Description
Midwood
A Brooklyn-based psychedelic klezmer band led by violinist Jake Shulman-Ment, Midwood is a contemporary celebration of the Jewish tradition of wandering. This supergroup, featuring some of the most exciting young performers on the international world music stage, seamlessly traverses borders through original compositions, expansive improvisations on traditional melodies, and heart-wrenching re-imaginings of Yiddish folk songs.
Umru Duo: Daniel Kahn & Jake Shulman-Ment
Detroit-born, Hamburg-based bard Daniel Kahn and New York’s master fiddler Jake Shulman-Ment present their new record “UMRU / unrest”, out November 14th on Oriente and Borscht Beat. Recorded as a trio album with Berlin’s Christian Dawid. A follow up to their 2023 duo record, “The Building & Other Songs”, this new work is a powerful call for Radical Yiddish Autonomy. From taytshn of Tom Waits, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, and Georg Kreisler songs, to English adaptations of Yiddish and German folk songs, to original ballads about shipwrecks and the war in the Jewish family, these are ballads of a robust Diaspora, tearing down flags, subverting borders, lamenting oppression, and rejoicing in freedom — at once tender, lost, irreverent, broken, and explosive.
REYNHARTSIK
ReynHartsik (heartfelt, sincerely), a duo project from musicians Yoshie Fruchter and Rabbi Deborah Sacks Mintz, explores Yiddish poetry, loshen koydesh, prayer and nigun in an intimate acoustic folk setting. Using a combination of their voices with cello, guitar, bass and mandolin, Fruchter and Sacks-Mintz bring new melodies to the Jewish music canon using intricate song, sensitive musicianship and a sincere desire to connect with audiences. Like Baez and Dylan, the vocal chemistry between the duo is paramount, and the unique arrangements and compositions provide a setting that evokes past and present in perfect harmony.