Music

You Say Basya, I Say Batya, It’s all Great Music

January 12, 2011

Basya Schechter has long been one of my favorite Jewish musicians. Whether with her seven piece band, Pharaoh’s Daughter, or stripped down (metaphorically, please) in an acoustic show, Schechter offers an intriguing mashup of ethnically tinged Shabbat zemirot, Ladino love songs, and wistful Yiddish poetry. Her playlist ranges from neo-Klezmer to Egyptian-tinged Middle Eastern rhythms. [...]

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Gaza: a Rock and Roll Response

July 14, 2010

With another ship of questionable humanitarian aid and activists on its way to Gaza this week, I thought I’d take a look back at what my wife Jody and I did during the original “Free Gaza flotilla” and near lynching of Israeli troops six weeks ago: we went to a concert. Not just any concert, [...]

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Memorial for Walter Blum – Oseh Shalom

June 23, 2010

(מן התפילה) This is the eighth and final post in the series from the memorial for my father, Walter Blum, who passed away last year. The event mixed music and humanistic interpretations of Jewish texts to try to share what my father was like and what he was passionate about. The verses to this final [...]

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Memorial for Walter Blum – Ma Gadlu

June 10, 2010

(תהילים צ”ב, ו) This is the seventh in a series of posts from the memorial for my father, Walter Blum, who passed away last year. The event mixed music and humanistic interpretations of Jewish texts to try to share what my father was like and what he was passionate about. Next week I’ll post the [...]

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Memorial for Walter Blum – Livnat HaSapir

June 1, 2010

(שמות כ”ד, י) This is the sixth in a series of posts from the memorial for my father, Walter Blum, who passed away last year. The event mixed music and humanistic interpretations of Jewish texts to try to share what my father was like and what he was passionate about. ————————————- I’m going to take [...]

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Memorial for Walter Blum – Merav’s Song

May 27, 2010

This is the fifth in a series of posts from the memorial for my father, Walter Blum, who passed away last year. The event mixed music and humanistic interpretations of Jewish texts to try to share what my father was like and what he was passionate about. At the memorial, my daughter Merav played a [...]

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Memorial for Walter Blum – Pachamama

May 20, 2010

This is the fourth in a series of posts from the memorial for my father, Walter Blum, who passed away last year. The event mixed music and humanistic interpretations of Jewish texts to try to share what my father was like and what he was passionate about. Unlike the previous videos, this one is in [...]

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The Business of Jacob’s Ladder

May 13, 2010

When Yehudit Vinegrad took the stage at the close of the Spring 2009 Jacob’s Ladder folk festival and announced that she was stepping down and would, after 33 years, no longer produce the show, a palpable shock and shudder rippled through the crowd. But then Vinegrad added, with a quiet wink and a touch of [...]

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Memorial for Walter Blum – V’Haya Achrei Chen

May 11, 2010

(יואל ג’, א, ד) This is the third in a series of posts from the memorial for my father, Walter Blum, who passed away last year. The event mixed music and humanistic interpretations of Jewish texts to try to share what my father was like and what he was passionate about. ——————————— When Yoel suggested [...]

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Memorial for Walter Blum – Pitchu Li

May 5, 2010

(תהילים קי”ח, י”ט) This is the second in a series of posts from the memorial for my father, Walter Blum, who passed away last year. The event mixed music and humanistic interpretations of Jewish texts to try to share what my father was like and what he was passionate about. ——————————— The words for the [...]

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