Diverse Diaspora music

CDs feature Ugandan, Yiddish, shlock and kids songs.
CYNTHIA RAMSAY SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN

Eclectic describes the collection of CDs that the Bulletin has been sent to review this fall, just in time for the Chanukah season. Especially interesting is a Smithsonian Folkways recording of music from the Jews of Uganda. And a great find for tired parents everywhere is a CD of children's music by the once-local Jennifer Gasoi that's very enjoyable to listen to, even for adults. The offerings also include an excellent new release from the Toronto-based Flying Bulgar Klezmer Band, a more traditional sound from the Klezmer Conservatory Band and a humorous rewriting of Broadway melodies by Shlock Rock.

Jews are one people

In the villages surrounding Mbale in eastern Uganda, there is a community of approximately 600 practising Jews. Many members follow Jewish ritual, observe the Sabbath laws, celebrate Jewish holidays, keep kosher and pray in Hebrew. They also have a rich musical repertoire that includes lullabies, religious songs, hymns and celebratory music, written in Hebrew, English and several Ugandan languages. Abayudaya: Music from the Jewish People of Uganda provides a hint of the intriguing nature of this Diaspora community. Accompanied by extensive written notes by Tufts University Prof. Jeffrey Summit, this CD is an educational experience and an aural delight.

Abayudaya means "the Jews" in the Luganda language. Their Hebrew pronunciation is influenced by Luganda, in which many words end in a vowel, so, when singing in Hebrew, they will often add a vowel to the end of a word. In "Adon Olam," for example, olam (world) becomes olamu and, in "Lechah Dodi," likrat (to welcome) becomes likrati.

Summit provides a relatively in-depth history of the Abayudaya, from when their ancestors converted to Judaism in 1919 to the official, halachic (Jewish law) conversion in 2002 of about half the community by a beit din (rabbinic court) comprised of one Reform and three Conservative rabbis. He says that the beit din plans to return to Uganda to continue this process for the community members who have not yet undergone formal conversion.

The 24 tracks on Abayudaya reveal the diversity of Jewish music, as well as its sameness despite drastically different circumstances. The drumming in "Katonda Oyo Nalimana" ("God is All-knowing") may be something few North Americans have heard before and the Hebrew-Luganda-English "Twagala Torah" ("We Love the Torah") is unique, but "Kiddush and Motzi" is the blessings over wine and bread with which most of us are familiar.

For more information, check out www.folkways.si.edu. All royalties from the sale of this CD go to the Abayudaya community.

Butterflies and blues

Much of the music aimed at children is incredibly annoying for adults, in that it features "cute" kids who can't sing or songs that are so repetitive and mindless that it's crazy-making. That's why it was such a wonderful surprise to listen to Gasoi's new CD, Songs for You. It's intelligent, energetic, philosophical, educational, at times silly and, most importantly, it's high-quality music.

A jazz musician by training, Gasoi has taken a slight detour from that career to venture into children's music and songwriting. She now lives in Montreal, but has studied and performed in Vancouver. She was part of the 1999, 2000 and 2001 Vancouver International Jazz festivals, was a featured performer at the 2001 Chutzpah! Festival and was a regular with pianist Linton Garner at Rossini's Jazz Club from 1997-2001. She has also worked with children in various settings over the past 16 years, including at day camps, schools, day cares, community centres and as a voice and piano teacher.

All of this experience is palpable on Songs for You. Among the inspirational songs are "Hurry Up Sleepyhead," where Gasoi urges us to get out of bed because "life is waiting to be lived," and "Bright Side of Life," where listeners are told to have hope: "If you don't look on the bright side of life, how are you gonna cope?" You can almost envision the kids leaping about to and singing along with "Jumping All Day Long" and "Goin' on a Trip." Then there's the klezmer in "The Animal Party," the scat, Dixieland and banjo in "Didgeridoodle," the French "Monsieur Glouton" and the environmentally aware "Butterfly" – your children's horizons will be broadened.

