We're right in the middle of the Jewish High Holidays, with Yom Kippur scheduled to begin Tuesday at sundown (if my calendar is correct). So it's probably a wholly inappropriate time for me to be thinking about and posting about Hanukkah music.
The last few years, we've been spoiled with some excellent contemporary Hanukkah treats, including last year's "Hot Rod Hanukkah" from Meshugga Beach Party. And it's still a bit early for the onslaught of video singles vying for "Hanukkah #1" (a relatively new "tradition" to be sure). But there are a couple of releases in the works with the potential to add more than just music to your collection, like perhaps a little depth to your knowledge of the holiday and its music.
Virtually every year, the folks at Putumayo put together a kickin' selection of roots and world Christmas music, tied together with one theme or other. No Christmas this year. Putumayo's theme--and album title--for 2012 is "A Jewish Celebration". While we don't have a firm track list just yet, the album is expected to include renditions of such Hanukkah standards as "S'Vivon Sov Sov Sov" and "Ocho Kandelikas". But the album is expected to include other songs associated with Jewish celebrations as well, including the ubiquitous "Hava Nagila". And, while we don't yet have a playlist, we do have a list of performers for Putumayo's latest and, as usual, it's got some international flair. Not to mention the fact that, as aggressively as I hunt Hanukkah music, I've only ever even heard of three of the featured artists--Julie Silver, Golem and Ben Rudnick. So it's got that going for it. Which is nice. Expect "Putumayo Presents A Jewish Celebration" to drop November 13.
Etti Ankri (Israel)
Ben Rudnick & Friends (USA)
King Django (USA)
Golem (USA)
Alisa Fineman (USA)
Finjan (Canada)
Kayama (France)
Klezmer Juice (Argentina/USA)
Julie Silver (USA)
Simka (USA)
Karsten Troyke (Germany)
Abayudaya (Uganda)
The last few years, we've been spoiled with some excellent contemporary Hanukkah treats, including last year's "Hot Rod Hanukkah" from Meshugga Beach Party. And it's still a bit early for the onslaught of video singles vying for "Hanukkah #1" (a relatively new "tradition" to be sure). But there are a couple of releases in the works with the potential to add more than just music to your collection, like perhaps a little depth to your knowledge of the holiday and its music.
Virtually every year, the folks at Putumayo put together a kickin' selection of roots and world Christmas music, tied together with one theme or other. No Christmas this year. Putumayo's theme--and album title--for 2012 is "A Jewish Celebration". While we don't have a firm track list just yet, the album is expected to include renditions of such Hanukkah standards as "S'Vivon Sov Sov Sov" and "Ocho Kandelikas". But the album is expected to include other songs associated with Jewish celebrations as well, including the ubiquitous "Hava Nagila". And, while we don't yet have a playlist, we do have a list of performers for Putumayo's latest and, as usual, it's got some international flair. Not to mention the fact that, as aggressively as I hunt Hanukkah music, I've only ever even heard of three of the featured artists--Julie Silver, Golem and Ben Rudnick. So it's got that going for it. Which is nice. Expect "Putumayo Presents A Jewish Celebration" to drop November 13.
Etti Ankri (Israel)
Ben Rudnick & Friends (USA)
King Django (USA)
Golem (USA)
Alisa Fineman (USA)
Finjan (Canada)
Kayama (France)
Klezmer Juice (Argentina/USA)
Julie Silver (USA)
Simka (USA)
Karsten Troyke (Germany)
Abayudaya (Uganda)
Then there's the 2-disc set from Idelsohn which figures to be as important for it's liner notes as for it's music. The Idelsohn Society for Musical Preservation is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and exploring the music of Jewish-American artists and they have a fascinating catalog of releases, including the reissue of Irving Fields' 1959 lounge classic "Bagels and Bongos", and "Black Sabbath"--a disc that explored the historical relationship between the African-American and Jewish-American communities through the Jewish music African-Americans covered. Pretty neat and critically praised as well.
