HOLIDAY VALUE PACKAGE*
For reservations
Best Western
Sterling Inn
(586) 979-1400
Banquet & Conference Center
22,769 SQUARE FOOT
INDOOR WATER PARK
Holiday Value Package
$1 1 5.00* for a Guest Room with One Bed
Music Of The Nights
$135.00* for a Guest Room with Two
Queen Size Beds
A roundup of CDs for Chanukah gift giving.
Package Includes:
Package Valid from December 19-30, 2004
Standard Guest Room
Entry for Four into the Indoor Water Park
GEORGE ROBINSON
Special to the Jewish News
E
fight nights of Chanukah, eight
packages of related music for
the well-endowed gift-giver.
But there's something for every taste,
even music to eat latkes by. Ratings are
out of five stars.
First Night Chanukah
Recordings
The Klezmatics: Woody Guthrie's
Happy Joyous Hanuka (self-distrib-
uted).
A special, limited-edition recording
by the 'Maks of songs long thought
lost but rediscovered by Woody's
daughter Nora in 1998.
Like most of Woody's children's
songs, this is cute and effervescent,
although repeated listenings could
wear thin pretty quickly for the adult
listener. The playing is terrific, as one
might expect, and Lorin Sklamberg's
vocals are charming.
Great packaging that your kids will
love, and at 32 minutes, just about the
right length for little listeners.
Available from wvvw.jewish.com
Rating: 3 stars, but add another star
if you're under 12.
A Hanukah Feast (Hungry for Music).
Twenty cuts by as many artists, rais-
ing funds for a good cause, a
Washington, D.C.-based program that
brings music — sheet music, books
and instruments — to poor children.
This is a wide and wild range of
Jewish music: from the neo-klez of
Alexandria Kleztet to the pure Ladino
folk of Flory Jagoda, from the heavy
metal Latino rap of Hip-Hop Hoodios
to the country-western of Honky
Tonk Confidential.
As might be expected, uneven, but
great fun.
Available at
www.hungryformusic.com
Rating: 4 I/2 stars.
Second Night — Old-World
Klezmer
Steven Greenman: Stempenyu's Dream
(Ohio Arts Council).
This is an ambitious two-CD set of
original compositions by Greenman,
the violinist for Khevrisa, among oth-
ers. He's one of the best of the musi-
cians who are working their way back
to pre-New World klezmer, emphasiz-
ing the interplay of fiddle and tsimbl
in a sound that is at once more foreign
and yet perhaps more natural to
American ears.
He is ably abetted by Walter Zev
Feldman, Pete Rushefsky, Stuart
Brotman and several other high-caliber
talents.
At a time when the klezmer revival
was beginning to feel played out, guys
like Greenman have brought some-
thing new (i.e., very old) to the table
with gratifying results.
Rating: 5 stars.
Veretski Pass: Veretski Pass (Golden
Horn).
Sprightly and spirited Old-World
klezmer — with a vaguely Celtic air.
This is close to a super-group, with
Cookie Siegelstein on violin, Josh
Horowitz on accordion and tsimbl
and Stuart Brotman on bass.
The results are every bit as impres-
sive as the lineup would lead you to
expect.
Rating: 5 stars.
Third Night — New-World
Klezmer
Golem: Homesick Songs (Aeronaut).
From the opening speeded-up
chords of "Odessa," you have a pretty
good idea that this is not your father's
klezmer band. Unless, of course, your
father was Sid Vicious.
A wildly entertaining set that re-
imagines traditional tunes in a kalei-
doscope of styles, from brass band to
cafe tango to three-chord thrash.
Jazz Passenger stalwart Curtis
Hasselbring brings the funk with his
trombone, and vocalists Annette
Ezekiel and Aaron Diskin twist all
night.
And just when you thought nobody
could do anything new with
"Rumenia," they do.
Not for the kiddies, but a load of
fun.
Rating: 5 stars.
MUSIC OF THE NIGHTS on page 58
Large One Topping Pizza and Four Sodas
Continental Breakfast for Four the
Following Morning
*Plus applicable hotel taxes. Rates based on a four
person occupancy. Five person maximum per
room. 5th person charge is $25.00. Major credit
card or first night's deposit is required at time of
booking. One adult per room required. Based upon
availability. Prices subject to change. Not valid
with any other discounts. Check-in time is
3:00 pm and check-out time is 11:00 am.
FEATURING AN INDOOR WATER PARK
with a 5,000 sq. ft. zero entry swimming pool, water slide, lazy river, lifeguards,
indoor running track, state-of-the-art fitness room, video game arcade, two large whirlpools,
locker rooms with men's and women's saunas, and poolside snack bar with full bar service.
Water Park Hours: Sunday-Thursday 9:00 am-9:00 pm I Friday-Saturday 9:00 am-10:00 pm
34911 Van Dyke Avenue at 15 Mile Road • Sterling Heights, Ml 48312
Telephone: (586) 979-1400 • www.sterlinginn.com • E-mail: sls@sterlinginn.com
913390
L
00 414WangtO0eraGNIPaelfaCOaDera
1,4
O DY
(mg&
410
FITNESS
• Circuit Cross-Training
• State-of-the-art equipment
• Enhance body tone
and cardio endurance
t.-
14
SPA
• State-of-the-art Modern Facility
• Non-Surgical, Non-Abrasive Facelift
• Massages and Steam Therapy
Ye-yoktr S J L g agdigxt i,ovkWitk
07,er.1.-lotidgy 25 e---LStreysf g)sgckg , -e-
Includes:
Sea Salt Scrub and 10 Minute Steam Therapy
De-Stressing Holiday Facial Custom Blended for your exact skin type
Healing Holiday Pedicure Treatment
$185.00 ($20 Savings)
cert:ificgt-e- L,$ ) e-ciati
For each Gift Certifcate purchase of $50 or Greater,
Receive a Free $10 Gift Certificate
gibit-fs f s evigt.1
1 Year Fitness $269.00 or 6 Month Fitness $159.00
c5C L9-6(
Ve-dx.en.
Cotte-ry
33226 Woodward • Birmingham • 248.833.2639
www.f3odybeautifugnessandspa.com
12/3
2004
57