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Documentary goes behind the music video with Chutzpah
Naomi Pfefferman
September 11, 2008
\”My big idea for the CD was, \’Let\’s give this to our families for Chanukah,\’\” Hyams said. \”I never thought we\’d get a record deal, because I figured \’This is stupid and Jewish and no one cares except us.\’\”
Brooks Arthur brings stars’ hearts and humor to ‘Jewish Songbook’ CD
Naomi Pfefferman
June 19, 2008
Music producer Brooks Arthur turns nostalgic with a new CD of classic Jewish music
Fresh music choices include Pesach treats
George Robinson
April 18, 2008
Not much Passover music arrived in this year\’s mail so it\’s difficult to speculate on the ebb and flow of certain kinds of Jewish music recordings, but it does seem that fewer holiday-specific records are coming out of late. On the other hand, the flood of spiritually informed contemporary Jewish music shows no signs of abating, and this month\’s CD reviews focus on some of the most recent examples of that phenomena, including some tasty Pesach treats:
Eight Jewish albums hit high notes in ’07
George Robinson
December 20, 2007
Jewish music of 2007 reviewed.
For listening, for giving — klezmer and its cousins
George Robinson
November 30, 2007
CD reviews, Metropolitan Klezmer, \”Traveling Show\”, The Polina Shepherd Vocal Experience (featuring Quartet Ashkenazim), \”Baym Taykh\”, Blue Fringe, \”The Whole World Lit Up\” , Gail Javitt, \”Like a Braided Candle, Songs for Havdalah\”, Klezamir, \”Warm Your Hands\”, Romashka, \”Romashka\”, Chana Rothman, \”We Can Rise\”, Slavic Soul Party, \”Teknochek Collision\”.
Originality trumps repetition in the holiday songs battle
George Robinson
December 7, 2006
I will be frank. I\’m tired of hearing the same holiday songs over and over. So the best Chanukah present I\’ve received this year is a pile of Chanukah-themed CDs with lots of new holiday songs, many of them quite good.
Violinist Joshua Bell walks in the footsteps of masters
George Robinson
October 12, 2006
Bell is, by his own admission, more of a cultural Jew than a religious one. \”My mother is Jewish, a very typical Jewish mother,\” he said. \”She was very involved in my practicing. Both my parents were behind me and loved music. But for me, Jewishness was very much a cultural tie. I feel very close to the Jewish side of the family. I grew up with my Jewish cousins, going to all the bar mitzvahs, so I feel very close to that side, and I identify myself as being Jewish.\”
Holiday tunes for when you haven’t got a prayer
George Robinson
September 21, 2006
The High Holidays provide some of the greatest frissons one can experience in a synagogue. And the music is, indeed, a big part of those rising chills.
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