A Jewish Celebration

From ancient times to the modern era, celebration has had a thousand sounds in the world s Jewish communities. The songs that accompany these moments of joy and reflection take different forms and embrace unexpected genres across the Jewish Diaspora. From Moldava to Uganda, tango to ska, A Jewish Celebration chronicles the upbeat diversity of global Jewish music. Featuring rollicking tracks from hip bands like Golem! (School of Dance) and Kayama (Bob Marley-esque Vehistakel), the collection spans many eras and geographic regions. Classics abound, from a graceful interpretation of Bosnian singer-songwriter Flory Jagoda's Ladino Hannukah favorite, Ochos Kandelikas, sung by Alisa Fineman; the always fun Hava Nagila (as Ben Rudnick & Friends kick up their heels); or dreydl-spinning good times (Klezmer Conservatory Band's version of Mickey Katz's The Dreydl Song and Julie Silver's S'Vivon Sov, Sov, Sov, done bossa nova style). The collection also takes on a delightfully global perspective on Jewish musical celebrations: The Abayudaya people of Uganda sing about brotherly love (Hinei Ma Tov combines Hebrew and the local language of Luanda) with harmonies and phrasing that are distinctly East African. A rising star on the Yiddish scene, Moldovan singer Vira Lozinsky highlights this small nation's Jewish roots (An Alte Mil). A tango by German Yiddish singer Karsten Troyke and ska by King Django (Heveinu Shalom Aleichem), are examples of the unexpected, uplifting songs on A Jewish Celebration.