OCTOBER 12 • 2023 | 65
J
N
songs to the group. “It was this
wide-open music lane,
” she
recalls.
Without any marketing,
Palter began to lead similar
groups for babies and young
children throughout the Los
Angeles area, developing her
own method for teaching.
A NEED FOR CHANGE
Yet everything came to an
unexpected halt when her hus-
band, Bryan Abrams, suffered
a so-called “widowmaker”
heart attack just six months
after their son, Jude, was born.
Abrams was young and
healthy, and there were no
imminent signs of a pend-
ing heart attack. Luckily, he
received medical attention just
in time and survived.
“It was a huge wakeup call
for us that led us to reevaluate
our priorities and consider
what really matters in life,
”
Palter says.
Ultimately, the young
family decided to return to
Metro Detroit and settled
in Huntington Woods. “In
Detroit, we found such a
supportive community and
a renewed purpose,
” explains
Palter, who moved back to the
area in November 2022.
As her husband recovered,
she continued building her
business of teaching group
music classes to young kids —
and found surprising interest
in the Jewish community.
Since relocating to Detroit,
Palter has taught at Temple
Beth El, Temple Israel (where
she was a junior cantor),
Lamplighters, Aish and the
Jewish-owned Fascination
Factory.
“It’s been incredibly fulfill-
ing,
” she says of the process.
With her husband miracu-
lously recovered and practicing
as a chiropractor in Bloomfield
Hills, and her son nearly 2
now, Palter has not forgotten
about her own music career.
She released her latest
album Nothing Standard
independently in 2022, which
has since amassed more than
3 million streams on digital
streaming platforms.
Palter also played the
main stage at the Detroit Jazz
Festival on Sept. 4 and has sev-
eral gigs lined up throughout
Metro Detroit and Ann Arbor
through the end of 2023.
In addition, Palter was
awarded a grant by the South
Arts Organization to record
her music in New Orleans.
This fall, she’s gearing up for
a domestic tour, with talk of a
potential international tour in
2024.
“The support has been
mind-blowing,
” she says of
returning to Michigan. “I just
felt the greatest warmth from
the Jewish community after
what we had been through.
”
ANNA WEBBER
Jesse
Palter