Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » With Every Breath: The Music of Shabbat at BJ

107

With Every Breath: The Music of Shabbat at BJ

By

View read count
With Every Breath: The Music of Shabbat at BJ
The latest from the Knitting Factory’s “Jewish Alternative Movement” series is titled, With Every Breath “The Music of Shabbat At BJ”, featuring an aggregate of diverse musicians well known for their contributions to “new” or “modern jazz”, or in some circles – The NYC Downtown Scene. A recording with religious underpinnings, “The Music of Shabbat At BJ” is ..”the living music of Congregation Binai Jeshurun in New York City (BJ to all who know it)”.

What we have here are twelve solemn or “sacred” songs produced and arranged by keyboardist-composer Anthony Coleman featuring lead vocalists Rabbi J. Rolando Matalon, Rabbi Marcelo Bronstein and Hazan Ari Priven along with fine ensemble work from the versatile cast of musicians. To many, it comes as no surprise that artists such as guitarists Marc Ribot and Brad Shepik and cellist Erik Friedlander wear many hats as their extensive and disparate resumes will prove. Here, luminaries such as cellist Erik Friedlander, trombonist Josh Roseman, percussionist Jim Pugliese and others contribute nicely to these gorgeous pieces which lift the spirit and celebrate life regardless of one’s denomination or beliefs. Hymns for the soul, uplifting and overall beauty is portrayed via deeply moving vocals, pleasant arrangements and a melding of various Jewish melodies also integrated with Turkish and South Asian modal concepts. It’s not jazz – nor is it distinctly classifiable. You may feel a bit better about life in general – it is that positive and absorbing! * * * ½

Knitting Factory Website: www.knittingfactory.com

Personnel

Album information

Title: The Music of Shabbat at BJ | Year Released: 1999 | Record Label: Knitting Factory

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Hold On
Mark Winkler
The Hat with the Grin and the Chuckle
Ben Thomas Tango Project
Eternal Moments
Yoko Yates

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.