Yet more new reviews
Once I got started, it was hard to stop. I've rearranged all of my stacks of review CDs. I'm not sure it helps, but it feels like I'm keeping up some variety :-).
As part of the 10th anniversary of the Masada stuff, Zorn has been releasing some wonderful compilations and tribute albums. On John Zorn / Voices in the Wilderness we get to hear a new takes on over 20 Zorn Masada compositions. This is an incredibly rich two-CD set.
It seems to be really difficult for bands that started playing klezmer, and then moved on, to admit it. In Huljet's case, the new music is very interesting. It just doesn't happen to be klezmer. Don't let that stop you from listening. Huljet! / Meschugge
Rabbi Jeffrey Summit, a major mensch generally found directing Hillel activities at Tufts University, recently recorded music by the Abayudaya Jews in Uganda. It is a wonderful amalgam of African music, Hebrew, and even a few traditional mainstream Jewish melodies that have crept in. The Abayudaya are sort of the Khazars of Africa. Abayudaya - Music from the Jewish People of Uganda. Note that this has also been nominated for a Grammy. Vote early and vote often.
Quite simply Niki Jacobs has one of the nicest voices for singing Yiddish I've heard in a long time. Nikitov / Amulet
It's been something like 30 years since the first "Kol B'Seder" album. There have been lots more since, and the songs hold up very well. Jewish folksong liturgy is an established part of Reform liturgy and has influenced liturgy in other denominations. Kol B'Seder / Snapshots