AUGUST 31 • 2023 | 71
ARTS&LIFE
MUSIC
I
t’s hard to tell when an artist really
starts “working” on an album.
Maybe it’s the first voice memo
or line scribbled in a notebook, the
first idea that leaves their head and
enters the normal realm. Maybe it’s
when they have the green light to
record, a plan is in place, and the stu-
dio is booked.
Or maybe, it’s deeper than that.
Which feels like the case with Aaron
Markovitz, Temple Israel’s Zipser
Foundation Artist in Residence, who’s
new album “
An Infinite Wave,
” is now
available thanks to the support of the
Burton A. Zipser and Sandra D. Zipser
Foundation.
Markovitz has recorded albums
before, but this is his first Jewish
album, and it serves as both a nod to
his distinct style, mixing in Bluegrass
and singer-songwriter elements, and
Jewish life that he’s focused on since
coming to Temple Israel in a formal
role in 2022.
The album is also a mix of English
and Hebrew, and some of the songs
have been heard, and celebrated,
already at Shabbat services. In fact,
the first song on the album “Pursuers
of Peace” was initially written for a
Shabbat service, and then was brought
in as part of the album process.
“I guess that’s when you could say
the album started. I didn’t know I was
working on the album then, but that’s
when the ideas and things started to
come together,
” Markovitz said. “It was
pretty cool to be able to craft the album,
using some new things, some original,
and some other things from the past.
”
When Markovitz writes music, he
usually establishes the lyrics first. It’s
not a hard and fast rule, but in general
the line will come to mind, that’s when
he’ll start to think about the melody
and the best way to deliver the line.
From there, it’s all about
finding the right finish and not being
afraid to try new things with both
lyrics and melodies. For example,
Markovitz had some elements of cer-
tain songs that he said sounded good
but needed to be changed or tweaked
in the process.
In the end, he created an album that
flows from start to finish, touching
on important Jewish elements like
redeeming the world, key holidays and
finding peace in everyday life.
The album title, “
An Infinite Wave,
”
came after Markovitz was researching
Jewish history and knowledge.
“I had just started to play around
with musical ideas and a line that just
spoke to me, and it connects really
well to Judaism, and what I had been
reading,
” Markvovitz said. “So it kind of
became the title track or theme, with-
out it officially being the title track.
”
The line “
An Infinite Wave,
” used
in the final two songs of the album,
is part of a fitting closeout to a new
musical tradition that Temple Israel
and the larger Jewish community have
embraced with Markovitz.
To download and listen to “An Infinite Wave,”
visit www.aaron-markovitz.com.
Temple Israel artist-in-residence
releases new album.
‘An Infinite Wave’
SEAN SHAPIRO SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
Aaron Markowitz