Arts I Life
MUSIC OF THE NIGHTS from page 57
Kleztraphobix: Another Bottle of Vodka
(self-distributed).
Meanwhile, back in the New World,
a brass-based wildly swinging set from
Kleztraphobix. Their second CD is
party music with an edge.
Occasionally it's a rough edge, but
the energy level they achieve is worth
those rare slips. Great fun.
Rating: 4 stars.
Fourth Night — Would You
Believe Latin Jazz
Jacob Do Bandolim, Great Jewish
Music (Tzadik).
The latest entry in this series focuses
on the writing of the master of
Brazilian choro, a great mandolinist
and violinist in his own right.
Quite a departure from the usual
Tzadik approach to single-composer
tributes, this is very mellow, with a
real Brazilian feel.
Some telling contributions by
Rashanim (great acoustic guitar work
by Jon Madof); Pharoah's Daughter,
who turns a choro into Jewish liturgi-
cal music with a pounding Brazilian-
Middle Eastern beat; and a magnifi-
cent solo performance by guitarist Tim
Sparks.
Of course, there is always some wise
guy who has to spoil the party; I could
do without the Eyal Maoz thrashcore
version of "Santa Morena."
Rating: 4 1/2 stars.
Septeto Rodriguez: Baila! Gitano
Baila! (Tzadik).
Roberto Rodriguez's first CD on
Tzadik was a total joy, although I was-
n't quite sure where the Jewish content
was.
No such questions on this set; both
the originals by the leader and the
hard-driving Naftule Brandwein cover
have a strong klezmer-cum-Middle-
Eastern flavor, insinuating its way
through the sensuous rhythms of son,
tango and charanga.
In short, this is a great party album
that will generate a lot of heat and one
of the most entertaining CDs I've
reviewed all year.
An absolute must.
Rating: 5 stars.
12/ 3
2004
58
Fifth Night — Classical
Recitals
Tsippi Fleischer: Around the World
with Tsippi Fleischer (Vienna Modern
Masters).
Late modernism at its spiky best.
Fleischer is a sharp-thinking composer
with a playful sense of harmonics and
a taste for unusual instrumentation,
sort of an Israeli Satie.
This CD features 13 of Fleischer's
compositions, none of them longer
than 16 minutes. She's a miniaturist of
real heft.
My one quibble is with the long
"Ballad of Expected Death in Cairo,"
which is marred by tenor Hassan
Kamy's wobbly pitch and murky dic-
tion.
Otherwise, a valuable introduction
to a neglected composer.
Rating: 4 1/2 stars.
Inbal Segev and Ron Regev: Nigun:
Celebration of Jewish Music (Vox
Classics).
This must be the fourth CD of
Jewish-Chemed cello I've reviewed in
the past year. Where would Jewish
classical musicians be without Ernst
Bloch?
Segev is an excellent cellist, and she
milks the melodramatic potential of
Bloch and Paul Ben Haim for all its
worth.
I prefer the cooler folkloric render-
ings of Joachim Stutchewsky, the most
interesting material on this set. I could
certainly do without "Hatikvah" and
the theme from Schindler's List.
Rating: 3 1/2, stars.
Sixth Night — Female Singer/
Songwriters
Neshama Carlebach: Journey
(Sameach).
There was never much doubt that
Neshama could carry on her father's
legacy. The real question was whether
she could extend it and make it her
own; Reb Shlomo cast a long shadow.
This CD, her best to date, answers
the question with a powerful affirma-
tive. Most of the songs are by Reb
Shlomo, but the interpretations are
distinctive and original.
Neshama is in fine voice, with a
smokier, more expressive sound than
ever. Darker and a bit more brooding
than any of Shlomo's records.
A terrific recording.
Rating: 5 stars.
Rebecca Teplow: Tefilot/Prayers (self-
distributed).
I suspect this EP is the musical
equivalent of a thesis film, a sort of
calling card for a young artist looking
for wider exposure.
Well, she certainly has my attention.
Teplow's voice is lovely, a little Norah
Jones, a little Neshama Carlebach,
with a good cabaret singer's flair.
Her writing is a bit more pedestrian,
although a love song addressed to the
Kotel works quite nicely.
She's definitely someone worth
keeping an eye (and ear) on.
Available from www.cdbaby.com
Rating: 4 stars.
Seventh Night — Comedy
Tonight!
Shirim Klezmer Orchestra: Pincus and
the Pig: A Klezmer Tale (Tzadik).
Prokofiev meets Shirim and Maurice
Sendak. Or Peter and the Wolf goes
kosher.
Shirim's last CD featured their ver-
sion of The Nutcracker and some other
classical chestnuts and, against my
expectations, worked brilliantly.
The new set is a jaunty reworking of
the Prokofiev, with a text written and
read by Sendak (and included in the
package with typically pungent illus-
trations from the author).
Kids will love this, and adults who
have fond memories of the many dif-
ferent end-of-year renditions of the
original will too.
Shirim plays brilliantly and the first
time around, it's quite entertaining.
But on repetition, you'll wish you
could remove the narration and just
hear the music.
For that purpose, I can heartily rec-
ommend the last four cuts on the set,
reworkings of Brahms, Satie, Mahler
and Rimsky-Korsakov.
Rating: 3 1/2 stars, but add another
star if you have children.
Yiddishe Cup: Meshugeneh Mambo
(self-distributed).
Oh mama, those strange men are
here again. When last we heard
Yiddishe Cup, they were playing wild
and weird klezmer; now they're play-
ing — well, let's just say Mickey Katz
would envy their madness.
Maybe not their costumes, which
evoke a combination of Carmen
Miranda and the local Hadassah thrift
shop, but their music definitely. The
heavy-metal-doo-wop-James-Bond
version of "My Yiddishe Mama" is
worth the price of admission by itself.
I can't imagine what they are like on
stage, but I'm sure the American
Psychiatric Association is watching
closely.
Available from
www.yiddishecup.corn
Rating: 4 1/2 stars.
Eighth Night — Jazz for Jews
Steven Bernstein: Diaspora Hollywood
(Tzadik).
That Sex Mob man is at it again.
Although the title suggests an explo-
ration of the Jewish composers of the
Golden Age of film music, this set is
really a further exploration of the
smoldering hard-bop sound of
Bernstein's earlier Diaspora sets.
Some great flugelhorn and Harmon
mute work by the leader and a smoky,
slow-burn rhythm section.
Worth buying just for his slow-siz-
zling "Veshamru."
Rating: 5 stars
Ayelet Rose Gottlieb: Internal External
(Genevieve).
Light-voiced Israeli jazz diva strong-
ly influenced by Jeanne Lee and Betty
Carter in her loosey-goosey approach
to melody.
Fascinatingly sinuous version of
Ornette Coleman's "Peace" opens the
set. There's a Mingus tune, "Portrait,"
and "You're Driving Me Crazy," but
the other five offerings are originals by
Gottlieb, angular and abstract.
Terrific support from trumpeter
Avishai Cohen, guitarist Shahar
Levavi, Matana Roberts on alto and a
tight rhythm section.
Rating: 3 12 stars. n