Neta Elkayam Howa Jani at Tempel Synagogue / The Angelcy at Cheder Cafe (Jewish Culture Festival day 8 and day 10)

That was the last concert in the Tempel's Synagogue of this year's edition of the festival. Part of the "classic" side of the program, although the music certainly didn't sound too classic for the european ears.

Neta Elkayam and her band are part of the revival of Moroccan music with its ecstatic rhythms and exotic melodies. The petite singer has a most charming smile, a strong voice and unlimited energy on stage. The muisicians follow her bravely, the piano and bass adding a bit of classical, slighly jazz touch along the percussive madness and cutting violin solos.

Neta would talk about how the music is not only for the sould but also for the body, and there was certainly a solid group beside the stage dancing, not able (and not willing) to resist the groove. For me, among the more dance-oriented concerts of the week, Howa Jani band was among the most soulful performances. With a modern approach but keeping intact the mysterious element of music. Ecstatic yet meditative.  

TheAngelcy closed the festival with a concert in a very overcrowded Cheder Cafe. The air was filled with sweat, and sounds that made it more than worthwhile to stay inside. The group's cleary indebted to Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen and to all the anti-war pets of the era but also modern songwriters (I'm thinking of groups like The Shins or Zero 7).
The music they play is modest and hearftelt, at times melancholic, at others quite joyful, always utterly charming. I'm listening through the band's debut "Exit Inside" and just can't put the cd away. It's simply a collection of beautiful songs. Put to words, it seems too simple, yet its simplicity like this can be priceless.

Oh my darling babe,
take me in your arms,
don't let me be a stranger.
Oh I wish I'd find
a giant heart to crawl up inside and sleep,
where everything is still,
where there is no war,
where everything is one.
In your arms, where everything is one,
In your arms I shine
(from the song "Giant Heart")

Howa Jani:

Neta Elkayam - vocal; Amit Hai Cohen - piano; Elad Levi - violin; Netanel Ben Shitrit - darbuka; Moske Bakhar - oud; Gal Maestro - double bass; Meir Amar - percussions

Tempel Synagogue. 04.07.2014. 24th Krakow Jewish Culture Festival

TheAngelcy:
Rotem Bar Or - vocal, guitar; Maya Lee Roman - viola, voice; Aner Paker - double bass; Maayan Zimry - percussion; Udi Naor - percussion; Uri Marom - clarinet, flute, vocal

Cheder Cafe. 06.07.2014. 24th Krakow Jewish Culture Festival

Nor Cold - Nor Cold [Multikulti]

Nor Cold:
Olgierd Dokalski - tumpet, project concept
Wojciech Kwapiński - guitar
Oori Shalev - drums, percussion
Zeger Vandenbussche -saxophones, clarinet, Jew's harp

Multikulti 2013

For all the incredible diversity and richness of the 24th Krakow Jewish Culture Festival I am a bit dissapointed with the lack of representation of the new polish jewish music. In the previous years the festival would present to its international audience such bands as Shofar, Cukunft, Alte Zachen, Ircha Clarinet Quartet or Riverloam Trio (it's no coincidence of course all of the aforementioned feature either Raphael Roginski or Mikolaj Trzaska or both - no doubt two of the most prominent figures of the rising scene). In order to make up for it, I invite you to check the below albums which I believe to be among the most successful entries in the genre within the last years:

Undivided with Perry Robinson - Moves Between Clouds

Ircha Clarinet Quartet - Zikaron Lefanai

Cukunft - Wilde Blumen

Shofar - Ha-Huncvot

Robinson / Zerang / Roginski / Zimpel - Music of the Yemenite Jews

And now let's move to Nor Cold which is thus added to the above list. 

Shabari / A-WA at Tempel Synagogue (24th Krakow Jewish Culture Festival day 6)

A very anticipated concert by Frank London and crew. Sharabi, which is the name of the project, means intoxicated and the term is open for both very heavenly and earthly interpretations which reflects the a nature of life. The idea of the project relates closely to the idea of the entire festival - and is that of the meeting (between cultures, generations, traditions ecc). Two leaders and two vocalists represented two cultural circles - that of klezmer music (Frank London and Sarah Gordon) and punjabi bhangra (Deep Singh and Manu Naryan). Both would be garnished with a bit funk.

I believe there is little doubt about what klezmer stands for. Punjabi bhangra is the music and the dance of Indian immigrants, a meeting, again, of the tradition of land of the fathers and inevitably that of the land of sons. (Just so you could get a more clear picture of the style, below one of the songs that appeared during the concert that I believe you're familiar with).

