fbpx
Category

songwriter

The romanticism of Matt Nathanson

Pop-folkie Matt Nathanson had just returned from hanging in Hawaii, but it was a vacation he only enjoyed “50 percent,” he said.

Leonard Cohen Film Toasts Songwriter

Cohen became first an accomplished poet and then, starting with 1967\’s \”Songs of Leonard Cohen\” (which contained the oft-recorded \”Suzanne\”) a singer-songwriter. According to Ira Nader\’s Cohen biography, \”Various Positions,\” Cohen\’s Judaism has influenced his songs greatly — \”Who By Fire\” is based on the melody of a Yom Kippur prayer, \”Mi Bamayim, Mi Ba Esh,\” and \”If It Be Your Will\” is derived from a \”Kol Nidre\” phrase.

Words From the Old Ball Game

In his new book, pop songwriter Seth Swirsky pays tribute to the sport that has played such an important part in his life.

‘Strange Fruit’ Takes Strange Twist

In Joel Katz\’s intriguing new documentary about the anti-lynching ballad, \”Strange Fruit,\” an African American poet says she always assumed the songwriter was black.\n\nKatz shared the same misconception before making his film, also titled \”Strange Fruit,\” in the late 1990s. After all, the haunting 1938 tune was first performed by jazz diva Billie Holiday and soon became the anthem of the anti-lynching movement.

Maseng of Many Hats

Somebody must have perfected human cloning, because no way is Danny Maseng just one person.

When the singer-songwriter-guitarist-actor-poet-dramatist-lay rabbi-teacher-visionary, who will headline the Fund for Reform Judaism\’s annual fundraiser at Temple Isaiah in Rancho Park on June 13, isn\’t performing, he may be teaching the Zohar, leading a service at his New York congregation or dashing off a new setting for a passage in Jewish liturgy.

Or he might be working institutionally on innovations in Jewish arts, Jewish worship, Jewish music or Jewish camping.

Zen Cowboy

There\’s a new singing cowboy in town, and his name is Ken Kunin.\n\”I\’ve been in this crazy industry for about 10 years,\” says the lead vocalist/songwriter. And he\’s about to turn up the heat.\n\nHis band, davis waits, has been receiving radio airplay , including on local outlets KLOS and KTTC; and a cross-country tour in support of their new album, \”the evolution of…,\” will follow after the New Year.

New Articles

More news and opinions than at a
Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.