While so many aspiring singers proudly proclaim that they have music in their blood, for Mendy Jacobson, a talented young artist from Brooklyn, that statement is very likely true. Mendy’s family tree includes some very well known names in the Jewish music industry including Eli Gerstner, Srully Williger, Rivi and Eli Schwebel and composer Yitzy Waldner and with the release of his two track promotional album, Dance With It, Mendy hopes to firmly cement his place as an up and coming star in the Jewish music industry.
Mendy first began singing as a child of four, recording his performances on cassette tape and continued singing at Bar Mitzvahs, dinners and in yeshiva. After his Bar Mitzvah, Mendy focused on his learning for several years, but by the time he reached his late teens he realized that music was an integral part of his life. He began singing again, using his gifts to bring happiness to others: at simchos, boosting the spirits of the sick and forming a children’s choir that performed at the Montreal City Hall. With each performance, people have taken note of Mendy, who has appeared on the Soul II Soul stage, at a Lag B’Omer parade attended by 4,000 people and in the wildly popular Ya’alili video.
A strong believer in the power of song, Mendy’s focus is on the joy and happiness that music can bring, hoping to create music that will appeal to children, teenagers and adults alike. Mendy hopes to infuse new flavor into Jewish music, something that is fresh and today while still maintaining the beauty and integrity that defines Jewish music. Not only does Mendy breathe new life into every song he sings, he has several original compositions under his belt as well.
All new album featuring 39 leibedige hit songs that will keep you dancing and dancing with no end! It also includes a Purim Medley. Simchas Hachaim features the vocal talents of Mendy Werdyger, Yisroel Werdyger, Shloime Taussig, Betzalel Gold & Yisochor Gutman. The CD was produced by Naftali Schnitzler and choirs by Moishy Krauss of MK Studios.
In advance of the release of his debut album, singer Yoely Falkowitz is releasing a free download of his new song Areivim, which is sure to take the Jewish music world by storm. Composed by Yossi Green and arranged by Shua Fried, this upbeat yet inspiring song is a timely message from Yoely reminding all of Klal Yisroel that now more than ever, we must join together b’achdus. The promo music video produced by Sparks productions features heartwarming footage of Yidden of all types, joining together in a spirited dance with Yoely as he sings this sure to be a hit song “Areivim”.
Shlock Rock’s Latest Music Video filmed at Butterflake in Teaneck, New Jersey. Kosher Cake is the title cut of the new Shlock Rock album by the same name and will be released on January 30th in honor of the 25th anniversary year of the band!
Living in an age where the sixty second sound bites rules and a world of information can be carried in the palm of your hand, we constantly look ahead to the next new obsession, making it more important than ever to stay connected to our roots in order to ensure that as time continues its exorable march forward, the legacy that is our past stays fresh in our minds. As the last living witnesses to the horrors of Hitler’s unspeakable schemes live out their golden years, the movement to deny the Holocaust gains momentum, seeking to eradicate one of the defining periods in Jewish history by revising the annals of history.
It is the continuity of the Jewish people that has defined us for centuries and it is incumbent upon all of us to become the voice of those who survived as their numbers continue to dwindle, sharing their story with future generations so that the lessons of the past will not soon be forgotten. Every Jewish child that is brought onto this earth is living testimony to the eternal nature of the Jewish people and the greatest revenge that could ever be brought against Hitler and his army of evildoers. Now more than ever, we must continue to forge the chain that binds us to our past, by sharing the survival of our ancestors during the darkest moments in history, with our youth, our brightest hope and our link to the future.
Rainbow in the Night, a short YouTube clip, is a brief but exceptionally powerful video created specifically for today’s fast paced generation. Using stunning cinematography, a haunting score, hard hitting lyrics and vocals that will touch the deepest recesses of the soul, this historical work offers a glimpse into World War II Krakow as seen through the eyes of a survivor. Beginning with footage of a 1939 oil painting of a synagogue being ravaged by the Nazis, shown at a private event in the survivor’s home, Rainbow in the Night is an exquisitely emotional journey, as the survivor recalls first the warmth of his childhood home, then the shock and disbelief as people are forced to leave their homes for the Krakow ghetto, taken to an extermination camp and after enduring unspeakable cruelty, finally liberated. Set against a backdrop of utter despair and hopelessness, the survivor relives the inexplicable power that enabled him to persevere, the rainbow in the figurative night that promised better days to come. Culminating triumphantly with our hope for the future, the faces of hundreds of modern day Jewish children, Rainbow in the Night is both a euphoric tribute to the indomitable human spirit that enabled the Jewish people to survive against all odds and also a call to arms, to rekindle the spark of Jewish pride and unity among Jews worldwide, as we continue to rebuild the generations that were destroyed by the Nazis.
