Music

Shuk, Rattle and Roil?

Israeli group shakes up the notion of what a band can accomplish

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Is the Shuk -- with its mantra of "Preserve, Perpetuate and Innovate" -- Israel's sand-dune version of "Survivor"? This Jewish tribe has spoken; more importantly, it's sung. And in the marketplace -- shuk's meaning in Hebrew -- of ideas, this one thrives on sound advice. As leaders of the band, Brooklyn-born Yoni Avital and Cherry Hill's Ami Yares are actually...

Music

Copacabana Cool

Philly's Avi Wisnia is hot to trot for the Brazilian beat

By:

Michael Elkin

Blame it on the bossa nova, sure, but doesn't klezmer share some responsibility? And how about liturgy? Where does that come in? It all comes together in explaining the wistful soundtrack of Avi Wisnia's life, where the son of a regional rabbi bounded over the bimah to explore the outside pull of a musical postmodern world. And the son returns,...

Local

Of Spirit and Song: A Cantor's Tale

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Michael Elkin

Is it really surprising that Cantor David F. Tilman of Beth Sholom Congregation in Elkins Park, long known for his lilt of a lyric baritone, once had a tryout at the New York Met? Yet he wasn't performing alongside Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti and that other tenor; more like Ron Swoboda, Ed Kranepool and "Marvelous" Marv Throneberry. "I played right...

Music

Where There's 'Hope,' There's ... PIFA

By:

Michael Elkin

Can't we all get along? Hope so, says Jonathan Leshnoff. And his "Hope" is just that -- a union of a musical mission of orchestra, soloists, choir, poetry and composer that bonds Bible to spiritual and blends ancient with au courant. And this oratorio of an aural sensation all plays an important part in the current Philadelphia International Festival of...

Music

Coming From a Heritage of Good Folk

By:

Michael Elkin

Not every up-and-coming rebel rocker/fine-voiced folkie earns enough money to jingle-jangle in his pocket. But then, not every one grew up knowing the value of jingles. Ari Hest did; his father wrote them, and his son occasionally performed them in commercials -- when he wasn't doing backup choral work for his mother, the cantor. Music as muse? Sure, but now...