The Best of Yiddish, Klezmer & Sephardic Music by Burning Bush (CD - 05/31/2006)

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"The Best of Yiddish, Klezmer & Sephardic Music" (05/31/2006) International Burning Bush, Arc Music (UK)Personnel: Robin Jeffrey (vocals, guitar, mandolin, oud, percussion); Lucie Skeaping (vocals, rebec, violin); Kim Porter (vocals); Stuart Hall (lyra, oud, saz, double bass, bendir); Kim Burton (accordion). Audio Mixer: Pablo C rcamo. Liner Note Authors: Robin Jeffrey; Lucie Skeaping. Recording information: ARC Music Studios, East Grinstead, West Sussex, England. Unknown Contributor Role: Robin Jeffrey. Arranger: Stuart Hall. A rather grand undertaking by the Burning Bush ensemble (Britain's premier Jewish music troupe), this album is an attempt to cover the traditions of Jewish music from Germany/Poland (the Yiddish part), Eastern European instrumentals (the klezmer part), and Spain (the Sephardic part). Of the three basic forms mentioned there, the best work is probably done on the Sephardic songs, wherein Lucie Skeaping is given the opportunity to showcase her voice. As it happens, the Burning Bush also has several other albums on the same label, some of which may be better suited to display the vocal and instrumental abilities of the ensemble. The weakest portion of the album is most probably the klezmer undertakings. For good klezmer music, there are a million possible bands recorded that could probably perform something better (the Klezmonauts, the Klezmatics, and the Klezmer Conservatory are notable ones). For Jewish music, this is a good compilation to collect all (well, most -- the Middle Eastern traditions are left out) of the major traditions into a single disc. Still, it would certainly be worthwhile to seek out separate albums for the various genres, as they are certainly completely different sounds altogether. For a single disc overview of a multitude of traditions, it's not bad; a better option exists though. ~ Adam Greenberg

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