DECEMBER 19 • 2019 | 51
Arts&Life
music
51 | DECEMBER 19 • 2019
Enduring
Holiday
Stylings
Temple Israel’
s artist in
residence infuses original music
with Chanukah-themed lyrics.
J
acob Spike Kraus has taken a cue
from famous Jewish songwriters and
added his own twist.
Kraus, artist in residence at Temple
Israel, picked up on the melodic stylings
of Irving Berlin, Mel Tormé and Jerry
Herman, among many others known for
their enduring Christmas songs, before
swerving away to
lyrics communi-
cating messages of
Chanukah.
Where “White
Christmas,
” “The
Christmas Song” and
“We Need a Little
Christmas” are the
seasonal projects of
Berlin, Tormé and
Herman respective-
ly, Kraus has come up with “Light Up
the Night,
” “Lights in the Window” and
“
Chanukah Is Here.
”
Those three Kraus songs have been
recorded with him singing, accompa-
nied by a studio band, and are available
digitally. They are joined on a mini-al-
bum format with a Hebrew song, “
Al
Hanissim,
” which mixes traditional reli-
gious text set to Kraus’
music.
“I’
ve been inspired to take the same
musical style Americans hold close when
the weather gets cold and infuse original
melodies with lyrics that express Jewish
cultural themes, including miracles and
perseverance,
” says Kraus, brought to
Temple Israel with the goal of reimagin-
ing the partnership between artists and
synagogues.
“This is true American holiday
music in the style sung by Michael
Bublé, Carole King and Frank Sinatra.
Essentially, I wrote Chanukah songs mas-
querading as classic holiday songs that
could hold their own on radio stations
that play seasonal hits.
”
“Light Up the Night,
” the album title,
was inspired by a teaching that explains
the true miracle of Chanukah isn’
t that
the oil lasted eight days; it’
s that the
Jewish people took a leap of faith and lit
the menorah. The meaning of the holi-
day is defined as believing enough to take
chances.
“Lights in the Window” lyrically mixes
the secular wintery themes of the music
with more cultural Chanukah references.
“
Chanukah Is Here,
” written with Kraus’
father, Rabbi Jonathan Kraus, explores
reasons candles are lit and why the ritual
establishes people in their Jewish lineage.
“
Al Hanissim” musicalizes traditional
text that thanks God for the miracles
performed in times of trouble and, over-
all, communicates feelings of safety and
comfort.
“Temple Israel is the organization that
is releasing the recordings,
” says Kraus,
who worked with a professional studio
in Nashville, where band members were
chosen by two producers. “We created
something special that could be replica-
ble for communities that want to partner
with artists like myself in the future.
”
Kraus, who holds a music performance
degree, has built a career appearing for
synagogues and camps and has been a
member of the diverse Jewish a cappella
group Six13. His earlier music, with two
albums and singles recorded, has been
called pop folk, pop soul and pop R&B.
“For this project, I wanted to write
adult, mature holiday music that could
be played along with songs like ‘
Have
Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’
(writ-
ten by Ralph Blane with Hugh Martin)
and wouldn’
t feel out of place,
” says
Kraus, who was invited to perform his
new songs before members at the Union
for Reform Judaism meeting in Chicago.
“I feel very strongly about the evolu-
tion of Jewish music to expand bound-
aries and find ways to connect culturally
and communally to Judaism. As part of
this, we are releasing one music video for
each song every Sunday in December.
”
details
“Light Up the Night” can be accessed
through the digital music sites,
temple-israel.org/music#albums and
jacobspikekraus.com.
SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
COURTESY TEMPLE ISRAEL/JACOB SPIKE KRAUS