Filmed in New York, Krakow and inside the Majdanek concentration camp, this first ever music video depicting the Holocaust was directed by Daniel Finkelman, with cinematography by Mauricio Arenas and produced by both Finkelman and Arenas. With a stirring title track written and composed by executive producer Cecelia Margules and sung by legendary tenor Cantor Yaakov Lemmer, Rainbow in the Night is an epic historical work that will allow the voices of survivors to be heard for generations to come.
Adrienne Cooper, one of the great singers, teachers, and activists for Yiddish language and music passed this weekend. Obituaries are running in media outlets around the Jewish world including Haaretz, The Jewish Week,the JTA, and the Forward. There is little I can add to all of the great and deep thoughts about her that have been put forth, except this one thing. In a moment of apparent synchronicity, the following tweet circulated yesterday (from @neville_park in Toronto)
Hey, Hey, Down with the Police”, “Working Women”, “Ballad of the Triangle Fire”—Yiddish music is pretty badass: http://j.mp/rzPZLo
The badass recording @neville_park is referring to is “In Love And In Struggle: The Musical Legacy Of The Jewish Labor Bund” (YIVO) which includes performances by Zalmen Mlotek, Adrienne Cooper, Dan Rous with The New Yiddish Chorale & The Workmen’s Circle Chorus. You see, Cooper’s involvement in Yiddish music was not limited to the nice songs. The happy songs. The nostalgic songs. To singing yet another chorus of Oyfn Pripetchik or Rozhinkes mit Mandln. Cooper also sang Arbeter-froyen (Working Woman) and the musical Queer Wedding Sweet, and wrote articles for Lilth and The Forward titled “He Beat Me Black and Blue: Yiddish Songs of Family Violence” Cooper, more than any of her peers, helped transmit the wide spectrum of Yiddish song …. including the gritty, raw, anger, anguish, humor and joy that was Yiddish life and song. And in doing this, Cooper has helped inspire a new generation of musicians, including my fav Yiddish anarchist troubadour Daniel Kahn, cut through the schmaltz.
So, yeah. Yiddish music is pretty badass and Cooper will be very missed.
Here’s Cooper (center), along with Sharon Bernstein & Jeanette Lewicki, singing a trio of Women’s Working songs.
Mostly Music’s home in the heart of Boro Park got a major face lift today to match its present branding with A new sign replacing the old classic outdated red awning. The brand new green one now matches the familiar orange and green branding from its online store
South African born Zalman Levy, presents his first single since being a Top 10 finalist in the 2nd annual “A Jewish Star” competition.
This brand new Hebrew/English song with an African pulse entitled – “Yisovivenu” set to the words of a pasuk in Devarim (32-1), was composed by Levy and is yet another of his compositions infused with the originality that sets him apart! Music arrangements by Shaya Lieberman, mastering and mixing by Sholom Lieberman.
After hearing the song and being blown away by it, Danny Finkelman and his Sparks Productions team embarked upon a music video.
Growing up in the summery suburbs of Johannesburg, Zalman was exposed to a society embedded in music. From the cities’ extravagant Shul choirs, to its world renown Chazzanim, or just plain simple; Jo’burg’s minivan-taxis bouncing to African beats, Levy was imbued with a passion for music. And as a child, after being a soloist in the Torah Academy Boys Choir and a member of the Johannesburg Jewish Male Choir, Levy tapped into that passion and began to write music of his own.
Zalman stems from a highly musical family. His Maternal Grandfather; R’ Avraham Roness and Great grandfather; were both Chazzanim in Synagogues in S. Agathe and Montreal, CA, whom no doubt handed their talent down to their children. Zalman’s brother; Mendy, A Rabbi in Bal Harbour, FL created the Melbourne Boys Choir.
“It’s about creating authentic Jewish Music with a fresh originality.” says Levy.
The badass recording @neville_park is referring to is “In Love And In Struggle: The Musical Legacy Of The Jewish Labor Bund” (YIVO) which includes performances by Zalmen Mlotek, Adrienne Cooper, Dan Rous with The New Yiddish Chorale & The Workmen’s Circle Chorus. You see, Cooper’s involvement in Yiddish music was not limited to the nice songs. The happy songs. The nostalgic songs. To singing yet another chorus of Oyfn Pripetchik or Rozhinkes mit Mandln. Cooper also sang Arbeter-froyen (Working Woman) and the musical Queer Wedding Sweet, and wrote articles for Lilth and The Forward titled “He Beat Me Black and Blue: Yiddish Songs of Family Violence” Cooper, more than any of her peers, helped transmit the wide spectrum of Yiddish song …. including the gritty, raw, anger, anguish, humor and joy that was Yiddish life and song. And in doing this, Cooper has helped inspire a new generation of musicians, including my fav Yiddish anarchist troubadour Daniel Kahn, cut through the schmaltz.
