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Music
 Music speaks to all of us. It grabs the attention of and awakens our "Neshama" (soul). We may recall that on Rosh Hashanah we stand at full attention when we hear the blast of the shofar. Live music performances quite often have the same effect as the Shofar does on Rosh Hashanah. It is this very awareness of the power of music that makes JATM programming so unique and effective.
The landscape covered here is wide. An Asefa performance displays the diverse traditional and contemporary styles of music from around the Jewish diaspora. One can feel the very connectivity that has helped the Jewish people endure. For the newest tracks, click here. To learn more about the band, click here
You will need Real Audio or an MP3 player to enjoy the musical samples below. MP3's are higher quality but take a bit longer to download.
Largo
This is a Persian melody, common to the entire Middle East. Jews and Arabs shared music quite fluidly, at times performing together as well. This shared tradition is quite often a lost element of Jewish history. Largo serves as a reclaiming of this history as a Jewish contribution to cultural development in the region.
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Ki Eshmera Shabbat
This Shabbat song comes to us from North African Jewry. Sung around the Shabbat table or at the synagogue, this song talks about the importance of remembering the Shabbat. Topics of discussion include Shabbat customs and observances from North Africa, influence of a musical association between Arab and Jewish musicians, and many topics listed from "Samai al Bayati" below.
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Tanse Hora
This piece, a slow hora dance, is indicative
of Klezmer music. Topics to be discussed include the Shtetl (small
villages of Eastern European Jewry) life, where Jews lived in
very insular communities at the same time being exposed to Gypsies
and expected to join the Russian armies; the Hasidic movement
and it's differences from standard Ashkenazi Jewry, how it started
and what it is today; Eastern and Western European Jewry and their
respective cultural and religious development and influence on
Modern Judaism; the importance of the many lifecycle events in
Judaism and how music plays an integral part. European, (both
West and East) Jewry is so magnificent and so integral to the
modern Jewish experience in America.
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Yiddishalach
This piece is an original composition that combines
elements of Jewish music with modern music,
including Jazz, Funk, Rock, and Hip-Hop. This piece differs from
a liturgical piece set to a pop tune (for example Adon Olam set
to a Bob Dylan tune) in the sense that it draws from Jewish cultural
elements to create something unique and fresh today. Participants
get the feeling that "cool" things can be created by
drawing from their own culture and not by avoiding it.
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Tants, Tants! (Dance, Dance)
We must always remember our brothers and sisters
who experienced the devastation of the Holocaust. This piece highlights
the experience of Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto. The composer is unknown
but the tune was remembered by several who were there. Musicians
would get together late at night with instruments they had smuggled
in and play music for people to listen to and dance to. This served
as a moment of light in an otherwise very dark situation. Topics
of discussion include life in the Ghetto; the Warsaw Ghetto uprising;
the Jewish experience throughout Europe and North Africa during
World War II, highlighting Germany's role, Vichy France, Britain
kindertransport, and even American collaboration with armed resistors
in Algerian Jewry.
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Samai al Bayati
This piece is a traditional folk melody from North
African Jewry. In North Africa, Jews primarily lived in Algeria,
Tunisia, and Morocco. Topics of discussion include the migration
of Jews from the Babylonian exile to North Africa and then a second
influx of Jews to Morocco escaping the Spanish Inquisition in
the late 15th century; Jewish and Arab co-existence and sharing
of culture; French colonization (as well as Spanish and later
German) and it's influence on these societies had profound consequences
during the 19th and 20th centuries; the spread and impact of Modern
Zionism and how it differed from that of the European Zionist
experience.
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Tzur Mishelo
This piece is part of the Shabbat Zemirot (Shabbat
table songs) composed and compiled between the 11th and 16th centuries
under the guidance of Rabbis Isaac Luria and Israel Najara. Utilizing
singing, these songs are meant to reflect upon and praise the
Shabbat. This particular melody comes from the Spanish Jewish
heritage. Topics to be discussed include Spanish Jewry and the
"Golden Age" of Moorish Spain; Shabbat and it's importance
to the Jewish people; the Rebbeim of Zefat and the four Jewish
holy cities and their corresponding elements.
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Du Kiyum
Du Kiyum or "co-existence"
is a solo piece on Oud, an instrument used by both Jews and Arabs.
Topics to be discussed are Jewish life under Ottoman rule and
Jewish and Arab cultural collaboration in music, science, and
even religion.
Hope . . . for Peace!!
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Uvau Haovdim
This is a very joyous piece which inspires an intense
energy by inspiring participants to join in the singing. This
song speaks of the desire to return to Jerusalem. It was written
by the great modern Jewish composer Shlomo Carlebach. Though the
first chorus is in Hebrew, subsequent repetitions are in the universal
language of di-da-di. Topics to be discussed include the impact
of modern philosophies of Hasidic sects like Chabad, Carlebach,
and Breslover; the power of song and the unique connection it
inspires; the history of Soviet Jewry.
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Ha' Eretz
"The Land", this piece sets the context
to discuss how Jews have returned to Israel in the 20th century
and have worked hard to transform the land from desolation to
land that is once again fertile. The breadth
of Modern Zionism and the Kibbutzim movement will be discussed.
This program tends to shy away from politics and focus more on
history and culture so as not to get too wrapped up in debating
modern issues on the political landscape today.
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New Tracks from Asefa
Here is a collection of originally composed material influenced by the North African musical tradition. Contemporary improvisational concepts as well as certain traditional compositional frameworks are employed. First is Aliz, which means playful in Hebrew, featuring a very familiar maqam (or mode) called bayati. Second is Marrakesh Rumble, featuring percussion and reita (a double-reeded instrument). This composition is influenced by Atlas mountain music. Third is Al-Ula, a percussion composition featuring shofars influenced by Andalusian rhythmic cycles. Enjoy!
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| Aliz | |
| Marrakesh Rumble | |
| Al-Ula | |
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