily available is alternately titled "Bellydancing at the Cafe Feenjon" and "An Evening at Cafe Feenjon" and is available through Smithsonian Folkways (and, believe it or not, through iTunes). Check it out.

Feenjon Commercial

I love running across albums like this. For someone my age, who wasn't born yet when this album was recorded, it's a bit of lost American Jewish history. Yes, we really did have an Israeli ex-pat scene in the 1960's. And yes, Israeli and middle eastern folk music did exist in the US at that time. And yes, it sounded great.

See the excellent Record Fiend article "The Feenjon Group - Belly Dancing at The Cafe Feenjon (Monitor, circa 1969) for more details." For some great discussion and remembrances of the Feenjon Group, check out this thread at Tribe.net.

Also, hat tip to Tzvi for pointing me to the FeenjonGroup and to YouTube user Village Underground for uploading the video.

Spamalot & The Jews

It turns out that Spamalot, the musical "lovingly ripped off from the classic film comedy Monty Python and The Holy Grail," loves the Jews. Or, at least, thinks 6 minutes praising our supposed dominance of Broadway is time well spent.

Spamalot- You Won't Succeed On Broadway

It could be worse. The Mormon's got a whole play lampooning them, we just got a scene. Though honestly I'd rather see a 'go for the funny bone' South Park style tear down than this "we love Babs and Fiddler" suck up. Weak tea, guys. Weak tea.

The Chavlog, a niggunim video blog

Shabbat shalom everyone.

I'm really looking forward to Shabbat this week. The crazy storms across the midwest caused me to spend a lot of unnecessary time hanging out at airports (3 failed attempts to get to Huntsville, Al), but that's a minor inconvenience compared to the destruction in Missouri. I think we all need a break.

I'm really excited about this week's 'get in the Shabbos grove' video. As you all know, I love niggunim. For anyone not introduce to them yet, niggunim (the plural of niggun) are wordless or mostly wordless Chassidic songs, typically of a spiritual bent. And they make great drinking songs. But you didn't hear that from me.

Yesterday I ran across a new project from Mendel "the Sheichet." I last checked in with Mendel back in 2008 in a post about his Pittsburgh based Chassidic heavy metal band, Teihu. Right now he's doing a fascinating video blog about niggunim for COLlive.com, a Chassidic community news website.

Chavlog #8: The 63rd Niggun from COLlive.com on Vimeo.

What's fantastic this is that Mendel puts a lot of effort into explaining the history and context of each niggun before singing it. From a Chassidic perspective, this is critical to understanding and properly approaching the niggun. They're not just melodies, each one is a spiritual statement.

The whole series is posted on Vimeo. Enjoy! and Shabbat shalom.

Help Asher Barkin's Chassidic Jazz

Asher Barkin is a Cleveland based vocalist and bandleader who plays local simcha gigs with his group the Lyd Orchestra. Barkin's got a great voice and the Lyd Orchestra's got a lot more style than a lot of their peers. Here's a video of theirs to give you an idea of what they're about.

Zamru Set from Asher Barkin on Vimeo.

Barkin started a IndieGoGo campaign to get advance support for his first album. Part of his goal for the disc is to entertain his fans, part is to help land simcha gigs, but, interestingly, part is to help him push the music forward in a way that's hard to do at a commercial gig. Barkin is looking to do music that better integrates the Orthodox music he loves and performs with jazz, which he also loves. Putting together the album will help him work out some of his musical ideas and get them out in front of the world.

So I plunked my $36 down. I'd like to see where Barkin goes with this. Linking Jewish music and jazz isn't a new idea, but I'd like to see how far he can push the simcha band sound and I'd like to see him get better established as a regional band leader.

What about you? Check out his facebook page for more info and the IndiGogo page to lend your support.

Ben Zimet's Yiddishland in Senegal

Ben Zimet is a Yiddish singer with a serious pedigree... a dozen albums recorded between 1978 and 2010 and a "Yiddishland" cabaret show that's played around Europe for just as long. As his website tells it....

"Ben ZIMET is a yiddish singer and storyteller. His parents were Polish Jews. He is a Canadian citizen and has lived most of his life in Paris. He now navigates between Paris, and Dakar, in West Africa. After his growing years in America, Ben ZIMET settled in Paris in the early 60s. Here, he made his stage début with the great pianist and accordeon player Eddy SCHAFF, at the famed Café-Théâtre de la “Vieille Grille.” This was in 1973. Later, he created and presented his “Songs and Tales out of Yiddishland” all over Europe and throughout the world, telling his stories in French or in English and singing in Yiddish the unique world of the East European Jews."

While I'm rather partial to his straight up Yiddishland folk and art music and his storytelling (check out this video of him in action), I was floored by this video of him mixing up Yiddish song and Senegalese music and dance.

YIDDISH MUSIC - BEN ZIMET - THE GOLDENE MEDINA

The first time I watch the video I was struck by the "no, really?" daffiness of it, but after watching it a few times I realized that's just me being parochial. It's no more of a stretch than Socalled's Yiddish theater hip-hop mashups or Jeremiah Lockwood's cantorial R&B, both of which I adore. (Or Paul Simon's Grammy winning collaboration with South Africa's Ladysmith Black Mambazo, for that matter.) It's no more or less than another example of diaspora in action. It only stands out because of the solitary nature of experiment.

(H/T to Y-love, who tipped me off to Ben Zimet and YouTube user bigsoce for posting the video).

Y-Love's "This is Unity"

My last post was Y-Love's great political anthem "For My People!" And I haven't posted a thing since. I've been through a couple of grueling weeks of writing research grant proposals. Three of them. At the same time. yeesh. It's fitting then, that now as I sit down to get back to blogging I've got an email from Shemspeed with Y-Love's latest...This Is Unity, from his new EP "See Me."

Y-LOVE "THIS IS UNITY" (Official Music Video)

"The “This is Unity” campaign highlights one of humanity’s most elusive concepts: Unity. As a result of extremisms and borders of class, race, religion and lifestyle, people have divided themselves into an ever-growing number of categories with which to separate from and label one another. In those categories themselves, we as humans often stereotype and stigmatize those who do not resemble the rest of the category.

“This is Unity” is an holistic, anti-bigotry campaign designed to highlight and celebrate diversity. From the music-video featuring Y-Love which highlights Jewish diversity, we hope to encourage a strengthening of Jewish unity and Jewish peoplehood worldwide. Through workshops and projects that bring together artists from different backgrounds to perform in front of varied and mixed audiences, Shemspeed makes its contribution to building bridges between peoples in the hope of encouraging shared experience, constructive dialogue and some impetus for the resolution of some of the world’s most pressing disputes.

Standing up for what is right in the face of what is wrong with the world — through love and unity. This is unity, and this is how we at Shemspeed, Be’Chol Lashon & Nu Campaign do it."

I dig the music and the message. The bounciness reminds me of Y-love's early Modular Mood tracks a lot more than his grittier Babylon tracks. I also dig the contrast between For the People, angry punk hip-hop fist-pumper of a protest song and This is Unity, a positive, inclusive jump-up. Great stuff, Yitz. Keep it coming.

By the way, for a way funnier take on Jewish racial and ethnic unity, check out Manishtah's classic vid "JOC Slapping."