Erik Friedlander / Daniel Zamir Quartet at Tempel Synagogue (24th Krakow Jewish Festival day 4 and 5)

I'm waiting impatiently for tonight's concert by Sharabi project with Frank London and Deep Singh. I believe Frank London is a crucial person to the Radical Jewish Music ever since the mighty Hasidic New Wave. He's as well crucial to the Krakow Jewish Culture Festival having played part in probably every edition of the festival, did you know 1998 performance by the Hasidic New Wave was released by Not Two records?

Few words only about last two evenings. Not too many since you can watch the concerts yourselves on the festival's web channel which is far better than reading others' thoughts on it and I invite you to follow the live transmissions during the week.

Erik Friedlander began the week with a beautifully intimate solo performance a suite "Songs of Scribes" he was commissioned to write by Jewish Museum in New York for an exhibition of manuscripts of jewish, christian and muslim sacred texts. 

The music felt like a beam of light in the dark space, shining with beutiful harmony. Be it the symmetry of medieval madrigals, the emotivity of folk dances like tarantella.  Friedlander's performance was delivered with profound maestry of the instrument, grace and kindness. You could play a shoestring, Coltrane used to say, if you're sincere. It doesn't hurt to be a virtuoso on the top of that as well.

Daniel Zamir used front a dynamic trio Satlah that would shake the jewish music in the key of the free jazz. This year he came back to Krakow with a mainstream jazz combo and with a clearly mainstream project "Saxophonist on the roof". Can you imagine a more iconic culture "text" than the epic soundtrack of the "Fiddler on the roof"? Ironically, the music itself, has little to do with authentic folklore but nevertheless it become one of the cultural lenses through which we look at the jewish culture. 

Zamir and his cohorts would re-interpret the hit songs from the musical in the key of modern jazz, they'd just enough harmonic complexity to the original material and groove to make it all work fine. Bit too elegant, bit too smooth for my taste, but personal preferences aside, sparks were flying with the streaming solos of the leader on the soprano and Omri Mor on the piano. It was definitely a crowd-pleaser and the crowd wanted more, including some chanted call&response. I'd be too much of a cynic to not honestly enjoy "If I were a rich man" with the funky groove. 

Check the quartet's concert on the festival's channel, meanwhile let's jog our memories with the music by Satlah.



Erik Friedlander - cello
Tempel Synagogue. 30.06. 24th Krakow Jewish Culture Festival

Daniel Zamir Quartet
Daniel Zamir - soprano saxophone, voce; Omri Mor - piano; Gilad Abro - double bass; Amir Bressler - drums
Tempel Synagogue. 01.07. 24th Krakow Jewish Culture Festival

Krakow Jewish Culture Festival musical recommendations.

I wholeheartedly invite you all to absorb all the variety of the festival. Nonetheless, my particular interest goes obviously toward the musical part of the program, and the "off" half of it, rather than classical.

28/29.06 Liron Amram and the Panthers at Barka "Sobieski" (8pm)
As is very common in this cultural circle, Liron Amram, grew surrounded by music, his father being one of the stars of yemenite music. He reinterpretes thoses songs in melodies in the language of 70's dub, electronica and groove. East meets West, etno meets oldschool. Party guaranteed.



30.06 Erik Friedlander "Songs of the Scribes" at Synagoga Tempel (8pm)
This musician is no stranger to any follower of improvised music. Merging classical sound with radical approach, most known for his work with John Zorn (Bark Kohba Sexter, Masada String Trio) but polish listener can remember him as well from the "Chamber Quintet" with Oleś Brothers. The concert will be the european premiere of his solo suite.
A meeting with the artist will be held at 4pm at Cheder Cafe.



30.06-04.07 Midnite Session at Alchemia  (12pm)
A traditional daily late night jam session that will rock Alchemia from the midnite till the early morning hours. Every midnight of the week.

24th Krakow Jewish Culture Festival starts today!

One of the biggest annual events in Krakow, and one of the biggest events of its kind in the world - 24th edition of Krakow Jewish Culture Festival starts today and will last till the next Sunday. 

Over the course of 10 days, Krakow citizens and thousands of guests of the city will have a full immersion course into the jewish culture. 

Cinema, city, history, philosophy, kitchen, traditional dance as well as modern club sessions and last but not least music, both classical and modern. 

I, Jazz Alchemist am the most interested in the last ingredient of the mix and tomorrow I'll try to run you through the musical part of the program of the festival.

In the meantime you can check the festival's website for more details as well as this link for the posts about the 2013 edition.