For the coming holiday season, Idelsohn is releasing "Twas The Night Before Hanukkah", which not only collects up some worthy Hanukkah music, but also a disc of Christmas songs performed and sung by Jewish-American artists. Idelsohn hopes to explore the "tension" between these two holidays in the Jewish community as well as providing historical context of the Hanukkah holiday in America. Just to see a CD that includes The Ramones, The Klezmatics, Theo Bikel, Bob Dylan, Mitch Miller, Herb Alpert, Woody Guthrie and more, all side by side, makes me want to embrace such an album no matter the context. And you know the liner notes figure to be incredible. Dig it. About the only thing this set is missing is some cool Hanukkah rap (and there's plenty of that around if Idelsohn ever decides to put together a disc of it). Like the Putumayo set, "Twas The Night Before Hanukkah" is also scheduled for a November 13 release.
DISC ONE:
Rock Of Ages (Courtesy of Yivo Archives)
Ella Jenkins: Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel
Woody Guthrie: Hanukkah Dance
Temple B’nai Abraham Of Essex County Children’s Choir: Svivon Sov Sov Sov
Klezmer Conservatory Band: Klezzified
The Klezmatics: Hanukah Tree
Stanley Adams: ‘Twas The Night Before Chanukah
Sol Zim: Mo’Oz Tsur
Debbie Friedman: The Latke Song (Live)
Gladys Gerwitz: Chanukah Quiz
Shirley Cohen: Maccabee March
Ethan Miller, Jeremiah Lockwood and Luther Dickinson: Dreidel
DISC TWO:
The Ramones: Merry Christmas (I Don’t Wanna Fight Tonight) Theo Bikel: Sweetest Dreams Be Thine
Larry Harlow: El Dia De La Navidad
Mel Torme: The Christmas Song
Bob Dylan: Little Drummer Boy
Eddie Fisher: Christmas Eve In My Hometown
Richard Tucker: O Little Town Of Bethlehem
Dinah Shore: Twelve Days Of Christmas
Danny Kaye: O Come All Ye Faithful
Sammy Davis Jr.: It’s Christmas All Over The World
Benny Goodman: Santa Clause Came In The Spring
The Ames Brothers: I Got a Cold For Christmas
Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass: Jingle Bells
Mitch Miller: White Christmas
For the coming holiday season, Idelsohn is releasing "Twas The Night Before Hanukkah", which not only collects up some worthy Hanukkah music, but also a disc of Christmas songs performed and sung by Jewish-American artists. Idelsohn hopes to explore the "tension" between these two holidays in the Jewish community as well as providing historical context of the Hanukkah holiday in America. Just to see a CD that includes The Ramones, The Klezmatics, Theo Bikel, Bob Dylan, Mitch Miller, Herb Alpert, Woody Guthrie and more, all side by side, makes me want to embrace such an album no matter the context. And you know the liner notes figure to be incredible. Dig it. About the only thing this set is missing is some cool Hanukkah rap (and there's plenty of that around if Idelsohn ever decides to put together a disc of it). Like the Putumayo set, "Twas The Night Before Hanukkah" is also scheduled for a November 13 release.
DISC ONE:
Rock Of Ages (Courtesy of Yivo Archives)
Ella Jenkins: Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel
Woody Guthrie: Hanukkah Dance
Temple B’nai Abraham Of Essex County Children’s Choir: Svivon Sov Sov Sov
Klezmer Conservatory Band: Klezzified
The Klezmatics: Hanukah Tree
Stanley Adams: ‘Twas The Night Before Chanukah
Sol Zim: Mo’Oz Tsur
Debbie Friedman: The Latke Song (Live)
Gladys Gerwitz: Chanukah Quiz
Shirley Cohen: Maccabee March
Ethan Miller, Jeremiah Lockwood and Luther Dickinson: Dreidel
DISC TWO:
The Ramones: Merry Christmas (I Don’t Wanna Fight Tonight) Theo Bikel: Sweetest Dreams Be Thine
Larry Harlow: El Dia De La Navidad
Mel Torme: The Christmas Song
Bob Dylan: Little Drummer Boy
Eddie Fisher: Christmas Eve In My Hometown
Richard Tucker: O Little Town Of Bethlehem
Dinah Shore: Twelve Days Of Christmas
Danny Kaye: O Come All Ye Faithful
Sammy Davis Jr.: It’s Christmas All Over The World
Benny Goodman: Santa Clause Came In The Spring
The Ames Brothers: I Got a Cold For Christmas
Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass: Jingle Bells
Mitch Miller: White Christmas
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