Estelle Goldfarb / Naissance
Estelle Goldfarb / Naissaince, 2014
CD available via band website, or as a digital download from bandcamp.
Long a stalwart of the French klezmer scene, violinist Estelle Goldfarb has released a personal album that includes Jewish music, but incorporates a much broader musical awareness. From the opening "Tchek!" (featuring David Krakauer on clarinet) to help from DJ SoCalled on a "Lune noire" and Tania Michelle's voice on a very beat-aware French-Yiddish "Bei mir bistu sheyn," this recording is a potent encapsulation of an extraordinary artist at one point in time.
The recording incorporates influences from the beatbox to classical virtuosity, to the Arabic-inflected "Lever du jour." Even when the theme is not particularly Jewish, as in the gentle "Manan" that are subtle reminders of Jewish context, as when one of the children calling variants of "Mama" suddenly calls, "Ima." More than anything, though, this is a recording designed for the dance floor. Listening to the sweeping violin of "La'autre" with its insistent beats, or even the updated sound of "Bei mir bistu sheyn," one appreciates that the common denominator isn't one musical source or another, but pleasure in beat and movement.
Reviewed by Ari Davidow, 31 May 2014
Personnel this recording:
Estelle Goldfarb: violin, voices
David Krakauer: clarinet (1)
Natacha Atlas: vocals (4)
Socalled: vocals (3)
Tania Michelle: vocals (6)
Matyi Sandaï: double bass (1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10)
Hacen Djehgbal: double bass (3, 9)
Thomas Ostrowiecki: percussion (1, 4, 9, 10)
Alok Veerma: percussion (2)
Bertrand Défossé: programming (3, 4, 6, 8, 9)
Alvaro Bello Bodenhöfer: electric guitar (1)
Massimiliano Mastella: accoustic guitar (6)
Olivier Koundouno: cello (2, 4)
Jacob Tardien: piano (3)
Ihad Radwan: oud (4)
Joshua Levitt: ney (9)
Alban Sarron: trumpet (10)
Clément and Julien Oury: tuba (10)
Dominique Miletti: banjo 10)
Children's voices: Esther, Paula, Eglantine, Ati, Chanderni, Coudeja, Nour, Gloria, Loredana, and many more from all over the world (5)
Choir: Laura Kancel, Tidiane Diop, Gloria-Marie Jovic, Victoria De Souza 92
Song Titles
- Tchek! (Estelle Goldfarb) 4:16
- 10h22 (Estelle Goldfarb) 5:09
- Lune noire (Estelle Goldfarb) 3:23
- Lever du jour (Estelle Goldfarb) 5:04
- Maman (Estelle Goldfarb) 4:12
- Bei mir bistu sheyn (Sholom Secunda) 3:17
- Eau (Estelle Goldfarb) 3:42
- L'autre (Estelle Goldfarb) 3:17
- Rouge (Estelle Goldfarb) 3:22
- Comédie humaine (Estelle Goldfarb) 4:16