For more information, visit www.sparklingproductions.com or contact 29 Productions, 1062 Homer St., in Vancouver, at 604-689-2910 or [email protected].

Variations on klezmer

The melodies of eastern Europe, Chassidic tunes, jazz beats, classical compositions, improvisation – you name it, the Flying Bulgar Klezmer Band incorporates it into their music. Vancouverites will know band members Marilyn Lerner and Dave Wall from their performances in the city's Chutzpah! and Sacred Music festivals, but the rest of the group – Daniel Barnes, David Buchbinder, Andrew Downing and Bob Stevenson – are equally talented, making their latest recording, Sweet Return, a CD worth adding to any music collection.

Wall gives a heartfelt rendering of "Royz, Royz" ("Rose, Rose"), a beautiful Chassidic "love letter" to the Shechinah (female aspect of God) that was originally adapted, in the 1920s, from a Hungarian folk song. Lerner's "Einstein's Hora" and Buchbinder's "Only One, Riding," which was adapted from a version he wrote for a 20-piece orchestra, showcase the creativity and modern influences of this group.

The CD finishes with a return to the image of the Shechinah. With music by Buchbinder and lyrics by Wall, Kyo Maclear and Roula Said, "Shechinah: Cut from the Same Cloth" is in English, Yiddish and Arabic. It expresses the hope for peace in the Middle East – we can get beyond our "tribal hatreds" if we can get rid of our clothes, so to speak, divest ourselves of the emblems of war and vengeance and exhibit some of the Shechinah's qualities, such as compassion and wisdom.

Sweet Return is available in most record stores across Canada. For more information, visit www.flyingbulgars.com.

A leader of the revival

For those who prefer more traditional klezmer sounds, the Klezmer Conservatory Band's A Taste of Paradise won't disappoint. For some 23 years, the band has been an integral part of the international revival of klezmer music. The group's repertoire ranges from songs with centuries-old roots in eastern Europe to pieces that reflect the music's 20th-century migration to North America, where it has mingled with jazz.

One the best songs on A Taste of Paradise is "A Glezele Yash/Di Kleyne Printsesn" ("A Glass of Wine/The Little Princess"). Jeff Warschauer outdoes himself in this rendition of a drinking song written by Yiddish poet Yoysef Kerler, who emigrated to Israel in 1971 after years of not being allowed to leave the Soviet Union. Another standout vocally is Judy Bressler's take on "Tayere Malkele" ("Dear Malkele"), a version of the Yiddish love song based on the 1940s recording by well-known Yiddish singer Miriam Kressyn. Instrumentally, one of the more interesting adaptations is "Bessarabian Breakdown," a melody originally recorded by I.J. Hochman's Klezmer Orchestra in 1921, which is played by the Klezmer Conservatory Band both as a traditional bulgar and a bulgar infused with a funky bass and drum line.

For more information, call the Rounder Records Group at 416-718-4195 or e-mail [email protected].

Fun music for Purim

Songs from Mama Mia, Grease, Beauty and the Beast and other musicals provide the notes. Writer and performer Lenny Solomon of Shlock Rock provides the words. Combined they form almost On Broadway, a compilation of parodies with a Jewish twist.

One can't help but be impressed with Solomon's ability to rewrite songs such as Les Misérables' "Master of the House" and Guys and Dolls' "Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat" to relate the duties of the gabbai (layleader) of the shul and the story of Noah, respectively. His words could be the original text, given how well they fit into the melodies. And they will bring a smile – at least on the first listen.

In addition to the "converted" musical selections, there are a couple of original songs by Solomon on this CD. Unfortunately, they are shlock in the unpleasant sense of the word and don't really fit in with the parody theme of the recording.

While the replay value of the CD is questionable, it would be good to have around on Purim, when fun, drinking and false appearances are the order of the day. For more information, check out www.shlockrock.com. People can also call 800-233-9494 or e-mail [email protected].

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